The 3rd China International Import Expo will be held soon, and the AGC (formerly known as Asahi Glass), known as the "King of Glass" in Japan, is ready to debut on the Chinese stage this year.
"Participating in the CIIE, on the one hand, we can see the size of the Chinese market through this platform, on the other hand, we hope to show the technical strength of AGC to the world on the most open stage in China." Participated for the third consecutive year. Toshihiro Ueda, the executive director of the AGC Group and the general representative of China of the CIIE, revealed that this year, nearly 20 exhibits involving 5G, semiconductors, rail transit and other topics around "new infrastructure" will be prepared to participate in the CIIE.
Before the new product debut, two key projects invested by AGC in the Chinese market have just landed. They are the 3D curved complex shape automotive display cover glass production line located in the Suzhou factory, and the joint venture project between AGC Shenzhen Display Company and its customer Shenzhen Huaxing Optoelectronics Semiconductor Display Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter, CSOT)-the 11th generation TFT-LCD Glass substrate production line.
Among them, after the completion of the production line of the Suzhou factory, it will become an advanced large-scale 3D and complex-shaped automotive cover glass mass production line in the industry.
Ueda Toshihiro said frankly: "This technology currently does not have a large share in the automotive market, and the market is still on the eve of its explosion." However, in the long-term production of automotive glass, AGC found that many manufacturers have increasingly complicated requirements for the shape of automotive cover glass. , The area is getting larger and larger, and the continuous iteration of new models such as electric cars and smart cars has also spawned more demand for automotive glass.
"The automotive glass we often say refers to the windshield, which is an ordinary automotive glass business." Toshihiro Ueda further explained that taking the new production line of the Suzhou plant as an example, the electronic glass production technology owned by AGC (mobile phones, TVs, etc.) Substrate glass) and automotive glass form a better integration, and more models require electronic touch technology in terms of intelligent interconnection. AGC's own technology in the field of fluorochemicals provides touch control for the new type of automotive cover glass. Anti-fingerprint processing at the time.
Although the market has not yet exploded, Ueda Toshihiro has already given a judgment: “Many overseas car companies will have new AGC products in their next high-end models. We have already received many orders.” At present, the company has obtained the top three in Germany. Orders for high-end models in the European market represented by automakers.
"We put the most advanced technology in China, and hope that our factories in China can lead the trend and drive the global market." Ueda Toshihiro said.
From bringing products to China, to real estate sales, and now launching a large-scale, complex-shaped automotive cover glass production line in China, and building the world’s largest LCD glass substrate 11th generation plant, AGC’s business in China is changing from product The market coverage of the company is developing towards a higher technological content.
Since coming to China in 2017, Toshihiro Ueda has continued to promote the establishment of AGC R&D centers in China. In the "Report on 40 Years of Multinational Corporation Investment in China" issued by the Ministry of Commerce in 2019, the case of AGC investment in China has this sentence: "In the future, it is necessary to strengthen the development function in China."
"China's innovation capabilities are very strong, and we need to develop products and technologies in the Chinese market that meet the needs of the Chinese market." Toshihiro Ueda told Economic Observer.com.
In fact, last year AGC had planned to cooperate with the AGC Co-creation Space (R&D Center, AGC open innovation gathering place) in Tokyo, Japan, and the R&D institution to be established in China to establish an R&D focused on the development of new material products. Center (Research and Development). As the first phase of the plan, AGC set up an innovation laboratory in Suzhou this year.
"There will be more R&D landing plans in the future." Ueda Toshihiro said that this is only the first step. In the future, R&D R&D functions in China will continue to be strengthened to achieve a R&D organization that includes development, trial production, and evaluation functions.