AGC to Increase Production Capacity of Solar Control Low-E Glass in Thailand

          Asahi Glass Co., Ltd. (AGC) announces that it will increase its production capacity of solar control Low-E glass in Thailand by 50%. The investment will not only enhance the production efficiency of the facility, but also allow the production of higher-performance glass products. The production will begin at the Samut Prakan Plant of AGC Flat Glass Thailand Public Co., Ltd. (AFT) in the first quarter of 2016.

          As the construction boom continues in Southeast Asia, improvement of energy efficiency has become one of key issues for large buildings due to increasing fuel imports and power shortages while air conditioning is used to cool buildings throughout the year. There is a rapidly growing demand for solar control Low-E glass which increases cooling efficiency and contributes to reducing energy use.

          AGC will boost the production capacity of solar control Low-E glass at AFT by 50% to ensure a sufficient supply of the products to meet the demand in Southeast Asia. The investment will also enable AFT to manufacture double-silver-coated Low-E glass in addition to single-silver-coated Low-E glass. The double-silver-coating improves solar control performance while maintaining the level of visible light transmission, thereby enabling "bright windows with good heat-shielding performance."

          AFT thus will become the first manufacturer in Southeast Asia to have an integrated manufacturing process. AFT will respond to the future demand increase and the need for Low-E glass with improved solar control performance, and contribute to the energy efficiency of buildings in Southeast Asia.

          This investment will:
          -increase the production capacity of Low-E glass at AFT by 50% to respond to the product demand in Southeast Asia;
          -improve the production efficiency of the facility;
          -enable production of glass products with superior solar control performance; and
          -enable integrated manufacturing. This will be the first plant in Southeast Asia to manufacture float glass and complete double-silver-coating process within the same premises.

          AGC will continue to capture the expanding demand in the emerging countries and aim to increase sales under the management policy "AGC plus."

          About Asahi Glass Co., Ltd. (AGC)
          Head Office: Tokyo
          President & CEO: Takuya Shimamura