What Glassec Viracon does

Glassec Viracon is a Brazilian architectural glass fabricator founded in 1991 and headquartered in Nazaré Paulista, São Paulo. The company manufactures custom-processed architectural glass including insulating glass, laminated safety glass, tempered and heat-strengthened glass, silk-screen printed glass, and bird-friendly glass. Its production is anchored by an in-house complete laboratory — the only one in Brazil — exclusive Heat Soak Test (HST) equipment for eliminating spontaneous NiS breakage, a horizontal tempering furnace unique in Brazil delivering planimetry 90% above standards, and the proprietary iLook scanner for planimetry quality control. The company holds exclusive technology and holds compliance with ABNT standards NBR 7199, 14698, 14718, and 16918.

Glassec Viracon became a multinational in 2011 when it partnered with North American Viracon (an Apogee Group subsidiary), enabling international market qualification and shared technology transfer. The company serves enterprise customers across real estate development (Facces Jardins by Helbor, Yachthouse by Pininfarina, Faria Lima Plaza, ITower, Edifício Rubens Parada, Galeria Laguna), sports venues (Arena MRV in Belo Horizonte), healthcare (Centro de Ensino e Pesquisa Albert Einstein, Eco Medical Center), and hospitality (Le Parc Hotel in Ecuador). Its operating geography spans Brazil, additional South American markets (Ecuador, Colombia, Argentina, Uruguay), Central America, North America, and select Asia Pacific and Oceania markets.

Revenue is generated primarily through one-time custom project sales with quote-based, project-specific pricing. The go-to-market is sales-led with regional sales representatives covering SP, DF&GO, and PR&SC, an inside sales team for project coordination, and WhatsApp Business as a direct engagement channel. The company targets architects and engineering firms alongside developers and institutional buyers, providing technical specifications, photovoltaic performance data, and code compliance guidance as part of the sale. Distribution is direct-to-customer with no channel intermediaries.

Name

Glassec Viracon

Legal name

GlassecViracon

Website

https://glassecviracon.com.br

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Glassec Viracon is a Brazilian architectural glass fabricator founded in 1991 and subsidiary of Apogee Group, manufacturing custom insulating, laminated, tempered, silk-screen, and bird-friendly glass for real estate, healthcare, sports, and hospitality projects across South America and selected international markets.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Architectural Glass Manufacturing

NAICS

Glass Product Manufacturing Made of Purchased Glass (327215)

SIC

Glass Products, Made Of Purchased Glass (3231)

akta.pro primary industry

Glass Fabrication & Processing Services (Cutting/Edging/Drilling/Polishing) (IMADAHAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Tempered & Heat-Strengthened Safety Glass (IMADAHAD), Laminated Safety & Security Glass (PVB/SGP) (IMADAHAE), Low‑E, Solar Control & Energy-Efficient Coated Glass (IMADAHAF)

Keywords

• Architectural glass manufacturing
• Laminated safety glass
• Tempered glass processing
• Insulating glass units
• Silk-screen printed glass

Headquarters

HQ city

Nazaré Paulista

HQ country

Brazil

HQ region

Latin America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Custom Glass Processing and Sales: One-time product sales of custom-processed architectural glass including insulating, laminated, tempered, heat-strengthened, silk-screen printed, and bird-friendly glass. Products are custom-manufactured to project specifications.
2. Quality Testing Services: Heat Soak Test (HST) service offered separately for tempered glass to prevent spontaneous breakage.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

GlassecViracon is an architectural glass fabricator that custom-manufactures insulating, laminated safety, tempered and heat-strengthened, silk-screen printed, and bird-friendly glass for commercial, residential, healthcare, education, sports and hospitality building projects. All glass types share common processing capabilities (tempering, laminating, insulating, silk-screen printing) and are produced to project specifications, with complementary services such as Heat Soak Test (HST) and photovoltaic performance data delivery.

