Asahi Glass – represented in Europe by subsidiary AGC Chemicals Europe (Thornton Cleveleys, UK; www.agcce.com) – intends to expand fluoropolymer capacity at its PTFE production site in Japan’s Ichihara. The company is investing the equivalent of EUR 240 mn with the plants scheduled to go online by mid-2025. The group did not disclose the planned capacity upon Plasteurope.com query.

AGC is thus reacting to the “significant growth” expected in these materials, including in the semi-conductor industry and in fuel cell and telecommunications applications. The group already expanded its capacities in Ichihara and Kashima in 2021.

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The Japanese company’s fluoropolymers, with the Fluon and Aflas brands, take in the materials of PTFE, ETFE, PFA, and fluoroelastomers. This small division, with sales that AGC intends to boost to JPY 200 bn (just short of EUR 1.4 bn) by 2024, belongs to the Performance Chemicals unit. This unit was set up in 2023 as part of the Chemicals division, with a most recently reported revenue of JPY 660 bn. Fluorine chemistry alone would thus account for a share of almost a third, although this also includes the entire PVC chain as well as solvents and a number of other areas.