Belron
 | |
Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Automotive |
| Founded | 1897 as Jacobs & Dandor in Cape Town, South Africa (1897) |
| Headquarters | , United Kingdom |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Carlos Brito (CEO) |
| Owner | D'Ieteren |
Number of employees | 30,000 |
| Website | belron.com |
Belron International Limited is a British-South African vehicle glass repair, recalibration and replacement group[1] operating worldwide across 42 countries and employing over 30,000 people.[2] It is headquartered in Egham in the United Kingdom.
The company operates from around 3,500 locations with a fleet of approximately 11,000 mobile service vehicles, and trades under 17 brands globally.[3]
Brands
Belron's brands include Carglass in most of Europe; Safelite in the United States; Autoglass in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Poland; Lebeau and Speedy Glass in Canada; O'Brien AutoGlass in Australia; and Smith & Smith in New Zealand.[3]
History
Belron was first founded as a family business in 1897 as Jacobs & Dandor in Cape Town, South Africa.[4] The company was purchased and renamed Plate Glass Bevelling and Silvering in 1899.[5] In 1917, City Glass Bevelling & Silvering Works bought Plate Glass; the companies were merged in 1919 and went ahead to gain success in the windscreen industry by securing the business rights to the curved windscreen production technology in 1953 and introducing laminated rear windows in 1958.[6]
The company began its international expansion in 1971, starting with the acquisition of O’Brien in Australia.[7]
International expansion continued with the acquisition of UK companies Autoglass and Windshields, which merged as Autoglass Windshields in 1983.[8]
In 1990, international acquisitions were grouped together under the name Belron.[9][6]
In 2007, Belron acquired US market leader Safelite.[10][11]
Gary Lubner was named CEO of Belron in 2000;[12][13] both his father and grandfather had also led the business.[14][15]
In 2025, Belron (50.3% owned by D'Ieteren[16]) reported total sales of €6.72 billion, an increase of 4.1% on the previous year.[17]
References
- ^ Bowman, Abby (2025-06-12). "Belron Sees Mobile Recalibration and Increase in Cash Jobs Ahead". glassBYTEs.com. Retrieved 2026-04-24.
- ^ "Discover Belron | Belron ®". www.belron.com. Retrieved 2026-04-24.
- ^ a b "Our Business and Brands | Belron ®". www.belron.com. Retrieved 2026-04-24.
- ^ Caproasia (2026-04-17). "UK Vehicle Glass Company Belron Plans Amsterdam IPO in 2026 2H at $35.5 Billion (€30 Billion) Valuation, Founded in 1897 by Jacobs & Dandor in South Africa, Belgium $12 Billion D'Ieteren Group is Majority Shareholder of Belron | Caproasia". Retrieved 2026-04-24.
- ^ "Belron - Products, Competitors, Financials, Employees, Headquarters Locations". www.cbinsights.com. Retrieved 2026-04-24.
- ^ a b "Our heritage | Belron ®". www.belron.com. Retrieved 2026-04-24.
- ^ Nguyen, Anna (2024-03-01). "Celebrating Our 100-Year Journey at O'Brien®". O'Brien. Retrieved 2026-04-24.
- ^ ""It's a Market We'll Come Back to"". glassbytes.com. Retrieved 2026-04-24.
- ^ Amat, Marc (2025-04-16). ""Carglass changes, Carglass repairs": Where did the windshield giant come from?". Ara in English. Retrieved 2026-04-24.
- ^ admin (2007-03-04). "Two Giant Glass Repair Firms Become One as Belron Acquires Safelite". Insurance Journal. Retrieved 2026-04-24.
- ^ "Auto-Glass Merger Announced". Auto Service World. 2007-02-07. Retrieved 2026-04-24.
- ^ Candice Krieger (May 12, 2011). "The Windscreen Repair Boss Who Has Cracked It". The Jewish Chronicle.
- ^ Hogg, Alec (2016-06-08). "Belron CEO Gary Lubner: Building world's automotive glass leader, Proudly SA roots". BizNews. Retrieved 2026-04-24.
- ^ "Bertie Lubner Passes Away", April 18, 2016, Jenna Reed, GlassBytes.com
- ^ "Power 100 2013: Gary Lubner", Jeremy Kuper, June 4, 2013, "The South African"
- ^ "D'Ieteren Group - Our businesses: Belron". D’Ieteren Group. Retrieved 2026-04-24.
- ^ "D'IETEREN GROUP - FULL-YEAR 2025 RESULTS". D’Ieteren Group. Retrieved 2026-04-24.