Elena Rassudimova:
We are looking to the future with optimism
“In Guardian, we share the vision – to create value for our customers and society. And this is not just about what we do, but also how and why we do it. Glass production is not just our business, but also our passion, our commitment to constantly innovate to improve the value we create”, said Elena Rassudimova, General Manager of Guardian Glass in Russia & CIS in an interview with Capital Ideas.
How did Guardian start? When did the world famous American company Guardian enter the Russian market and why? Localization of production for Guardian is not just a buzzword. The company, as far as I known, has two Russian facilities…
Guardian has started in Russia in 2002 with opening a representative office, responsible for sales of glass, produced by Guardian factories in Europe. However, over the time, we noticed a growing demand for energy efficient glazing in Russia in the absence of sufficient production capacity. In this regard, Guardian has decided to localize glass production in Russia and in 2008 started production at its first plant in Ryazan. Our investments in the construction of the plant amounted to around 200 million euros. In 2009 we faced a significant drop in glass demand in Russia caused largely by the financial crisis. Nevertheless, we have successfully managed to overcome all the difficulties by building and maintaining strong relationships with our customers, providing them with high quality services and timely support.
In 2012 we continued our expansion into Russia with launching the second plant in Krasny Sulin (Rostov-on-Don) – the largest Guardian Glass plant with the highest capacity to-date.
What products do these plants in Russia produce?
Guardian Glass in Russia produces float glass, mirror and coated glass. Coated glass is float glass with special low-e (low emissivity) or solar controlcoating. Coated glass can make residential facilitiesand commercial buildings more comfortable and energy efficient through application of microscopic coatings of precious metals (ex. silver), to the glass, which effectively keeps the heat in winter indoors and reflects the sun’s heatwhile simultaneously allows an optimal sunlight penetration.
The most popular Guardian products are: Guardian ClimaGuard and Guardian SunGuard coated glass. ClimaGuard is the coated glass for window units with excellent characteristicsthat help to effectively save energy and create a comfortable environment inside residential facilities. SunGuard is a high-performance energy-efficient architectural glass, available in a variety of colours (from neutral to bronze),and is presented by the wide product lineallowing architects to meet a project’sperformance and aesthetic requirements.
Where is the unique glass produced by the company used, who are your customers in Russia? To which countries is glass manufactured at Russian plants going?
Our product range includes more than 25 energy-efficient, solar protection, high performance, high quality coated glass products for residential and commercial applications. You can find Guardian ClimaGuard at your homes and flats. Guardian SunGuard coated glass is used for glazing of business centers, airports, stations, residential complexes, shopping centers. More than 10.000 construction projects around the country and around the world use Guardian Glass. Glass, produced at our Russian plants, and can be seen in facilities in Sochi, sports facilities of the World Football Cup, in Moscow City complex and in many other outstanding architectural projects.
Our main direct customers are window companies and IGU (insulating glass unit) producing companies. We also have a whole team of architectural project managers who communicate with architects and facade companies. We provide them with the most modern tools and programs to help architects and designers develop and create various projects withthe use of glass.
The vast majority of production is supplied to customers in Russia. However, we also export our products to other countries, mainly to Turkey, EU and Ukraine, depending on the needs of our customers. Our products are of a high demand both in Russia and abroad since thecustomers value the quality of our glass and the services we provide (technical recommendations, calculations, etc).
How do Guardian Russia & CIS look tomorrow: with anxiety, with fears or with optimism?
Surely, we are looking to the future with optimism. In Guardian, we share the vision – to create value for our customers and society. And this is not just about what we do, but also how and why we do it. Glass production is not just our business, but also our passion, our commitment to constantly innovate to improve the value we create. Our company is at the forefront of research and development, responsible for the creation of innovative, energy efficient glass solutions. This makes us the one of the world’s leadingglass producers.
