ClearVue Technologies has stamped a stronger footprint in the lucrative United States market after securing a new, local distributor for its solar integrated glass units (IGUs) through Colorado, Missouri and Arizona.
The five-year agreement will give distributor, 8G Solutions, the chance to grab exclusive distribution rights from August next year, depending on its success in establishing a foothold for ClearVue’s products.
8G will have an intimate knowledge of its new partner’s operations as its chief executive officer Chuck Mowrey is also a non-executive director of ClearVue. It will work in concert with Florida-based Advanced Impact Technologies, which last year signed a two-year manufacturing and distribution agreement with ClearVue.
West Perth-based ClearVue previously extended its reach into the US in November 2021 through a five-year manufacturing and distribution deal with Philadelphia glass company, Graboyes. That deal offered Graboyes exclusive rights in Pennsylvania to manufacture and distribute ClearVue’s photovoltaic (PV) solar glazing components and its smart facade system to fabricate self-powered autonomous panels.
The new agreement with 8G comes just days after ClearVue revealed it had secured a new distributor for the African market in South Africa, Botswana and Lesotho.
This agreement strengthens our presence in the US, our primary market for growth, and builds on our growing network of manufacturers and distributors throughout the US including previously appointed AIT Group in Florida and Massachusetts, and Graboyes in Pennsylvania. This agreement also rapidly follows the recent appointments of new distributors in Israel and South Africa, further demonstrating the growing global need for ClearVue’s renewable energy solutions, proven to improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions. ClearVue Technologies chief executive officer Martin Deil
8G’s exclusivity performance criteria will relate to the number of IGUs it can sell, in addition to it beginning the design and construction of one or more demonstration projects using at least 500 square metres of ClearVue’s photovoltaic PV IGU products. There is also a further requirement to sell 20,000sq m of IGU glazing in the first year, at least 50,000sq m in the second year and increasing incrementally each year up to 80,000sq m in the fifth year of the deal.
The agreement could be extended to two further five-year extensions, which would require the payment of a licence renewal fee of US$200,000 (AU$265,000).
8G, formerly known as JPI Glass, was founded in 1984 as a glazing contractor in Kansas City, Missouri. It was purchased by STM Invest in late 2016.
In May 2019, STM hired Mowrey, who is a former president and chief executive officer of Harmon – a company specialising in building facade projects – to lead 8G.
ClearVue says 8G has projects – including curtain walls and façades, window walls, storefronts, entrances, windows, structural glass walls, handrails, interior glazing and metal panels – typically ranging in value from between US$2million (AU$3.05 million) to US$15 million (AU$22.89 million). Its target markets include education, healthcare, government, museum, airport and corporate arenas.
Mowrey says the increasing regulatory environment across the US and the need for sustainable solutions creates a significant market for ClearVue’s products. He believes widespread adoption of the company’s technology into new US buildings is a “no-brainer” on the back of the recent creation of the US Inflation Reduction Act.
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