Japan“s Asahi Glass Co. has announced a restructuring plan which calls for, among other things, closure of a domestic soda ash plant and an increase in production of glass substrates used in LCDs.
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Japan“s Asahi Glass Co. has announced a restructuring plan which calls for, among other things, closure of a domestic soda ash plant and an increase in production of glass substrates used in LCDs. The firm hopes the reorganization will boost consolidated sales to 1.5 trillion yen and group operating profit to 100 billion yen in fiscal 2001, company officials said. About 70 workers at the soda ash factory in Fukuoka Prefecture will be transferred to other operations of the firm when the plant is closed in March 2001. The nation“s largest comprehensive glassmaker will, however, continue to supply domestic customers with soda ash imported from a US firm in which it has a 20% stake. Regarding LCD glass substrates, Asahi Glass will raise production by setting up a dedicated kiln and processing line at its plant in Yokohama this summer. The company will also increase production capacity of glass for cathode-ray tubes by 30% at its subsidiaries in China, Thailand and Indonesia in the first half of next year. The firm will invest 25 billion yen in the production increases, the officials said.