Glass price

How do we determine the price of glass?

The price of glass is determined by a couple of factors. First off, the raw material is gained from nature. Then they create glass from it by mixing it with salts and acids. This can be done in different shapes and colors. Every factor has its influence on the overall price.

For the development of glass, in principle, no energy is needed, which is why it is pretty stable. It will be going up in price though, because of the rising minimum wages to pay for energy costs. The production will be more expensive, but we do not know how much influence it will have yet.

Countries producing glass

Glass was found for the first time in Egypt, where nowadays a large part of the global production is still done. But since 2016 Press Glass is the largest producer in the world, who has their factory in Poland.

In the Netherlands there is also still an original glass factory, which mostly is in hands of the Belgians now. Now and in the future a lot of factories will disappear from the Netherlands, because for entrepreneurs, it is not really a fast way of making money.

In the 18^th century, this was a completely different story, but because of the competition this is changing globally. Worldwide more and more factories are closing, because the production is a lot cheaper in low-wage countries.

Facts about the raw material glass

1: The oldest glass factory in the Netherlands is from 1834, the Belgians had one in 1421.
2: It is one of the most solid raw materials in the world, because it takes thousands of years before even the slightest deformation can be visible. This is because of the high melting point of glass.
3: To make glass, acids and salts are used. This way they do not only create different layers, but also different colors, using a bit of coloring agent.
4: In Belgium more than 400.000 m² of glass is poured and melted to eventually create float glass.
5: The molten glass, known as drawn glass, was made only until 1979 in the Netherlands.
6: In the EU, over 70% of glass is recycled, all the while globally this figure is only just above 30%.
7: Glass is not only used for windows, but also for drinking glasses and jugs.
8: Crystal glass differs itself from other types of glass by containing a little bit of lead.
9: For the known glass statues quartz glass is used, which is very expensive because it is a lot harder to shape. It does, however, make for a beautiful glistening feature and a beautiful figurine in your cupboard.
10: Glass was made in Egypt around 1500 before Christ. The origin of glass might be a lot older, but there is unfortunately on documentation to prove this.

History of glass

The price of glass and glass in its generality goes way back in time. It was found around 1500 before Christ in Egypt’s nature. It seems like it would have appeared in nature and deserts even 5000 before Christ, but scientists say this has not been fully proven yet. In that time, glass was mainly used to prepare food. The glass was used as a pan back then.

The first clear glass came about around the year 100. Only then the real glass blowing was discovered in Syria and not much later the first drinking glasses were made. Only in 1970 the first windows were made with a double glazing, so people could save on their energy bills. Nowadays everybody has this type of glass, or even better glass like HR+++.

The future of glass

The glass price has been a stable price the last couple of years. We even saw it become a bit cheaper for people that buy this is large numbers.

Glass is one of the few raw materials that we will always need. Because it is made from a chemical process there will always be enough as well. This means that the prices only rise when the production becomes more expensive. This could be because of higher wages for personnel, because in theory, there is no energy used to create glass.

It is, however, the case that windows do need power to be created as it is different labor. It has to be cut using electricity and that can drive up the price when the price for gas and electricity goes up.

With the global crisis happening it could become very exciting what the price will be in the future. We will, however, only start noticing this in 2023. All countries in Europe are facing rising energy prices.

These are the expectations for 2022

The expectation is that this year, the price of wood will be increasing a lot as well. A lot of wood that is imported, comes from Russia. This country is now involved in a war and they will need more money. Next to that, in 2021 a large scarcity arose, because a lot of people started doing home projects. Scarcity always drives up the price a lot. This year we also increased the wood price by about 35%. It is transported over long distances. The gas prices are rising as well globally, which indirectly impacts the price of wood.