Impacts of the earthquake on the AGC Group’ operations

A strong earthquake hit the northern part of Japan on Friday, March 11. AGC (Asahi Glass Co., Ltd.; Headquarters: Tokyo; President & CEO: Kazuhiko Ishimura) announces the impacts of the earthquake on the AGC Group’ operations as follows.1. EmployeesAGC is currently in the process of confirming the safety of its Group members. It has been reported that several employees have been slightly injured.2. FacilitiesThe following facilities have been heavily affected by the earthquakes and tsunamis. The damage situation in the Tohoku area (northern part of Japan) is very serious, and operations not listed below might also be affected depending on the electrical power supply and lifeline utilities in the region.(1) AGC Asahi Glass Kashima Plant (Kamisu, Ibaraki prefecture)Float glass facility for architectural flat glass has been partially damaged. Production operations have been suspended and it is expected to takeapproximately one month to restart the production. The loading berth used for the shipments of architectural float flat glass and the receiving of raw materials has been damaged, and it is expected to take time torestore the facility.(2) AGC Asahi Glass Chiba Plant (Ichihara, Chiba prefecture)While access restriction has been imposed in the area due to the ongoing fire on the premises of neighboring Cosmo Oil Co., Ltd., AGC is currently working on the confirmation of the status of the plant facilities.(3) AGC Display Glass Yonezawa (Yonezawa, Yamagata prefecture) There is no critical damage to the building facilities of AGC Display Glass Yonezawa, which processes small/mid-sized LCD glass substrates, and production operations are resuming accordingly. Meanwhile, among the company’s outsourcers what handle a part of its processing operations, some building facilities have been severely damaged, and urgent restoration work is underway.(4) AGC Electronics Koriyama Plant (Koriyama, Fukushima prefecture)Production facility has been partially damaged, and restoration work is currently underway. Other than the above locations, production has been suspended at some of the plants forarchitectural processed glass in Tohoku/North Kanto region due to the damage to facilities or raw materials (i.e. flat glass), or their employees not being able to go to the plant. At this moment, it is not clear when operations will resume.3. Outlook and other situations concerning shipments(1) GlassUntil the operations of AGC Kashima plant resume, AGC will allocate existing inventories and shipments from other AGC Group’s plants in and outside the country and make the utmost effort to prevent a supply shortage of architectural glass.(2) ElectronicsThe impacts of the earthquakes and tsunamis have been limited to small/mid-sized LCD glass substrates, and it is considered that impacts on AGC Group’s overall flat panel display (FPD) business will be limited.(3) ChemicalsThe loading berth at AGC Kashima plant has been damaged and it is not clear when production will resume. Regarding AGC Chiba plant, AGC is in the process of confirming the status of the facilities, but the restart of the plant operations from the annual shutdown is expected to be delayed.4. Impacts on the AGC Group’s business performanceAt this moment, estimated damage is not yet known.5. Electricity saving measuresIn consideration of the ongoing serious electricity shortage, the AGC Group will cooperate in the nationwide electricity-saving efforts by reducing electricity use and implementing operation adjustment at Group’s plants. 17.03.2011, AGC Group