The flat glass market - Spain

Flat glass refers to glass in sheet form, which is mainly used for the production of glazing and mirrors. The flat glass market is part of the broader glass market and is one of the main glass groups, along with hollow glass, cellular glass and glass fibers. The flat glass market encompasses the production, shaping and processing of flat glass into a variety of processed products, such as window glazing, shower enclosures, refrigerator shelves, glass ceramic plates, windshields and rear-view mirrors. These processed products are mainly destined for the construction sector, which accounts for 80% of all glass products80%and the automotive industry (15%). The main players in the flat glass market are raw material suppliers (minerals or recycled glass), raw flat glass manufacturers, processed flat glass manufacturers, flat glass distributors (commercial subsidiaries of manufacturers, traders, etc.) and processed flat glass distributors. flat glass distributors (commercial subsidiaries of manufacturers, wholesalers) and customer markets (construction carpentry manufacturers, automotive manufacturers, furniture manufacturers, etc.).

Flat glass production continues to grow worldwide, both in volume and value, and this trend is expected to remain stable in the coming years, driven by the automotive and construction markets in emerging countries. In Europe, Germany, France and Poland are the three main producers of flat glass. In Spain, the market is concentrated and the sector is closely dependent on the economy and technology available to some multinational companies, although small and medium-sized companies, with a relatively low level of technology, are also present in the market. An article in Glass Spainshows that flat glass is the second largest sector of the Spanish glass industry (by volume), after container glass, and accounts for almost 25% of the country' s total glass production.