New Delhi: Renewable energies Borosil Ltd, the first and only in India solar glass manufacturer and part of Borosil Groupannounced that it has acquired an 86% stake in InterFloat Group, the largest manufacturer of solar glass in Europe.
Interfloat Group consists of two companies – GMB Glasmanufaktur Brandenburg GmbH (GMB), based in Tschernitz, Germany, and Interfloat Corporationbased in Liechtenstein.
“Despite the fact that the manufacturing industry in Europe is currently under severe strain due to high energy prices, geopolitical uncertainty as well as a possible recession ahead, BRL’s Board of Directors believes that Interfloat/GMB’s position as a high-quality producer of solar glass should strengthen BRL’s position in the global market over the long term,” the company said in a statement.
GMB is the largest textured tempered solar glass producer in Europe with a current manufacturing capacity of 300 TPD. Interfloat has been serving customers in Europe for 40 years and maintains relationships with the glass trade in the region.
“By leveraging existing synergies and several complementary skill sets offered by both companies, we will be able to better serve our customers. We strongly believe that this acquisition brings us closer to our vision of being the most the customer to the world. ,” said Pradeep KherukaExecutive Chairman of Borosil Renewables.
He added that the extreme crisis currently facing Europe and the world, due to the sudden disruption of natural gas supply, has given a great impetus to the urgent need for solar installations, and the demand for domestically manufactured solar PV modules has increased significantly, resulting in increased demand for solar glass from our European customers.
The company said its intention was to reinforce the market leadership established by Interfloat by responding more effectively to the demand of its European customers. With this acquisition, BRL’s combined manufacturing capacity in India and Europe would be available to meet a wide range of requirements including size, varying textures, coatings, dimensions and thickness.
Borosil Renewables is implementing an expansion plan in India that will increase manufacturing capacity to 1000 TPDs in Q4 CY2022. It plans to add additional capacity with the next expansion increasing to 2,100 TPD in CY2024. The company said it is committed to investing in manufacturing in Europe and will increase capacity at GMB’s Tschernitz plant when the time is right in the near future.