Borosil Renewables Closes Acquisition Of Solar Glass Maker Interfloat

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Mumbai-based solar glass manufacturer Borosil Renewables Ltd (BRL) and EU-based Interfloat Group  announced the Borosil Renewables’ acquisition of 86% stake in the Interfloat Group, through its overseas wholly-owned subsidiaries.

GMB operates a solar glass plant with a production capacity of 300 TPD (Tonnes per Day). With its acquisition of the Interfloat Group, BRL’s solar glass manufacturing capacity will grow to 750 TPD from the current 450 TPD, an increase of 66%. This capacity of the combined entity will further increase to 1,300 TPD in Q4 CY2022 with the commissioning of a new furnace with a capacity of 550 TPD in India.
This acquisition will make a wider range of solar glass available to BRL’s expanded customer base in Europe.

The official statement held that Interfloat Group consists of two companies – GMB Glasmanufaktur Brandenburg GmbH (GMB) and Interfloat Corporation. GMB is the largest producer of textured tempered solar glass in Europe with a current manufacturing capacity of 300 TPD. Interfloat has been servicing customers in Europe for close to 40 years. Borosil Renewables’ Board believes that the position that Interfloat/GMB commands as a high-quality producer of solar glass should strengthen BRL’s global market position in the long run.

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Shreevar Kheruka, Vice Chairman at Borosil, had indicated the same to SaurEnergy at REI 2022 recently too.

Due to glass leakage around the melting area of the furnace at the solar glass manufacturing facility of GMB, the acquisition deal was postponed since August until the assessment of the damage has been made and any impact to the proposed transaction has been evaluated.

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Furthering the EU Strategy

The EU solar energy strategy proposed under the REPowerEU plan aims to make solar energy a cornerstone of the EU energy system and includes a solar energy strategy that aims to bring about 320 GW of solar photovoltaic by 2025 and almost 600 GW by 2030. This will inevitably lead to rapid growth in demand for solar glass across Europe in the near future, said the Indian company.

Borosil looks to strengthen the market leadership established by Interfloat by meeting the ever-evolving demands of its European customers more efficiently. With this acquisition, the combined manufacturing capacity of Borosil, it says, in India and Europe would be available to meet a wide range of requirements including sizes varying textures, coatings, dimensions, and thickness.

Borosil held that the acquisition will also accelerate investments in new products and technology development benefiting customers.

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This expansion of Borosil that is currently underway in India will take the manufacturing capacity to 1000 TPD in the last quarter of 2022. It plans to add further capacity with the next expansion growing to 2,100 TPD in 2024. Borosil is also committed to investing in manufacturing in Europe and will be increasing capacity at GMB’s Tschernitz plant at an appropriate time in the near future.

Pradeep Kheruka, Executive Chairman, Borosil Renewables, said, “The demand for domestically manufactured solar PV modules has increased significantly leading to a higher demand for solar glass by our European customers. In the light of substantial expansion in our capacity in India, we expect to enhance the reliability of our supply chains for our customers.”

Christian Kern, Member of the Board of Directors of Interfloat Corporation, said, “The takeover of the Interfloat Group by Borosil is a contribution to the long-term safeguarding of production and jobs at the Chernitz site. With GMB, the EU’s only manufacturer of tempered solar glass is thus strengthened and made fit for the future. With its skilled jobs in a region particularly affected by structural change, GMB is and will remain an important economic factor in Brandenburg’s Lausitz region.”