AGC Glass Brazil has started production of architectural glass at its industrial glass complex in Guaratinguetá, São Paulo State. The factory will produce 220,000 tons of float glass per year, process automotive glass for 500,000 vehicles and manufacture quality mirrors for the Brazilian market. It will create 500 jobs by 2016.
AGC, a world-leading manufacturer of glass, chemicals and high-tech materials, has announced that AGC Glass Brazil, Inc. has started production of architectural glass at its industrial glass complex in Guaratinguetá, São Paulo State. The plant, of which construction began in November 2011 with an investment of approximately 300 million EUR, is now ready for mass production of architectural glass, mirrors and automotive glass. In line with its expectations it will produce 220,000 tons of float glass per year, process automotive glass for 500,000 vehicles and manufacture quality mirrors for the Brazilian market. It will create 500 jobs by 2016.
“I am delighted to announce that the AGC Group’s technology, quality and services, are now being offered in the Brazilian market,” said Davide Cappellino, President of AGC Glass Brazil at the start of production. “Our new glass plant is the greenest manufacturing facility in South America. State-of-the-art green technologies include waste gas treatment, energy-saving and water resource-saving features. In addition to reducing environmental load during the production process, the glass products we are planning to offer also aim at enhancing environmental conservation, such as the heat-reflecting glass for energy-efficient air-conditioning use and copper/lead-free mirror to name a few.”
Kay Yonamoto, AGC’s Executive Vice President and Brazil Global Project Team Leader commented “Under the Group’s management policy ‘Grow Beyond’, the AGC Group pursues its business expansion in fast-growing markets as one of the crucial growth strategies. We are confident that our first industrial investment in South America will lead to further development. The start of the production of both architectural and automotive glass at the same moment was only possible thanks to the support and cooperation of many stakeholders in Brazil and from our plants abroad. The AGC Group will continue to support the development of the local community and grow together with Brazil”.
The AGC Group, with Tokyo-based Asahi Glass Co., Ltd. at its core, is a world-leading supplier of flat, automotive and display glass, chemicals and other high-tech materials and components. Drawing on more than a century of technical innovation, the AGC Group has developed world-class expertise in fields including glass, fluorine chemistry and ceramics technologies. The group employs some 50,000 people worldwide and generates annual sales of approximately 9 billion EUR through business in about 30 countries.