Furnace Helper

Overview of the Indian Glass Sector

The Indian glass industry is more than 100 years old. Today, the glass industry is estimated to be more than US$ 2.5 billion. The growth of the Indian economy has further boosted the growth of glass industry. Glass being chemically inert and pure is preferred by most consumers. Some of the key properties such as transparency and recyclability makes glass the most suitable medium of packaging of liquor, pharmaceutical/lifesaving drugs and food items. The perception of glass as having a high quality or premium image compared to plastic and metal is also facilitating its growth. The per capita glass usage in India is 1.2 kg compared with 8-9 kg in developed countries and 30-35 kg in the US. Thus, glass manufacturing has a huge potential in India.

Construction, automobile, consumer goods and pharmaceuticals are major consumers of glass in India. Some of the other segments in which consumption of glass is growing in the recent years are glass fibre, ophthalmic lenses, glass lamp ware, bangles, table/kitchenware, mirrors, glass beads, etc. In the recent years, the demand for float glass has increased with booming automotive and construction sectors, whereas the growing consumer goods and pharmaceutical sector has boosted the demand for container glass in India. Indian glass market is estimated to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15% over the next three years. The expected glass consumption growth in construction sector is 10-12%, automotive sector is 20%, consumer goods sector is 15-20% and pharmaceuticals sector is 15-18%.

The organized glass industry currently employs 30 lakh people directly and provides indirect employment to 5 lakh people whereas the unorganized sector employs around 5-6 lakh people. With the growing demand of glass in India the employment opportunities for professionals like batch mixer, Furnace Helper, etc. is bound to increase in the Indian glass industry.