Flatline Iran glass suffers as sanctions bite

摘要

Three float glass producers who operate a total of eight float and two sheet/figured glass lines account for an installed capacity of nearly 5,500 tonnes of flat glass products.Significant capacity addition by existing producers and a new entrant has made the country the most prominent flat glass producing nation in the region.Two of the largest float glass lines with a combines installed capacity of 1600 tonnes per day have become operational in last three years.With one of the highest resources of energy and supply to comparatively cheaper rates to glass industry,abundant raw material for glass production,one of the cheapest labour cost in the region and most importantly,its strategic geographic location in an area with about 500 million consumers,Iranian flat glass industry made enviable progress in the current decade.However,sagging domestic demand from both architectural and automotive segments in recent years due to flat or low economic growth,economic sanctions by the United States,geo-political skirmishes in the region has resulted in a number of hardships for Iranian glass producers,especially in last three years.