Asahi India Glass

1984-2000

In 1984, AIS was initially incorporated in India under the name Indian Auto Safety Glass Private Limited. By 1986, the company transferred its equity stake to Asahi Glass Co., Japan. During this period, a joint venture agreement was carried out among the promoters, namely Asahi Glass Co., Japan, Indo-Asahi Glass Company and Maruti Udyog.

The company was thus incorporated as public limited company under the name of Asahi India Safety Glass Limited on 31 December 1985. Initially, the company only manufactured toughened glass for Maruti Suzuki India Limited. However, in 1989, after increasing its tempered glass production capacity by installing a new furnace, the company began manufacturing toughened glass for other automobile manufacturers. The company also introduced black ceramic printing and heat-lite printing for production of automotive glasses for the first time in India.

By 1992, the company ventured into manufacturing of laminated safety windshields. Four years later, anticipating an increase in demand of laminated windshields due to them being made mandatory for passenger vehicles under revised Central Motor Vehicle Rules, AIS carried out a major capacity expansion to produce 7,50,000 laminated windshields.

By 1999, the company added Hyundai, Ford, Toyota, and Hindustan Motors to its clientele while also increasing its tempered glass production capacity.

2000-present

With the turn of the millennium, AIS increased its technology capabilities with a slew of installations including laminated bending furnace for producing complex laminated windshields, CAD station and in-house designing, and print marking on glass for brand visibility.

In 2001, Float Glass India, a subsidiary of Asahi Glass Co., Japan, became the subsidiary of AIS. Next year, AIS made its first acquisition by acquiring 79.6% stake in Float Glass India and absorbing it under its own brand name.

In 2002, the company also rebranded itself as Asahi India Glass Limited and in 2003, it set up a new automotive glass manufacturing plant in Chennai. This was followed by commencement of commercial production at the company’s Architectural Processing Unit in Taloja in 2004. In 2005, AIS Glass Solutions Ltd. was set up to further expand in the architectural glass value chain.

The year 2006 saw establishment of two more architectural processing facilities in Rewari and Chennai along with further capacity expansion across existing plants. In late 2017, AIS inaugurated a new, modernised Taloja float glass plant to enhance supply to auto and architectural glass segments by manufacturing 550 tonnes of glass per day.