Industry Facts and Figures

A float plant is highly capital intensive, typically costing around  $90 million to $190 million depening on size, location and product complexity. Once operational, it is designed to operate continuously, 365 days per year, throughout its life of between 10 and 15 years. Float lines are normally capable of several “lifetimes” following major ($25million to $65million) repair/upgrade programmes.

The economics of the continuous-flow float operation require a high capacity utilisation rate – typically above 70% – before a plant becomes profitable. Energy and raw material costs are significant. Glass is relatively heavy, making distribution costs significant; they typically represent around 10% to 15% of total costs.

In most cases, transport costs make it uneconomic for float glass to travel long distances by land. Typically, 200 km would be seen as the norm, and 600 km as the economic limit for most products, though this varies between markets. It is possible for float glass to be economically transported longer distances by sea provided additional road transportation is not required at both ends. This tends to favour float lines with local port access unless a local market is available for the line’s output.