Former Russian units of Guardian to operate under Larta Glass brand

ROSTOV. Sept 13 (Interfax) - The former Russian divisions of Guardian Glass, which were bought by FSK Group principal shareholder and president Vladimir Voronin in July, will operate under the Larta Glass brand, the company said.

The rebranding will include changing the company's name, logo and website.

"The goal was not only to create a concise and recognizable brand on the glass market, but also to stress our commitment to the values thanks to which we have successfully developed the business in Russia over 15 years, becoming one of the leaders," Larta Glass marketing director Maxim Koldyshev was quoted as saying in the press release.

The new name sounds the same in Russian and English and has an easy transliteration, he said. "We are now working on the fonts, logos, identity, developing the new site," Koldyshev said.

The company has already worked out the names for its product line: Lartapro (formerly SunGuard) for architectural glass, Lartahome (formerly ClimaGuard) for window glass, Decolart (formerly DecoCristal) for decorative glass, and Larta Mirror for mirrors.

Voronin bought the Russian plate glass business of U.S. company Guardian Glass at the end of July for an undisclosed sum. Guardian Industries, a world leader in plate glass production, decided to exit its Russian assets on April 22.

Guardian Glass Russia LLC, registered in July 2005, was Guardian Industries' first Russian factory. It produces up to 800 tonnes of plate glass per day.

Guardian Glass Rostov LLC (Larta Glass Rostov LLC as of September 9), was registered in January 2009 and launched plate glass production in 2012. It can produce about 900 tonnes of glass per day.