Ashai, AGA to merge operations

CHADD'S FORD, Pa. (Nov. 3)—Asahi Glass Fluoropolymers USA Inc. and AGA Chemicals Inc., both subsidiaries of Japan's Asahi Glass Co., will merge their operations Jan. 1 into a new company called AGC Chemicals Americas Inc. This new company will be responsible for all Asahi Glass chemical products manufactured and/or sold in the Americas, including the Fluon and Alflas fluoropolymers. The new firm will be headquartered at Asahi Glass Fluoropolymers' manufacturing plant in Bayonne, N.J. and headed by Minoru Kawai, who will hold the chairman, president, and CEO titles. Kawai moved to the U.S. recently from Bangkok, Thailand, where he was president of another Asahi Glass subsidiary company. The company did not comment on the financial details of the move or its effect on employment.