Asahi Glass : AGC to Establish New Production Site for Pharmaceutical and Agrochemical Intermediates and Active Ingredients

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE AGC to Establish New Production Site for Pharmaceutical & Agrochemical Intermediates and Active Ingredients Tokyo, November 8, 2011 - AGC (Asahi Glass Co., Ltd.; Head Office: Tokyo; President & CEO: Kazuhiko Ishimura) announced today that it will establish a new production site for pharmaceutical and agrochemical intermediates and active ingredients at its subsidiary, AGC Wakasa Chemicals Co., Ltd. (hereafter, "AGC Wakasa Chemicals"). AGC will invest 3.7 billion yen in the new plant scheduled to start operation around November 2012. This will approximately double the current production capacity for pharmaceutical and agrochemical intermediates and active ingredients, and contribute to the AGC Group's aim to achieve net sales of 15 billion yen or more in this business segment in 2014.

As the elderly population grows in developed countries and the world faces food supply issues in conjunction with the worldwide population increase, demand for pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals is expected to continue growing. Hence the demand for intermediates and active ingredients used in the production of pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals is also projected to rise. The AGC Group has been making use of its strength in fluorine chemical technology in providing fluorinated compounds as well as other pharmaceutical and agrochemical intermediates and active ingredients to date, and will further reinforce the Group's production capacity to accommodate the expected growth in demand.

The new plant profiled below will be the AGC Group's fourth production site for pharmaceutical and agrochemical intermediates and active ingredients:

<Profile of new production site>
1. Location: Wakasa Techno Valley, Wakasa-cho, Mikatakaminaka-gun, Fukui prefecture
2. Area: 28,400 square meters
3. Items produced: Pharmaceutical and agrochemical intermediates and active ingredients
4. Production facility: Total Capacity of chemical reactors: 140 cubic meters
5. Number of employees: Approximately 20
AGC contributes to enriching people's living through making use of the fluorine chemical technology cultivated over many years to offer distinguished products also in the area of pharmaceutical and agrochemical intermediates and active ingredients.

About the AGC Group

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 more than 15 billion USD through business in about 30 countries.

Media Contact

Toshihiro Ueda, General Manager, Corporate Communications & Investor Relations
Asahi Glass Co., Ltd.

(Contact: Yasuo Sugiyama; Tel: +81-3-3218-5603; E-mail: info-pr@agc.com)
<Reference>
1. Overview of pharmaceutical and agrochemical intermediates and active ingredients
(1) Uses
Pharmaceutical intermediates and active ingredients: Glaucoma medications; antibacterial agent
Agrochemical intermediates and active ingredients: Pesticides; germicides
(2) Flowchart for synthesis of intermediates and active ingredients
2. Profile of AGC Wakasa Chemicals
(1) Name: AGC Wakasa Chemicals Co., Ltd. (2) Location: Obama-shi, Fukui prefecture
(3) Capital: 90 million yen
(4) Shareholder: Wholly owned by Asahi Glass Co., Ltd. (5) Established: 1998
(6) Business: Manufacture and sale of pharmaceutical and agrochemical intermediates and active ingredients and fine chemicals
(7) Number of employees: 54 (as of October 31, 2011)