We were originally formed under the name “Andina Acquisition Corporation”
for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share
purchase, recapitalization, reorganization or other similar business combination
with one or more businesses or entities. On March 22, 2012, we consummated our
initial public offering (the “IPO”), and on December 20, 2013, we
consummated our initial business combination (the “Merger”), whereby
our wholly-owned subsidiary merged with and into Tecnoglass Holding. As a result
of the Merger, Tecnoglass Holding and its indirect, wholly-owned subsidiaries,
Tecnoglass and ES, became our direct and indirect subsidiaries. Accordingly,
the business of Tecnoglass Holding and its subsidiaries became our business.
We are now a holding company operating through our direct and indirect subsidiaries.
We are a leading manufacturer of hi-spec architectural glass and windows for
the western hemisphere residential and commercial construction industries, operating
through our direct and indirect subsidiaries. Headquartered in Barranquilla,
Colombia, we operate out of a 2.7 million square foot vertically-integrated,
state-of-the-art manufacturing complex that provides easy access to the Americas,
the Caribbean, and the Pacific.
The Company is a leading manufacturer of a variety of glass products installed
primarily in commercial and residential buildings, including tempered safety,
double thermo-acoustic and laminated glass. Tecnoglass products are installed
in hotels, residential buildings, commercial and corporate centers, universities,
airports and hospitals in a variety of applications such as floating facades,
curtain walls, windows, doors, handrails, interior and bathroom spatial dividers.
In 2015 Tecnoglass established its Solartec plant, to produce low emissivity
glass with high thermal insulation specifications using soft coat technology.
Tecnoglass also produces aluminum products such as profiles, rods, bars, plates
and other hardware used in the manufacture of windows. In 2007, Tecnoglass established
its Alutions plant in Barranquilla, Colombia for extrusion, smelting, painting
and anodizing processes, and for exporting, importing and marketing aluminum
products. The Alutions plant contributes all of the raw materials needed for
production of Tecnoglass aluminum products.
Glass Magazine ranked Tecnoglass as the second largest glass fabricator serving
the U.S. market in 2016. We believe that it is the leading glass transformation
company in Colombia, capturing 40% of the market share in the country by sales
and volume.
The Company is also a leader in the production of high-end windows, with more
than 33 years of experience in the glass and aluminum structure assembly market
in Colombia. The Company designs, manufactures, markets and installs architectural
systems for high, medium and low rise construction, glass and aluminum windows
and doors, office dividers and interiors, floating facades and commercial display
windows.
The Company has an important and dominant presence in the Florida market, which
has historically represented (and continues to represent) a substantial portion
of our total sales and backlog. The Company grew in the Florida market not only
through sustained organic growth, but also through the asset acquisitions of
Glasswall LLC and RC Aluminum, both in 2014, and the recent acquisition of ESW
(formerly a related party), which would reinforce our vertical integration strategy
and expansion strategy into U.S. markets. ES has expanded its U.S. sales outside
of the Florida market for windows, and into the high-tech market for curtain
walls, a product that is in high demand and we believe represents a new trend
in architecture, and floating façades. For example, it has been used
in El Dorado Airport (Bogotá), University of Baltimore Law School (Baltimore)
and Via 57 West (New York). Due to the sophistication of these new products,
we believe that we can generate higher margins through the sale of curtain walls
as compared to traditional window frames or floor-to-ceiling windows. Curtain
walls produced by the Company are composed of high performance materials produced
by Alutions, our aluminum smelting plant, and our glass treatment plant.
Vertical Integration
We believe we are unique in vertically integrating the purchase of raw materials,
the manufacture of glass and aluminum products and the subsequent production
and distribution of customized glass and windows for architectural and industrial
settings. By vertically integrating these functions, we are able to price our
products competitively while maintaining strict quality control measures to
guarantee the high quality of our products. Additionally, we benefit from significant
advantages in efficiency and time-to-market for new or customized products.
This vertically integrated model provides attractive margins with significant
operating leverage.
Ideally situated, with easy access to cost-efficient transport hubs
Our principal manufacturing facilities are located in Barranquilla, Colombia,
which is strategically located near three of the country’s major ports:
Barranquilla, Cartagena and Santa Marta. These ports, which are no more than
two hours’ drive from each other, provide us with maritime access to all
major markets globally. The Barranquilla port is just 16 kilometers away from
our production facilities, and shipping to Miami’s main port is a three-day
journey, six days to New York and 11 days to Los Angeles (through the Panama
Canal). Our location provides a significant competitive advantage in light of
the relatively low cost of shipping our products from Barranquilla to the U.S.
(particularly Florida) as compared to our main competitors located elsewhere,
even including our competitors located in Midwest U.S. In addition to very positive
impact on cost structure, our strategic location allows us to be more responsive
to our customers’ requirements.
High Barriers to Entry
Entry into many of the markets that we serve is limited due to the technical
certifications required on high specification building projects such as IGCC,
IqNet Icontec 14001 and ISO9001. Our success in those markets is due in large
part to our ability to produce sophisticated products, the breadth of our product
offering and our reputation for delivering high quality, made-to-order architectural
glass on time. These factors are required to compete successfully for multimillion
dollar projects typical of our business. Given the vertically-integrated nature
of our operations, including the aluminum extrusion products provided by TG,
there is a more limited set of competitors and entry into these markets. In
addition, the equipment needed to operate in the glass and window industry is
expensive, requiring a significant upfront capital investment. In addition,
our ES Windows University provides training to our employees ensuring a dedicated
and loyal work force, giving us an advantage that potential competitors lack,
as they may not be able to bear the cost of providing similar training or retaining
similarly trained employees.
Our brands include Tecnoglass, ES Windows and Alutions. Our registered trademarks
include “Alutions by Tecnoglass” with the accompanying logo and
“Alutions”.