The automotive and construction industries are expected to remain major contributors for elevating the demand for tempered glass. Global tempered glass market is expected to witness growth on account of expansion of automotive industry in emerging markets of China, India and Mexico owing to regulatory support aimed at new investments. Rising understanding towards the usage of tempered glass in electronic and automotive industries on account of providing good thermal properties is expected to have a strong impact on the market. Asia Pacific is projected to be the fastest-growing region and is expected to witness considerable positive trend in automobile industry of China, India, and Malaysia. Growing construction industry in China and India on account of regulatory support aimed at infrastructure improvement is is expected to promote the usage in commercial as well as residential buildings. However, rising application of laminated glass for automobile manufacturing on account of exhibiting properties including anti-breakage and lightweight is expected to challenge industry growth in the next few years.
Tempered glass finds applications in manufacturing of products which are not limited to bulletproof products, architectural doors, refrigerator trays & tables, vehicle passenger windows, shower doors, cookware, mobile screen protectors, and diving masks on account of better-quality properties including safety features and high strength.
Expansion of construction industry output in Middle East on account of increasing number of infrastructure projects in key markets including Saudi Arabia and UAE is expected to play an important role in increasing the usage of glass products. Rising government expenditure on rapid urbanization, infrastructure development and promoting foreign direct investments, particularly in China and India is expected to have a positive impact on the industry. In addition, rising usage of annealed glass for building façades due to its ability of providing thermal stress resistance and wind load performance is expected to have a positive impact on the industry in the near future.
Growth of cell phone market in major markets of China, India, Taiwan, Brazil and Mexico owing to improvement in internet connectivity along with new product launches in smartphones is expected to promote the use of tempered glass to protect the screen of the mobile phone, Application growth of gorilla glass on account of its hardness, scratch resistant, damage resistance and lightness and thinness as compared to tempered glass is expected to be a challenge to the industry. In addition, gorilla glass also finds applications in numerous applications including smartphones, tablets, LCD’s, laptops and notebooks, whereas the use of tempered glass is restricted to only smartphones. These products act as additional safeguard medium for mobile phones as compared to the conventional plastic kind screen protector.
Automotive is expected to remain the largest application segment over the next eight years on account of growing product use in the manufacturing of windows and backlights. However, the product faces a competitive disadvantage as from laminated glass on account of ability of latter to exhibit excellent pressure resistance and being highly resilient to breakage. The increasing use of tempered glass in applications including as a component of electrical & electronics and ovens in the baking & cooking sectors is expected to have a strong impact on market.
North America is expected to witness significant gains over the next eight years in light of improving construction sector in the U.S. and Mexico due to increasing number of residential houses. In addition, the emergence of Mexico as an automotive manufacturing destination in light of new establishments by vehicle companies including Volkswagen, Honda and Nissan is expected to have a positive impact. The strong presence of automotive sector in European countries including Germany, France and UK in light of abundance of consumables and Easy access of OEM field engineering services is expected to promote the usage of the products. Shifting preference of governments of Middle East from upstream oil & gas sector to promote investments in automotive and construction sector, Aforementioned trends in the Middle East are expected to open new avenues in the near future.
Key industry participants include Guardian Industries, NSG Group, AGC Group and Saint-Gobain. In November 2014, Trulite will increase the company’s reach in the Texas market by offering a broad range of tempered, insulated, and fabricated glass products through the establishment of the strategic partnership with Texas Tempered Glass Inc., a Houston-based company.
