is a Japanese

glass manufacturing Glass production involves two main methods – the float glass process that produces sheet glass, and glassblowing that produces bottles and other containers. It has been done in a variety of ways during the history of glass. Glass container ...

company. In 2006 it acquired

Pilkington Pilkington is a Japanese-owned glass-manufacturing company which is based in Lathom, Lancashire, United Kingdom. In the UK it includes several legal entities and is a subsidiary of Japanese company NSG Group. Prior to its acquisition by NSG i ...

of the United Kingdom. This makes NSG/Pilkington one of the four largest glass companies in the world alongside another Japanese company

Asahi Glass , formerly Asahi Glass Co., Ltd.'(旭硝子株式会社), is a Japanese global glass manufacturing company, headquartered in Tokyo. It is the largest glass company in the world and one of the core Mitsubishi companies. The company is listed on t ...

Saint-Gobain Compagnie de Saint-Gobain S.A. () is a French multinational corporation, founded in 1665 in Paris and headquartered on the outskirts of Paris, at La Défense and in Courbevoie. Originally a mirror manufacturer, it now also produces a variety of ...

, and

Guardian Industries Guardian Industries is a privately held industrial manufacturer of glass, automotive and building products based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The company manufactures float glass, fabricated glass products, fiberglass insulation and building materia ...

. The company is listed on the

Tokyo Stock Exchange The , abbreviated as Tosho () or TSE/TYO, is a stock exchange located in Tokyo, Japan. It is the third largest stock exchange in the world by aggregate market capitalization of its listed companies, and the largest in Asia. It had 2,292 listed co ...

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 In finance, a stock index, or stock market index, is an index that measures a stock market, or a subset of the stock market, that helps investors compare current stock price levels with past prices to calculate market performance. Two of the pri ...

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 2. ...

, 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 T ...

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 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

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 s ...

using the Colburn process. 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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, 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 largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

Pilkington

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

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 continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

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