Viridian glass manufacturing from CSR

Viridian, the newly formed glass manufacturing business of CSR Ltd, will have a fresh way of working with its customers, inspired by looking at the glass manufacturing industry from 21st Century perspectives and carefully responding to the market's needs.

Created through CSR's acquisition and merger of Pilkington (Australia and New Zealand) and DMS Glass in 2007, Viridian will be a company that is defined by its technical leadership, high-quality innovative products, value for money, and excellent customer service. The business will also be a leader in the manufacture and promotion of a new world of more energy-efficient and sustainable glass products, helping to conserve energy in tune with society's 21st Century expectations.

Future success, however, is not something that Viridian takes for granted - the company's ongoing strength must be founded on individually tailored relationships with a vast network of glass, glazing, fabricator, architecture, and building professionals, from the smallest suburban joinery firms to the largest bulk suppliers.

Viridian has been structured especially to respond to changing market needs while also playing a leadership role in conjunction with other building industry stakeholders.

"We've researched our customers' needs and fine-tuned Viridian's business units accordingly, taking into account customers' desires for rapid delivery turnaround times and the highest-quality product," says John Hodgkinson, CSR Executive General Manager Performance Systems Group.

In an effort to meet customers' day-to-day needs the company has established straightforward Commercial and Residential marketing teams, in turn split into Interior and Exterior specialists. Sales and Operations are set to be aligned on a similar basis. "What this means for customers is a more refined and relevant link between what we provide through our products and services, and the customers' individual needs - it's a very positive step and one that reflects our successful practice in other building products sectors." The market can expect greater sophistication in the advice and product guidance offered to purchasers, specifiers and builders.

Customers will also appreciate that Viridian features the most progressive and extensive glass manufacturing and processing capabilities in Australasia, all designed to deliver the highest-quality product lines available anywhere in our region. This capability will be further enhanced over the next three years with the significant investment in new production and processing capability, at its major production site in Victoria and throughout the Australian and NZ processing and distribution network.

Viridian, as the largest architectural glass manufacturer and supplier in Australasia, has an ambition to play a pivotal role in the way glass is created, transported, specified, and used in buildings. Backed by the energetic and visionary support of CSR Ltd, Viridian has harnessed the resources and resolve required to lead the growth of the Australasian glass industry into the next decade and beyond.

Viridian's customers are becoming increasingly specialised in their fabrication needs and service delivery expectations, faced by ever-increasing pressures from competing markets, stricter quality control requirements, as well as faster turnaround schedules.

"We know the commercial pressures that now exist and we have structured Viridian to respond directly to our customers' needs... today and into the future."

Mr Hodgkinson acknowledges that the glass industry "has never before been so primed for change, driven by demand for more sustainable long-term building practices, regulatory reform in many sectors, and a growing public appreciation that advanced glazing solutions can offer the unique aesthetic qualities of glass combined with physical properties not conventionally associated with glass: physical resilience against the elements and intruders, insulation against noise, and a broad range of thermal efficiency levels and energy-efficient design options which present tangible energy savings to building owners and occupants."

Existing Pilkington and DMS product lines will be continued, though clients will notice a range of name changes, reorganised by benefit category, and with previously duplicated products rationalised.

"Overall, we can sum up the improvements that we are putting in place as: better communication, better technologies and a greater focus on meeting the specific demands of separate industry segments," Mr Hodgkinson says.