Saint-Gobain expects to have at least 100 plants in India over the next 5 years as it eyes a major opportunity in the sustainable construction business, the company’s India chief executive officer Sreedhar N told TNIE in an interaction. The French glass and building materials manufacturer, which recently committed an investment of 1 billion euros, has 82 facilities here that serve domestic demand and export markets.
“We'll keep investing in India. In my view, we will have at least 100 plants in the coming 5 years. Given the number of projects that we have identified, we are quite ambitious and bullish about India and India’s growth story. When you see the market objectively, the construction of India i.e three-fourth of India is yet to be built,” said Sreedhar who is keen on bringing a change in how buildings are built here.
He says that with the right kind of sustainable product they offer there are several cases of energy consumption coming down by as much as 40% in India and 70% in Europe. He claims that the use of modern construction material, manufactured by the company, can significantly increase the life span of a project.
Sreedhar said over the next 5 years, the company will invest significantly in gypsum and insulation, and put up a brand new plant for glass wool and stone wool. Saint-Gobain will also add its core glass manufacturing capacity and invest more in construction chemicals. “The idea is to strengthen our capability to serve the Indian market with a sharp focus on sustainable construction solutions,” added Sreedhar.
Saint-Gobain has established India as one of its top five profit centres globally, with the country now generating close to 2 billion euros in revenue from 82 manufacturing plants. The company expects to triple in revenue over the next decade.
“We are talking about 3x growth every decade. That's our ambition. That's what we delivered in the last decade. India is the third-largest contributor to the global performance, from the bottom line point of view. India is also unique because it is one place where we have every Saint-Gobain technology available,” said Sreedhar. He added that the company is targeting to increase exports in markets such as South East Asia and Australia.