Xinyi opens solar glass production line in Tianjin

The glass maker expands northern China market focusing on float glass and solar glass.

Xinyi Glass Holdings Limited (“Xinyi Glass”), leading integrated high-quality float glass, solar glass, automobile glass and energy saving construction glass manufacturer, on Tuesday commenced trial run of its first solar glass production line at its production complex in Tianjin, Hebei Province, China. Mass production will begin in mid-May with a daily melting capacity of 500 tonnes. This is the first production line at the Group’s Tianjin production complex and also the largest and most advanced solar glass production line in Northeastern China.

Facing ever increasing demand for glass products from various industries, the Group is actively expanding its capacity in the Yangtze River Delta Region and Pearl River Delta Region. Moreover, the Group strategically established a production complex in Tianjin to boost its market share in China and enhance cost effectiveness.

Tianjin is the economic hub of the Bohai Sea Region and one of the major industrial bases in China, as well as an important port in Northern China for external trade. The new Tianjin production complex is therefore set to help the Group expand its customer base in Northeastern China, leveraging its technological, cost, transportation and export advantages, according to a Xinyi report.

Completion of the Tianjin production complex will also help the Group build a strong business network in the three major economic zones - Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta and Bohai Sea Region.

Via the Tianjin production complex, the Group will focus on the production of float glass and solar glass products. The Group will also expand its higher margin processed solar glass products business and will sell these products to solar module manufacturers directly. Moreover, three high quality float glass production lines with an aggregate daily melting capacity of 2,200 tonnes are being constructed in the production complex and are expected to commence production during the second and third quarter of this year.

The Tianjin production complex will occupy an area of approximately 1,000 acres. It will use cheaper and clean natural gas as fuel in order to enhance cost efficiency.

In addition, a float glass production line with a daily melting capacity of 900 tonnes at the Group’s Dongguan production complex has also been converted to use natural gas as a key fuel. Another three float glass production lines and one solar glass production line in Dongguan will subsequently be converted to operate on natural gas by the end of April this year.