Discussion on opportunities of the Czech glass industry

The glass and ceramic industry is one of the traditional branches of the manufacturing industry of the Czech Republic. Only just the representatives of the Association of the Glass and Ceramic Industry of the Czech Republic met with the Czech members of the EU parliament these days. The main topic of the meeting was „How are the opportunities and threats the Czech glass and ceramic industry is facing to in relation to the next development on the market?“

In 2015, the development of the glass and ceramic industry will be influenced by the situation in Europe, which represents the largest export territory for this industrial branch. „Most companies in the glass and ceramic industries are expecting a stable development with a moderate growth of revenues,“ the Association’s president Petr Mazzolini said.

There are 108 glass companies and 34 ceramic companies with more than 20 employees each in the Czech Republic today. These companies employ more than 21 thousand people. In 2013, the net sales amounted to 1,48 billion euros while the direct export represented 1,1 billion euros from this sum.

There were many changes observed during the past six years, Czech companies have gained new contracts and just now, they are developing new technologies and capacities. Czech glass companies want that the obligation to recycle flat glass to be introduced as soon as possible.

„A lot of glass is being brought to the dumps where it can’t disintegrate,“ Mazzolini warned. „We want the glass to be regarded for as worthful raw material as biological waste, for example.“

The participants in the meeting pointed out the fact that the Czech Republic has a too high energy intensity of the economy in comparison with the EU average and this situation has to be changed in the glass industry as well.