On February 1st 2006, Mr Michiyoshi Kaino, President of the Asahi Glass Co Chemicals Company, and Mr Takashizu Minato, Chief Executive Officer of Asahi Glass Fluoropolymers UK Ltd (AGFP), carried out a ground-breaking ceremony in front of invited guests on the site of AFGP's new ETFE plant at Thornton Cleveleys, Lancashire.

AGFP is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Asahi Glass Company of Japan. With glass and chemical products as its principal business areas, Asahi Glass is one of the world's leading producers of fluorochemicals and fluoropolymer materials.

ETFE is a fluoropolymer with excellent chemical resistance, electrical insulation and mechanical properties. It has applications in wire and cable insulation (e.g. aerospace, automotive, robotics and electronic equipment), different types of coatings and linings, material for parts in the semiconductor industry, tubing, film, sheet and tape.

The new Fluon® ETFE production facility, to be constructed at a cost of £15 million, will be on stream in April 2007. Its activities will complement the manufacture of PTFE resin and lubricant powders, which AGFP carries out at its existing plant at Thornton Cleveleys.

In his speech, Mr Kaino declared that the new plant would enable AGFP to better serve its major European customers and thereby to enhance their satisfaction with the company. He emphasised the importance of this investment in the UK as it would provide a new production capability in addition to that for conventional PTFE products. Mr Kaino looked forward to the "magnificent synergy" the company would enjoy from manufacturing two kinds of polymers.