Asahi Glass Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Tokyo; President & CEO: Shinya Ishizu) has received an order for about 150,000 square meters of fluororesin ETFE foil for the German soccer stadium Allianz-Arena (Location: Munich, Bavaria; Seating capacity: 67,000), where the opening match of the 2006 World Cup in Germany is to be held. When completed, the stadium will be the world's largest structure made of fluororesin ETFE foils.

Slated for launch in May 2005, the Allianz-Arena will be the home stadium for TSV 1860 Muenchen and FC Bayern Muenchen, both member teams of German professional soccer league Bundesliga. In 2006, the stadium will host the opening game of the World Cup tournament. The sports facility calls for: making the side wall and roof smooth and curved; allowing ultraviolet rays needed to grow the lawn on the ground through; and enabling a colorful performance using the side wall and roof - transparent or translucent - as monitor screens. To realize this specification, sheets of double-layered ETFE foil, or cushions, are fit in the cells of the side wall and roof, and then inflated by compressed air. The Company has secured the order for all the foils used in the stadium.

The product that was ordered is a high-performance fluororesin FluonR ETFE foil (tradename "AFLEX" in Japan), which Asahi Glass Co., Ltd. produces in its entirety including all material. Given its superior properties, such as heat, chemical and weather resistance; anti-adhesion; excellent electrical characteristics; and transparency, the foil has been used since its launch in 1975 in a wide range of fields, including electronics, aviation/space, photovoltaic cells, sound insulation bags and green houses. The Company ranks No.1 in worldwide production volume and sales of fluororesin ETFE foils. In recent years, the Fluon^® ETFE foil has been increasingly used in Europe as a building material, since it is highly regarded for: its transparency light; enabling curved forms; being stain-free and easy to maintain; as well as durable and long-lived. In the latest bidding, the Company earned praise for its integrated system of manufacturing and marketing high-quality products from polymer resin to translucent, white foils developed especially for the Allianz-Arena.

The Company will continue to provide solutions based on Fluon^® ETFE foil for use in construction to clients around the world, utilising technology accumulated in the construction-use glass sector, for selectively enhancing the optical properties.

Website for FluonR ETFE: http://www.fluon.jp/c/c_4/c_4.html

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Outline of Allianz Arena
Location: Munich, Bavaria in Germany
Start of construction: October 2003
Completion of construction: May 2005 (scheduled)
Design: Herzog & de Meuron Architekten AG
Construction: Alpine Bau Gmbh
Foil application: Covertex Gmbh
Total cost: ? 280 million
Seating capacity: About 67,000
Allianz-Arena official website: http://www.allianz-arena.de