Latest news with #NipponElectricGlass
Telegraph
10 hours ago
- Business
- Telegraph
High energy costs trigger closure of major UK wind turbine supplier
A major supplier to Britain's green energy industry is set to close after its Japanese owner failed to clinch a rescue deal for the company and its 250 workers. Wigan-based Electric Glass Fiber UK (EGFU), which is owned by Nippon Electric Glass (NEG), makes vital components used in wind turbines and electric cars. Its closure puts net zero supply chains under threat. Both are seen by the Government as critical to its industrial strategy amid moves to decarbonise the British economy and to build up domestic supplies of critical products at a time of tariffs, wars and mounting geopolitical rivalries. The British operation was profitable as recently as 2022, but made losses of £3m in 2023, mounting to £12m in 2024, according to the Japanese owner, which first invested in the UK arm in 2016. It blamed competition from Chinese imports as well as the rising cost of raw materials, in financial statements published in last year, which could only be partially passed on to customers in the form of higher prices. The business also said rising energy prices were putting pressure on operations. Britain's manufacturers typically pay far higher bills than competitors in countries including France and Germany, even though much of the Continent has been exposed to higher gas and electricity costs since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. British and European authorities sought to protect domestic fibreglass manufacturers from perceived unfair competition from China, imposing 'anti-dumping' tariffs on imports from the world's second-largest economy in 2020. The measures are set to run until early next year. Most of the company's sales go to European customers. But the tariffs were not sufficient to preserve the Wigan plant. NEG said the closure of the site, just west of Manchester, came despite intense efforts to find an alternative. Production will cease later this month. 'Voluntary liquidation' The parent company said:'NEG has considered various options, including the possibility of selling EGFU, forming strategic partnerships, or cessation of its business activities during the approximately two and a half month strategic review period. 'In order to quickly rebuild our composites business, we have determined to cease EGFU's operation and proceed with preparations for voluntary liquidation.' The closure comes after Sir Keir Starmer stepped in to rescue British Steel, taking control of the business as the Prime Minister deemed the Scunthorpe site to be critical to the country's industrial security. In that instance, a Chinese owner's planned closure would have threatened the nation's remaining steel production capacity, with ramifications for industries from construction to defence at a time when the Government wants both of those sectors to ramp up output urgently.
BBC News
10 hours ago
- Business
- BBC News
Hundreds of jobs to go in closure of UK's largest fibreglass factory
Hundreds of workers are set to lose their jobs after the owners of the UK's largest fibreglass factory announced the closure of the firm Nippon Electric Glass is to shut the plant in Hindley Green, Wigan, despite months of rescue talks with the government and local leaders. Josh Simons, Labour MP for Makerfield, said the firm had "repeatedly moved the goalposts" in discussions, while the GMB Union described the move as a "bitter betrayal" of the factory's 250-strong workforce. Nippon said "various options" had been considered over the plant's future, but the firm had decided to place its UK operation into voluntary liquidation. The announcement comes as Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham is in Japan on a week long "trade mission" to promote investment into the region. Simons said Burnham is due to meet the chairman of Nippon, which began reviewing the future of the site in April, to discuss the like wind turbine blades and parts for the rail and aerospace industries are made at the factory using the lightweight material. Gary Edwards, regional organiser for GMB which represents skilled workers at the factory, said: "Everyone involved worked tirelessly to try and secure the site's future."But for every solution we found, the company presented another problem. It became hard not to question how serious they were about doing a deal.""I'm angry about that, I'm disappointed, bitterly, for the workers but that is what has kiboshed this deal."Mr Edwards said the 250 staff due to lose their jobs had been a victim of a "global trend" towards protectionism caused by uncertainty over global supply chains. 'Devastating' "They're essentially spending more money than they were offered in some of these deals in order to close the plant," said Simons. "The only way to explain that is because they want to reshore their supply chains in Japan, and that is not in the interests of my workers, it's not in the interests of Britain."Simons said the closure would be "devastating" for workers at the site, some of who had worked there for decades. He said he would fight to make sure those workers get "every bit of support they possible can" from the government and local authorities. The factory had made a loss of £12m in the year ending December 2024, according to a notice published by firm said it had decided to cease operation and enter voluntary liquidation to "quickly rebuild our composites business".It said it plans to "rebuild its production system" to improve profitability. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Manchester on Sounds and follow BBC Manchester on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
Nikkei Asia
21-04-2025
- Business
- Nikkei Asia
Nippon Electric Glass develops large glass substrates for AI chips
OSAKA -- Nippon Electric Glass will ship samples as early as 2026 of large glass substrates it is developing for high-performance semiconductor devices, hoping that the material's heat resistance will spur chipmakers to choose it over conventional plastic. The Japanese company will ship samples of large square glass substrates about 510 millimeters long -- one size up from its current 300-mm products. It will embark on mass-producing the larger size once demand is confirmed. It also plans to put 600-mm substrates into practical use by 2028.
The Guardian
04-04-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Japan-owned UK glass factory could shut if no buyer found, risking 250 jobs
A glass factory in Wigan that produces fibreglass for electric cars and wind turbines faces closure and the loss of 250 jobs unless its Japanese owner can find a new partner or a buyer. In the latest blow to Britain's industrial base, Nippon Electric Glass (NEG) announced a 'strategic review' of its composites business Electric Glass Fiber UK (EGF), which it expects to last approximately two months, putting about 250 jobs at risk. NEG said that its UK composites arm had been 'facing a challenging competitive environment with high prices for raw materials, energy, and logistics costs' that had led to 'sluggish sales'. The company added: 'This review is part of our ongoing efforts to recover performance.' The Wigan site produces fibreglass that is used to reinforce plastic for composites found in wind turbine blades and electric cars. It closure would put further pressure on the Labour government's industrial strategy, expected in June, which will focus on promoting growth sectors of the economy, and areas such as advanced manufacturing. The UK's industrial companies have struggled in the face of soaring energy costs, particularly rising gas prices, since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. It comes just days after British Steel announced plans to end steel-making in Scunthorpe with the closure of its two blast furnaces. The move, described as 'devastating' by unions, will leave the UK as the only G7 country unable to make steel domestically from scratch, and is expected to result in the loss of up to 2,700 jobs. EGF made a loss of £3.47m in 2023, according to its most recent financial accounts, compared with a profit of £7.4m in 2022. The company said in its accounts that its profits had fallen because of 'lower customer demand resulting from competition from Chinese imports' as well as other factors including higher costs for raw materials. Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion NEG said it would consider various options during its strategic review of the fibreglass factory, including selling the businessor 'forming strategic partnerships'. NEG said that if it was not successful in finding a partner or a buyer, it would consider potentially closing down EGF's operations. The Wigan site was bought by NEG in 2016, and two years later received a £15m investment from its parent company, according to local news reports. Wigan is NEG's only manufacturing site in Europe. It has operations across its home country of Japan as well as the US and elsewhere in Asia.
