Investors

In 2025, the architectural glass market was quiet due to the slowdown in the residential and commercial construction glass markets. Owing to the weakened market outlook and ongoing economic uncertainty, customers continued to be cautious about investments. The US tariff situation and uncertainty about trade policy also caused uncertainty in the business environment, especially in the US. Political recovery programs were expected in key markets in the EMEA region, such as Austria and Germany. In the APAC region, demand on the market for architectural glass remained poor.

The softness in the construction market was reflected in the demand for tempering lines. Demand for tempering lines is mainly capacity-based and there was no significant need for additional capacity. Tempering market activity was relatively low in all market areas, though recovery was observed in the Middle East towards the end of the year. Demand for laminating lines was low.

Demand for insulating glass machines was affected by the unfavorable development of the key economic indicators related to architectural glass and the general slowdown in the market. Investments in insulating glass are accelerated by the need to increase automation and improve the energy efficiency of buildings, but as the economic indicators related to architectural glass were weak, many investments were postponed.

Thanks to the electrification of transport, the Chinese vehicle market was relatively active throughout 2025. However, China’s investment demand is largely driven by the expectation of selling electric cars to a significant extent outside China. Tariffs and related uncertainty increase unpredictability in the market and cause fluctuations in demand. In the rest of the world, market activity was at a low level.

In China, demand for Glaston’s pre-processing machines continued but fell from an exceptionally high level in the previous year. Demand was supported by Glaston’s readiness to bring locally manufactured products to the market. Outside China, demand for preprocessing machines remained low.

In EMEA and APAC, demand for automotive glass heat treatment lines with versatile bending properties grew slowly.

The glass processing technology market is highly fragmented, with many small players manufacturing and selling machines and solutions to different parts of the flat glass processing chain.

The market can be divided into the high-end segment, mid-market segment and low performance segment in accordance with the customers’ quality and performance standards for the product. Glaston’s main addressable markets are the high-end and mid-market segment. Glaston estimates that in the high-end market segment, the customers have the highest requirements for machine capacity, uptime and services, as well as the highest quality requirements for the end product.

In the mid-market segment, the glass processors are usually regional or local processors and the quality requirements for the end product are lower than in the high-end segment.

Glaston’s main competitors are from Europe, China and Japan. For heat treatment equipment, Glaston’s main competitors are from China, for insulating glass equipment, the main competitors are from Central Europe and for automotive equipment, the main competitor is located in Japan.

In the Services business area, Glaston’s customer service network is the sector’s most extensive both geographically and in terms of personnel. There are more than 20 service locations. In addition, the service range provided by the Services business is the most comprehensive in the sector. Glaston’s comprehensive Glaston Care service agreements distinguish Glaston from its competitors. Maintenance services are available for every stage of the life cycle of products.