Vitro is one of the biggest glassmakers in the world, with annual sales of around US$2.6BN in 2007, 47% of which was generated by the company's flat glass business unit. This equates to US$1.2BN of flat glass sales, an increase of 5.4% over the year. While this appears impressive, Vitro's flat glass business operates in challenging market situations. While business is good at home and throughout South America, Vitro is experiencing more challenging conditions internationally, especially in the US A, a country that accounts for a large proportion of its flat glass sales. In this article Vitro's Flat Glass President, Hugo Lara, talks about how this aspect of the business has performed and why France was chosen as the ideal location for its latest acquisition.
