AGC and TOSTEM establish three joint-venture companies for “Window”

As a result, we established a joint-venture company in October 2010 and have decided to set up two more joint businesses with start-up targeted for February 2011. 

1. Significance/background of establishing joint-venture companies

“Windows” consist of glass and sashes. AGC, a leading company in Japan’s glass market, and TOSTEM, a leading company in Japan’s sash market, are both committed to providing products and carrying out business activities in environmentally-sensitive ways for the creation of a sustainable society. While AGC and TOSTEM had individually worked on the development and improvement of the performance of our products, we came to the conclusion that we can contribute further to solving global warming issues if we work together to develop new high-performance, high-quality “windows,” and promote their popularity through efficient manufacturing and sales.

Against this background, we reached a basic agreement in April 2010 to start talks on joint businesses to develop, manufacture, and sell a new high-performance, high-quality “window” that integrates glass and sash, and have had a series of discussions since then. Consequently, we established and launched operation of a joint-venture company in October 2010, and have decided to set up two joint-venture companies with start-up targeted for February 2011.

We are confident that by setting up joint-venture companies and launching “window” business, we can make a significant contribution to reducing CO₂ emissions from housing in Japan.

2. Purpose of establishing joint-venture companies AGC and TOSTEM will enter into joint ventures with the following purposes.

(1) Development company

At the development company, AGC and TOSTEM will combine our excellent technologies and develop a new high-performance, high-quality window that integrates a high-end sash and superior quality glass.

(2) Functional glass manufacturing company Based on AGC Glass Products Co., Ltd. (a wholly-owned subsidiary of AGC), AGC and TOSTEM will integrate our insulating glass manufacturing businesses to become the top manufacturer in Japan with overwhelming cost competitiveness.

(3) Window assembly company 

AGC and TOSTEM will establish a new window assembly company under the initiative of TOSTEM. This company will ensure quality performance indication/guarantee for windows and will be equipped with power-saving production lines that enable efficient operations.

3. Outline of joint-venture companies

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