Guardian Marks Its Second Float Glass Plant in Russia With Event for Customers and Local Officials

Guardian Industries celebrated its newest float glass plant, Guardian Steklo Rostov, with a Grand Opening Ceremony Sept. 5 for customers and friends. The plant is located in the Krasny Sulin district of Rostov, Russia, an area close to Sochi, home of the 2014 Winter Olympics.  
 
More than 400 customers, company officials and special guests, including Rostov Governor Vasiliy Golubev and Nicolay Alshenko, the head of the Krasny Sulin district, attended the celebration that included tours of the plant and dinner.

“We have enjoyed strong support in Russia from both the local government and a wide variety of customers, and it was exciting to welcome them to the plant,” said Janos Egyud, managing director of Guardian Steklo Services.
 
Guardian Steklo Rostov is Guardian’s newest and largest float glass plant to-date, producing close to 900 tons of glass per day.

“Guardian operates float glass plants all over the world on every major continent, but our largest facility in the world, and one of the largest in the industry, is the one right here in Krasny Sulin,” said Lajos Sapi, vice president of Guardian Flat Glass, Europe, during the opening ceremony. ”It also has our most advanced vacuum coater platform, a high technology marvel, that allows us to manufacture high performance, energy efficient glass for schools, businesses, hospitals, homes and other buildings.”

The vacuum coater produces ClimaGuard Solar glass providing thermal insulation and sun protection for residential applications, and will soon begin producing SunGuard High Selective advanced architectural glass for commercial applications.

“Our sales programs at the new plant will focus on providing these value-added glass products to the southern Russian and the Eat Ukrainian regions,” added Sapi.

The $240-million plant is located 957 kilometers (594 miles) from Moscow in the southern part of Russia along the Azov Sea.

The plant has more than 300 employees and is a major contributor to the area’s economic development. Guardian was the first corporation to break ground in the Krasny Sulin Industrial Center, an initative supported by the governor.

This is Guardian’s second float glass plant in Russia. In 2008, Guardian began production at its plant in Ryazan, serving the greater Moscow region.

“Guardian is bullish on Russia, given the sustained growth at our first plant and the customers we have in the country,” said Guardian Global Flat Glass President Scott Thomsen. “We are making steady progress in developing our presence in the region. The Rostov location is a good fit for Guardian’s growth strategy to supply glass to Russia and neighboring countries.”

Guardian was one of the first companies to invest in Eastern Europe, beginning construction in Hungary in June 1989, prior the fall of the Berlin Wall; and presently operates facilities in Hungary, eastern Germany and Poland, among other European locations.