Asahi Fibre Glass Co is to cease producing three fiberglass products and by June/05 will shut down some of the equipment at its plant in Sowa, Ibaraki Prefecture. Although the three products generated sales of around JPY 4BN in fiscal 2003, the operations have been loss-making due to factors such as an increase in cheap imports. Asahi will halt output of chopped strand mat, an ingredient in fibre-reinforced plastic, continuous strand mat, and roving, a material used for tanks and other applications. All three products are reinforcing agents for thermosetting resins. As such, they are difficult to recycle and demand for the material is declining. Furthermore, with a flood of Chinese imports, prices have declined 20-30% over the past two years. The company now plans to re focus its fibre business on reinforcing materials for thermoplastic resins.
