Glass producer Saint-Gobain Glass Romania posted 10 percent growth in turnover last year, due to the launch of a new production line at the plant in Calarasi, south-east Romania.

“Some 5 percent of the increase registered in 2013 was determined only by launching the production of laminated glass at the factory in Calarasi,” said Cosmin Popescu, the company’s marketing director.

The new production line was launched in September last year and has an installed capacity of some 2 million square meters. The laminated glass produced in Calarasi is sold both on domestic and foreign markets. Some 80 percent of the production is destined to the residential market, while 20 percent is for non-residential projects.

Saint-Gobain Glass is part of French Group Saint-Gobain. The company entered the Romanian market in 2005 and started glass production two years later, in 2007, once the factory in Calarasi was completed. Some 540 people work at the plant in Romania.

Saint-Gobain Group operates in 64 countries and employs over 190,000 people. In 2013, the group’s sales amounted to EUR 42 billion.

In Romania, the group is present with four companies, namely Saint-Gobain Construction Products, Saint-Gobain Glass Romania, MTI Impex Brasov and Brodrene Dahl, with some 1,100 employees. Total sales of the group in Romania were EUR 158 million, in 2013.

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com