is a Japanese glass manufacturing company. In 2006 it acquired Pilkington of the United Kingdom. This makes NSG/Pilkington one of the four largest glass companies in the world alongside another Japanese company Asahi Glass, Saint-Gobain, and Guardian Industries. The company is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the

Nikkei 225 The Nikkei 225, or , more commonly called the ''Nikkei'' or the ''Nikkei index'' (), is a stock market index for the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE). It has been calculated daily by the ''Nihon Keizai Shimbun'' (''The Nikkei'') newspaper since 1950. ...

stock index.

History

The company was established in November 1918 as America Japan Sheet Glass Co., Ltd. with its head office in

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...

, after it obtained technology from

Libbey Owens Ford The Libbey-Owens-Ford Company (LOF) was a producer of flat glass for the automotive and building products industries both for original equipment manufacturers and for replacement use. The company's headquarters and main factories were located in ...

Glass Co. of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

to produce

flat glass Plate glass, flat glass or sheet glass is a type of glass, initially produced in plane form, commonly used for windows, glass doors, transparent walls, and windscreens. For modern architectural and automotive applications, the flat glass is ...

using the

Colburn process Colburn may refer to: People * Elanor Colburn (1866–1939), American painter * Elliot Colburn (born 1992), British politician * Henry Colburn (1780s–1855), British publisher * Jeremiah Colburn (1815–1891), numismatist and antiquarian * John ...

. The company changed its name to the Nippon Sheet Glass Co., Ltd. in January 1931. It expanded operations across Japan post

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, and in October 1970 acquired Nippon Safety Glass Co., Ltd. In April 1999, the company merged with Nippon Glass Fiber Co., Ltd. and Micro Optics Co., Ltd. In Apr 2001 the company acquired Nippon Muki Co., Ltd. and in July 2004 moved the registered head office from Osaka to Minato Ward in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

Pilkington

In 1986, Pilkington bought Libbey Owens Ford. Following an agreed acquisition of 20% of Pilkington of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

in 2001, in 2006 NSG purchased the residual 80% of shares.

Present

Founded in 1918, NSG acquired the leading UK-based glass manufacturer Pilkington plc in June 2006. Today, the company has combined sales of approximately JPY 600 billion, with manufacturing operations in 29 countries and sales in 130 countries, employing some 28,500 people worldwide. The Group's Flat Glass businesses, encompassing Building Products and Automotive Products, account for 90 per cent of annual sales, with the balance being in Specialty Glass. The Specialty Glass business covers a number of niche markets, the most important of which are in displays and optical products for printers and copiers. Geographically, 42 per cent of the Group's sales are in Europe, 28 per cent in Japan and 13 per cent in North America, with the rest primarily in South America, South East Asia and China. About NSG , NSG Corporate Website
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Main products in Japan

NSG TEC solar energy products, technical glass for white goods and displays

Home use

* SPACIA :Double glazing with vacuum layer at center plane. (Eco-Glass) * SECUO :Security glass as laminated glass with resin sheet. * PAIR REIBORG :Double glazing, sunshading and high-thermal insulating glass with special metal coating. (Eco-Glass) * PAIR REIBORG HIKARI :Photocatalytic cleaning glass with REIBORG. (Eco-Glass) * HOME TOUGH LIGHT :Toughened glass with 5 times toughness as normal glass.

Building use

* UMU :Electric controlled switching glass with transparent or photo scattered.

Telecom・IT use

* SELFOC :Flat-end-type Rod lens with graded index by ion exchange (self focus) * SLA SELFOC LENS ARRAY :Arrayed Selfoc lens for scanning image like a copy-machine or printer.

Automobile use

* LAMIPANE :Laminated glass for windshield. * THERLITE-T :Heater line installed Anti-fogging glass.

References

External links

NSG Corporate Website

NSG Commercial Website

GO FOTON!
(formerly NSG America, Inc.) {{Authority control Glassmaking companies of Japan Glass trademarks and brands Manufacturing companies based in Tokyo Mitsui Companies listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Japanese brands Sumitomo Group Manufacturing companies established in 1918 Japanese companies established in 1918