PH firm to ramp up AGC factory production after acquisition

Aside from the Philippines, AGC’s Southeast Asia flat glass facilities are also housed in Thailand and Indonesia. (Photo by Rob Nguyen/Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0)

MANILA — TQMP Glass Manufacturing Corp. plans to ramp up its newly acquired flat glass factory from AGC Flat Glass Philippines, Inc. (AGPH) , following the acquisition by the former of 100 percent of the issued and outstanding shares owned by the flat glass manufacturer.

On Wednesday, the Japanese firm has turned over the flat glass facility in Pasig City, which is the only flat glass manufacturing plant in the country, to the Filipino company.

TQMP President Paul Vincent Go said the company planned to produce value adding products like figured glass used for housing projects after it finalized the acquisition deal with the AGC.

The Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) has approved the transaction of TQMP and AGC in December last year, but the approval took a while since the firms notified the anti-trust body only in June last year.

According to the PCC, a favorable decision cannot be issued in the Phase I review as it has seen “concerns on potential input foreclosure in the downstream wholesale supply market of clear and bronze float glass”.

To address competition concerns, TQMP submitted its voluntary commitments including setting prices and providing services to customers through fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory measures, and maintaining a non-discriminatory practice in the processing of purchase orders and delivery of products and services.

It also vowed to sell products or services to glass distributors on terms no less favorable than similarly situated customers.

With these commitments, the PCC approved the transaction.

The acquired facility is located in a 28-hectare property with a daily production capacity of 500 tons per day.

AGC Regional President for Asia Pacific General Division Masahiro Takeda said the Pasig plant’s revenue in 2017 was flat compared to 2016.

Takeda added that despite selling the factory to the Filipino firm, AGC would be closely collaborating to TQMP to bring in new products.

Aside from the Philippines, AGC’s Southeast Asia flat glass facilities are also housed in Thailand and Indonesia.

Go said TQMP is optimistic with the newly acquired plant as it will be in synergy with its glass processing business, wherein it now has its own source of its flat glass demand.

He also stressed that the booming construction industry and infrastructure projects of the government would boost demand for glass products, and the company eyes to supply this increasing demand.

“We would like to grow this company to be self-sustaining,” Go said, adding that imported flat glass supplies the demand in the Philippine market.