AlliedSignal forms joint venture with Asahi Glass to market environmentally safer fluorocarbon products in Japan.

MORRIS TOWNSHIP, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 27, 1997--AlliedSignal Inc. (NYSE:ALD) announced today that it is forming a joint venture with Asahi Glass Co. Ltd. of Tokyo, Japan, to market a broad line of environmentally safer fluorocarbon products in Japan and to select Asian customers.

Terms were not announced.

The joint venture will market products used to replace CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) and HCFCs (hydrochlorofluorocarbons) in air conditioning, commercial refrigeration and foam insulation applications.

The products include two non-ozone-depleting HFC-based (hydrofluorocarbon) refrigerants developed and patented by AlliedSignal: AZ-20 (R-410A), a replacement for HCFC-22 in new air-conditioning equipment; and AZ-50 (R-507), which replaces R-502 (CFC) and HCFC-22 in commercial refrigeration.

The new venture also will market HFC-245fa, AlliedSignal's non-ozone depleting blowing agent to replace HCFC-141b in foam insulation.

Under the agreement, which the companies expect to complete by the second quarter of this year, AlliedSignal will initially supply AZ-20 and HFC-245fa to Asahi Glass, which will distribute the products in Japan as part of a joint market-development strategy. The companies said they plan to establish production facilities in Japan based on the projected growth of the Japanese market over the next two to three years.

"The joint venture significantly strengthens AlliedSignal's position in Japan's growing market for CFC and HCFC substitutes," said David Weidman, president, AlliedSignal Fluorine Products. "It combines AlliedSignal's advanced fluorocarbon product technology with Asahi Glass' leadership in the Japanese fluorocarbon market. The result will be a versatile supplier offering advanced products and technical expertise to meet the needs of Japanese customers."

Weidman noted that AlliedSignal expects sales from the joint venture to be approximately $50 million by the year 2000.

Tom Burke, business unit leader, refrigerants/foams, AlliedSignal, added that Japan plays a critical influential role in the global air conditioning and foam insulation industries. "Building a solid presence in the Japanese market supports our globalization strategy for our broad line of environmentally safer fluorocarbon products," he said.

As a developed nation signatory to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, Japan ceased production of CFCs on Dec. 31, 1995. Demand for CFC substitutes in Japan continues to grow and is expected to reach more than 75 million pounds annually.

Isao Otsuka, general manager of Asahi Glass' Performance Chemicals Division, commented that the joint venture "represents a strategic approach to meet this growing demand for environmentally safer fluorocarbons."

"By working together with AlliedSignal, we can bring these important products to Japanese customers more quickly and effectively," Otsuka said. "We also are able to offer our combined technical and applications expertise to comprehensively support our customers' conversions to substitutes."

Asahi Glass Co. Ltd. is a leading global manufacturer of glass and a major international supplier of flat glass and other glass-related items, chemicals and ceramics products. The company also makes a fast-growing range of electronic products and specialty home appliances.

AlliedSignal Inc. is an advanced technology and manufacturing company serving customers worldwide with aerospace and automotive products, chemicals, fibers, plastics and advanced materials. Its fluorine business and corporate headquarters are in Morris Township. AlliedSignal is among the largest 75 companies on the Fortune 500 list, and it is one of the 30 companies included in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company employs more than 77,000 people in 40 countries.

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