The drastic drop in real estate investments and difficulties in area of banking loans will lead to a drop of up to 50 percent this year on the double-glaze window and door market. This construction material segment enjoyed the most explosive growth since 1990, according to players in the field. In these conditions, the insulated glass window and door market will reach some €500 million by the end of 2009, close to the 2004 level, after registering a record high in 2007, of €1 billion. “It is very difficult to estimate what will happen by the end of the year, but we have considered five crisis scenarios, of which the most pessimistic involves a 50 percent drop in sales. It is possible that the market will recover as of 2010, following the unblocking of loans, although based on the analysis of previous economic crises the market recovers only one year after banks relax access to lending,” according to a declaration for Business Standard by Aurel Vlaicu, General Manager of the Gealan Romanian PVC product producer, one of the local market leaders. Although employer unions were expecting stagnation of the market in September to the 2007 level, in the last three months of 2008 companies faced significant drops, of over 25 percent, driving the market value by the end of last year to an estimated €600-700 million. “Based on our estimates, the market will drop 50 percent this year, and the main objective of companies operating on this segment will be to reduce costs,” said Pavel Ivanov, General Manager of Austroplast Profile, who added that sales for real estate projects made up some 70 percent of the total. At present, there are some 1,500 producers of double-glazed windows and doors. Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) products make up 70 percent, while those of aluminium claim 10 percent, and wood the remainder of the total market. (G.S.)
