Our Story

This is the story of AGC’s growth and evolution as a supplier of materials to support industrial and social development since its establishment as Japan’s first manufacturers of sheet glass.

● The history of our corporate management　
■ The history of our products and technologies

From 1907 to the 1950s
The 1960s and 1990s
2000s –

From 1907 to the 1950s

1907 ●Asahi Glass Co., Ltd. was established in Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture
	1909 ■Belgian hand-blown sheet glass manufacture begins. (The first of such production in Japan)
1914 ●The first shipment of sheet glass was exported to England
	1916 ■In-house production of soda ash, a key raw material for glass, begins.
1917 ●Headquarters was moved to Tokyo	1917 ■In-house production of soda ash, a key raw material for glass, begins.
1925 ●Shoko Glass Co., Ltd. was established in China as Asahi Glass’ first business outside Japan
	1928 ■Production of tempered glass and laminated glass begins.
1933 ●The Asahi Foundation for Chemical Industry Promotion (now the Asahi Glass Foundation) was established to commemorate our 25th anniversary	1933 ■Caustic soda production using the ammonia method begins.
1937 ●Stocks were listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchan
	1938 ■Production of tempered glass and laminated glass begins.
	1939 ■Production of refractory bricks begins at the Iho Plant.
1952 ●Concluded agreement to export caustic soda electrolysis equipment to Indonesia
	1954 ■Production of double-glazing units PairGlass™ begins.
1955 ●Received Deming Prize for quickly adopting quality management	1954 ■Manufacture of glass bulbs for television picture tubes begins.
1956 ●Glass manufacturing subsidiary was established in India, demonstrating progress in expanding internationally ahead of other Japanese companies	1956 ■Automotive glass business was launched on a full scale to respond to rapidly growing demand.
1957 ●Asahi Glass Scholarship Foundation was established to Commemorate our 50th anniversary

●AGC was founded in 1907 by Toshiya Iwasaki

■Mass production of flat glass using a Belgian method of producing glass with hand-blown cylinders begins for the first time in Japan.(1909)

■In-house production of long-lasting refracto- ry bricks for melting furnaces begins.(1916)

■Caustic soda production using the ammonia method begins.(1933)

■Manufacture of glass bulbs for television picture tubes begins.(1954)

●Received Deming Prize for quickly adopting quality management. (1955)

■Automotive glass business launched on a full scale to respond to rapidly growing demand.(1956)

The 1960s and 1990s

	1961 ■Production of propylene oxide and propylene glycol begins.
1964 ●Entry into the flat glass market in Thailand
	1966 ■Production of float glass begins.
1972 ●Commenced glass production operations in Indonesia	1972 ■Product development of AsahiGuard™ water and oil repellents begins.
	1975 ■Development of the Flemion™ fluoropolymer ion-exchange membrane electrolysis method for manufacturing caustic soda.
	1980 ■AZEC System, a new ion-exchange membrane electrolyzer, was developed.

1981 ●AGC Inc. acquired Glaverbel S.A. and MaasGlas B.V., glass companies in Belgium and the Netherlands
	1982 ■Production of fluoropolymer resin for coatings (LUMIFLON™) begins.

1985 ●Full-scale entry of the automotive glass business in the United States
1986 ●Full-scale entry of the chlor-alkali business in Indonesia
	1990 ■CYTOP™ transparent amorphous fluoropolymer was developed.
	1995 ■Production of glass substrates for TFT-LCDs begins.
1997 ●Entry into Russia’s glass market.

●Entry into the flat glass market in Thailand. (1964)

■Production of float glass begins.(1966)

●Commenced glass production operations in Indonesia. (1972)

■Product development of AsahiGuardTM water and oil repellants begins.(1972)

●Glaverbel S.A. in Belgium was acquired. Full-scale entry in Europe’s flat glass market. (1981)

■Production of fluoropoly- mer resin for coatings (LUMIFLONTM) begins.(1982)

■Production of glass substrates for TFT-LCDs begins.(1995)

2000s –

2002 ●Creation of AGC Group Vision, "Look Beyond" In-house Company system was introduced
	2005 ■Sales of automotive door glass that blocks infrared rays was launched.
2007 ●The Group brand was unified as “AGC”
	2008 ■High-performance Fluon^® ETFE FILM was used for various sports venues at global sports event in Beijing.
	2011 ■Worldwide sales of Dragontrail™ glass for smartphones and tablet computers begin. 2011 ■Sales of UV Verre Premium Cool on™ tempered glass for automotive door windows begin.
2013 ●Started production of float glass in Brazil. 2013 ●Established regional headquarters in Singapore
2016 ●Automotive glass production base established in Morocco 2016 ●Information gathering and marketing bases established in India and Dubai

	2017 ■AGC commences production of EUV mask blanks.
2018 ●Bioscience businesses in Japan, U.S.A and Europe consolidated as AGC Biologics.
2018 ●Change corporate name to AGC Inc.

2021 ●AGC plus 2.0 management policy was implemented