The flat glass market is primed to observe robust expansion by 2027 driven by soaring product adoption in varied industry verticals in key regions across the globe. In addition, mounting investments from government and private sectors are expected to further augment market growth through the forecast period.

Recently, increasing prominence of flat glass in several applications has created massive growth potential for the market. For instance, in November 2021, Beibut Atamkulov, the Industry and Infrastructure Development Minister of Kazakhstan, announced the country’s plans of establishing a flat glass factory in 2022. The plant, which has a planned annual capacity of 197,100 tons of flat glass, is intended to accommodate 98% of the domestic demand for flat glass.

The flat glass market has been categorized on the basis of product, application, and region. Based on product, the market has further been segmented into laminated, tempered, insulating, basic float, and others.

The basic float product segment was valued at approximately USD 16.0 billion in 2020 and is slated to witness considerable growth over 2021-2027. Basic float glass finds application in double glazed windows for commercial and household applications, which is likely to drive segmental growth through the assessment timeframe.

With respect to application, the flat glass market has been divided into automotive, construction, and others. Under automotive, the market has been segregated into aftermarket and OEM. The flat glass industry share from the OEM automotive application segment is expected to progress at a CAGR of about 8.5% over the analysis timeline to reach a sizable valuation by 2027. Surging demand for light-weighted and fuel-efficient vehicles is anticipated to propel segmental uptake in the coming years.

On the regional spectrum, the Middle East flat glass market is projected to surpass a valuation of USD 5.0 billon by 2027, expanding at a solid CAGR through the forecast period. Escalating demand from the domestic construction industry is foreseen to promote regional market growth in the forthcoming years.

Notably, industry players have been employing lucrative strategies to gain a competitive edge in the sector, thereby enhancing flat glass market dynamics in the Middle East. To cite an instance, in September 2021, Sisecam, a Turkey-based flat glass expert, announced its plans to invest over TL 4 billion (USD 470 million) towards building two new float lines for manufacturing automotive and architectural glass.

This investment was aimed to boost production to 2.6 million tons, improving production capacity by 30%. The company noted that the float lines for automotive and architectural glass with daily capacities of 750 tons and 1,200 tons respectively would be commissioned soon in order to fulfill the escalating domestic demand for flat glass. As a result, surging availability of flat glass has been favorable for regional business growth.