Product overview

Glassec Viracon is a glass processing company offering a portfolio of architectural glass products including insulating glass (vidro insulado), laminated safety glass (vidro laminado), tempered and heat-strengthened glass (vidro temperado e termoendurecido), silk-screen printed glass (vidro serigrafado), and bird-friendly glass. The company operates as a single-product-line manufacturer where all glass types share common processing capabilities and can be combined in hybrid configurations such as insulated laminated, laminated tempered, and silk-screen printed variants. Quality assurance is provided through proprietary systems including the iLook scanner and optional Heat Soak Test (HST) service for tempered glass.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Vidro Insulado (Insulating Glass) Double or triple-glazed units composed of two or more glass panes separated by a hermetically sealed spacer, providing thermal and acoustic insulation for commercial and residential buildings. Reduces up to 75% of heat transfer and can be configured as insulated, insulated laminated, laminated insulated, double laminated insulated, or triple insulated variants. Targeted at construction and real estate developers, architects and engineers specifying high-performance facades.
• Vidro Laminado de Segurança (Laminated Safety Glass) Safety glass composed of two or more glass panes bonded with PVB or SentryGlas interlayers, providing high UV protection, acoustic performance and preventing glass from detaching upon breakage to reduce injury risk. Available in functional, structural and acoustic interlayer variants. Used in facades, guardrails, healthcare and education facilities, and stadium projects.
• Vidro Temperado e Termoendurecido (Tempered and Heat-Strengthened Glass) Thermally treated glass produced through controlled heating and rapid cooling. Tempered glass offers up to 5x more resistance than regular glass and shatters into small, less harmful pieces; heat-strengthened glass offers up to 2.5x resistance with controlled crack propagation. Used across facades, doors, partitions, and as input to laminated and insulating configurations.
• Vidro Serigrafado (Silk-Screen Printed Glass) Glass decorated through screen-printing technology, allowing application of custom patterns, colors and designs. All silk-screen printed glass is tempered or heat-strengthened and can be incorporated into insulating and laminated configurations for enhanced aesthetics and privacy. Targeted at architects and developers seeking design flexibility.
• Bird-Friendly Glass Specialty glass designed to minimize bird collisions with glass facades, achieving up to 94% efficiency in preventing bird strikes. A sustainable alternative balancing urban development with environmental impact reduction, available in various patterns and motifs. Targeted at environmentally certified (LEED/EDGE) commercial and institutional projects.
• Heat Soak Test (HST) Thermal test that eliminates approximately 99% of spontaneous-breakage risk in tempered glass caused by nickel sulfide (NiS) contamination, offered with a 10-year warranty against spontaneous breakage. Available only at GlassecViracon in Brazil; used by developers, sports venues and high-occupancy public buildings.
• Dados Foto Energéticos (Photovoltaic Performance Data) Technical data service providing detailed photovoltaic performance specifications for reference products. Architects and engineers request energy performance data for use in project specifications, LEED/EDGE certification and facade engineering documentation.

Quantifiable outcome

• Reduces up to 75% of heat transfer compared to laminated or monolithic glass
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• ViraconcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011North American multinational Viracon partnered with Glassec in 2011, transforming Glassec into a multinational corporation. Viracon has performed Heat Soak Test since 1988. This partnership enables international market qualification and technology sharing.
• Apogee GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlassecViracon belongs to the Apogee group, responding to US legislation with rigorous quality audits. The company follows Apogee's Code of Ethics and Conduct policies.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Cebrace: Brazilian flat-glass joint venture between Saint-Gobain and AGC, supplying raw float glass to fabricators including GlassecViracon. Functions primarily as an upstream supplier in the Brazilian glass value chain rather than a direct competitor in fabrication services.

Broad incumbents

• Guardian Glass: Global float-glass manufacturer with commercial activity across Latin America, producing coated, tempered, laminated, and insulating architectural glass. Competes with GlassecViracon for premium architectural projects in Brazil and other LatAm markets, with the added advantage of captive raw-glass supply.
• Vitro: Mexican glass manufacturer with architectural glass products serving Latin America. Comparable product portfolio (tempered, laminated, insulating, coated) and similar regional footprint; overlaps with GlassecViracon's international-project ambitions across LatAm markets.
• CR Laurence (C.R. Laurence Co.): US-based supplier of architectural glass, hardware, and glazing systems, serving commercial and residential construction. Comparable end-customer base (architects, glaziers, developers) and overlapping product categories in fabricated architectural glass and accessories, though broader portfolio.
• Apogee Enterprises: Parent company of GlassecViracon (via Viracon) and a publicly traded US architectural glass and framing conglomerate. Provides strategic and regulatory context; Apogee's broader portfolio across glass, metal, and installation services frames GlassecViracon's positioning within a multinational architectural-envelope group.
• AGC Glass Brasil: Brazilian operations of AGC, a major global glass manufacturer. Through the Cebrace joint venture, AGC produces flat glass for the Brazilian market and offers fabricated architectural glass products, competing with GlassecViracon on tempered, laminated, and insulating glass specifications.
• Pilkington Brasil (NSG Group): Brazilian subsidiary of NSG Group / Pilkington, producing float glass and fabricated architectural glass products. Provides comparable tempered, laminated, and insulating glass SKUs to commercial and residential developers, with multinational scale advantages versus GlassecViracon.
• Saint-Gobain Glass Brasil: Brazilian arm of global building-products giant Saint-Gobain, offering flat glass, coated glass, and fabricated architectural glass products. Competes with GlassecViracon on insulating, laminated, and solar-control SKUs across commercial and residential construction, with substantially greater upstream integration.

Regional players

• Cristais São Marcos: Brazilian glass manufacturer and fabricator based in São Paulo state, producing tempered, laminated, and insulating glass for the domestic construction market. Competes regionally with GlassecViracon on similar SKUs but without the international project portfolio or Apogee/Viracon regulatory backing.

Direct peers

• Viracon: North American architectural glass fabricator and partner/sister company within the Apogee Group since 2011. Viracon performs Heat Soak Testing (since 1988) and serves the same end markets — high-rise commercial facades, healthcare, education, and sports venues — using comparable tempering, laminating, and insulating capabilities.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/watch?v=PJHFGA04P-I&ab_channel=GlassecViracon
• Facebookfacebook.com/GlassecViracon
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/glassecviracon/?originalSubdomain=br
• Instagraminstagram.com/glassecviraconvidros
• Xx.com/glassecviracon

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Glassec Viracon