GW-News: How does the quality demanded in Canada for facades, windows and insulating compare with the high standards in Western Europe?
Val Voznyi: In some cases, European standards are higher than in North America. However, the Canadian quality requirements and standards are also high and require many companies with the latest equipment and technology. One of the recent examples is new building codes for bird-friendly glass, which created the demand for new technology and equipment.
Also, the Canadian climate with much colder winters and hot summers in some of the urban areas of the plains and around the Great Lakes make it more or less necessary to adhere to much higher standards of insulation than what some US suppliers have been able to provide.
Pilkington
GW-News: In your opinion, which regions in Canada would be interesting for European suppliers to establish sales offices?
Val Voznyi: Usually, the most populated province of Ontario attracts the attention of international suppliers with a lot of opportunities to start and develop business in Canada, especially with Toronto being the fifth largest city in North America. Recently, I have been receiving new requests from European and Asian companies to sell their products such as glass, tools, hardware and others. Canada is seen more as a separate market and different from the US. In addition, some companies may find Canada as a good bridge to North America – quite safe and predictable. We will track what happens next, but many changes are already irreversible, and we need to find a way to adjust to them and to use them as opportunities.
GW-News: If a large part of Canada’s glass production comes from the US, the recent tariffs will make it much more expensive. What opportunities will this create for suppliers from Europe?
Val Voznyi: Yes, the prices will go up in any case with the most glass supply from the US, even though the Canadian government acts wisely avoiding retaliation tariffs on critical imports from the US that Canada doesn’t produce itself. This includes float glass. However, despite the flexible Canadian policy and keeping Canadian tariffs down, the price of the glass in the US will inevitably increase. We saw a very similar effect during the Covid pandemic and the effect it had on supply chains: The supply of glass to North America was limited, which immediately affected availability and prices. Now – with unpredictable tariff policies – a similar outcome is to be expected. And some of the damage has been already done – whether the US and Canadian governments impose tariffs or not. Glass suppliers will try to mitigate risks and loss by increasing their prices. As a result, many Canadian glass fabricators will try to source the glass from other countries. In addition, I receive more and more feedback from Canadian companies unwilling or openly reluctant to buy US products whether it is machinery, tools or float glass. So, obviously suppliers from other countries have many opening opportunities in the Canadian market.
The questions were asked by Malte Forstat and Matthias Rehberger
Richard Johnson
