Gujarat Guardian Limited, a joint venture between Guardian Industries Corp. and Modi Rubber Limited, is one of India’s leading manufacturers of float, coated and mirror glass products. At its facility in Gujarat, Gujarat Guardian Limited produces high performance glass for use in exterior (both commercial and residential), interior architectural and automotive applications. You’ll find Gujarat Guardian Limited glass in homes, offices, cars, and some of India’s most iconic architectural landmarks. In conversation with their VP & CEO Divyendu Pundhir, we found out more about the brand and its application at some of India’s most iconic architectural landmarks:
Please provide an overview of Gujarat Guardian Limited’s core business areas and key products/services for our readers?
Divyendu Pundhir (DP): Gujarat Guardian Limited (GGL) has a rich history of pioneering achievements in the glass industry with many firsts. Gujarat Guardian Limited was the first one to build a float glass plant in India, introduced the first curtain coating mirror line, and in 2018, unveiled the state of art magnetron sputter coater. GuardianTM SunGuardTM energy efficient, low-E coated glass is designed to help meet the architectural and aesthetic challenges.
How has Gujarat Guardian Limited evolved since its inception, and what significant milestones has the company achieved under your leadership?
DP: The journey of Gujarat Guardian Limited has been shaped by experiences that prioritise culture, innovation, and the fusion of global best practices with local vision and entrepreneurship. This unique blend of experiences has paved the way for growth for Gujarat Guardian Limited. One of the remarkable aspects of Gujarat Guardian Limited success is its commitment to cultural and business transformation. By empowering individuals to adapt to change and fostering a bottom-up approach, where teams internalize a shared vision.
From the world’s tallest skyscraper, the Burj Khalifa, to the largest office building, the Surat Diamond Bourse, GuardianTM SunGuardTM architectural glass has graced iconic buildings. Can you please highlight the qualities of the product that made it the ultimate choice?
DP: GuardianTM SunGuardTM architectural glass graces some of the most iconic global and domestic structures. From the world’s tallest skyscraper, the Burj Khalifa, to the largest office building, the Surat Diamond Bourse, our glass solutions adorn architectural marvels worldwide. This underscores our organisations’ commitment to quality and innovation, making us as one of the leading players in the architectural glass landscape. Surat Diamond Bourse is the world’s largest office building, spread in 6.7 million square feet. It has the façade cladded with GuardianTM SunGuardTM DS Neutral 40 for the vision glazing and Solar Grey 33 for the spandrel glazing. GuardianTM SunGuardTM DS Neutral 40 was chosen for its good level of light transmission, solar control, and thermal insulation properties, but also for the reflected colour that gives the façade a strong character and GuardianTM SunGuardTM Solar Grey 33 complemented as a harmonized spandrel match. GuardianTM SunGuardTM ability to help minimise solar energy gain and maximise natural light transmission, while delivering unique visual options, can be adapted to virtually any application. This includes facades, curtain walls, conservatories, spandrels, windows, and doors. The possibilities are as endless as your imagination.
In your view, what sets Gujarat Guardian Limited apart from its competitors in the industry?
DP: Gujarat Guardian Limited stands out in the industry due to its unwavering commitment to advancing glass technology and exploring diverse applications. Recognizing that what worked in the past may no longer apply, we prioritize staying ahead of the curve by identifying trends early and embracing new approaches. Our commitment to introducing innovative architectural glass solutions reinforces our position as the preferred partner within the value chain. We encourage employees to tap into our extensive knowledge networks and leverage them effectively, enabling us to swiftly fine-tune transformational tools and processes to meet customer expectations.
At the heart of our innovation program is the Guardian Glass Science & Technology Center (STC). Here some of the finest minds in material science and engineering work tirelessly to uncover the possibilities of glass. Whether new coatings, processes, formulas or technologies, our team is dedicated to fulfilling the world’s ever-growing ambitions for glass. The STC even houses a full-size vacuum coater to accelerate new product design and development.
What is the company’s vision and mission, and how do you ensure that every employee aligns with these core values?
DP: We believe the role of business in society is to provide products and services that improve people’s lives. When we say people, we are referring to all constituencies who our efforts benefit. This includes our customers, suppliers, employees, communities and ultimately society. We support this belief through our vision to create virtuous cycles of mutual benefit. At the same time, we engage in continuous transformation seeking to become a preferred partner and constantly improving.
How can the GuardianTM SunGuardTM range of products contribute to more energy efficient buildings?
DP: Sacrificing components of an exciting, impactful design to increase a building’s energy efficiency is too often an unfortunate reality. And when the building design team is striving for the latest green building certification such as LEED, the degree of flexibility and creativity can narrow even further. GuardianTM SunGuardTM glass products provide a reliable solution, bridging the gap between performance and aesthetics. GuardianTM SunGuardTM glass contributes to creating comfortable interiors by helping reduce cooling expenses, while also offering architects the creative freedom to craft visually stunning and energy-efficient glazed facades. Whether reflecting the surroundings or showcasing interior activities GuardianTM SunGuardTM glass empowers architects to achieve both functionality and beauty in their building designs.
What is Gujarat Guardian Limited approach to stewardship?
DP: Each of us has a responsibility to act with integrity and be a good steward of our resources. We’re equally committed to not only helping customers meet these expectations, but to also advancing our Stewardship Vision to help people improve their lives by providing products and services they value and to do so responsibly while consuming fewer resources, while protecting our communities and the environment in the process. From reducing emissions at our facilities to improving the energy efficiency of our products, we’re 100% committed to this vision. By providing product and regionally specific documents and certifications such as Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) which communicate transparent information about the life-cycle environmental impact of our products and process, Gujarat Guardian Limited helps support builders, architects and consultants who strive to understand the embodied carbon profiles of the buildings they design through the products they specify. The goal is to provide them with the information needed to help them achieve credits in green building rating systems.