Asahi Fiber Glass To Stop Making Three Products

Asahi Fiber Glass Co. is to cease producing three fiberglass products and by June 2005 will shut down some of the equipment at its plant in Sowa, Ibaraki Prefecture. Althought the three products generated sales of about JPY 4 billion (USD 38.3 million) in fiscal 2003, the operations have been loss-making due to factors such as an increase in cheap imports. Asahi Fiber Glass will halt output of chopped strand mat, an ingredient in fiber-reinforced plastic, continuous strand mat, which is used to strengthen shore embankment concrete, 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.