What AGI Glassplant does

AGI Glassplant, the commercial brand of Japan's Asahi Glassplant Inc. (founded 1950, headquartered in Kumamoto Prefecture), designs, develops, and manufactures engineered glass systems for chemical processing applications spanning reaction, filtration, evaporation, concentration, distillation, and quartz-based high-purity processes. The core product portfolio includes benchtop and pilot-scale jacketed glass reactors (Benchtop, Pilot Plant, Pilot Plant PLUS, Pressure, Universal), filtration systems (Filter Reactors, Nutsche Filters, Filter Dryers), concentration and evaporation equipment (Thin Film, Short Path, and Rotary Evaporators up to 200L), distillation systems, and quartz burners and custom quartz fabrications. The company's proprietary Ring Baffle technology delivers superior temperature control in glass reactors, and the recently launched Pilot Reactor Controller adds OPC-UA based modular control, real-time data visualization, automated process control, and integrated safety procedures that are vendor-agnostic across reactor brands.

The business operates as a multi-brand industrial group (AGI Glassplant, Syrris, Premex Solutions, Premex Reactor, Cambridge Glassblowing, GlasKeller Basel, H.S. Martin, Soffieria Sestese, Chemtrix) serving pharmaceutical, chemical, CRO/CMO, agrochemical, flavour and fragrance, petrochemical, semiconductor, and academic research customers in over 100 countries. Revenue is generated primarily through hardware sales of off-the-shelf, customizable, and custom-made engineered glass systems, supplemented by long-term service contracts, with quote-based pricing reflecting configuration and customization. The go-to-market combines direct sales through regional subsidiaries in Japan, the UK (EMEA), the USA (Vineland, NJ), Switzerland (Basel), and India with a distributor network of over 40 partners globally. Manufacturing is conducted at four sites in Japan, plus the UK, Switzerland, and USA facilities, with ISO 9001 quality certification held since 2005. Recent strategic moves include five acquisitions between 2019 and 2022 (H.S. Martin, Cambridge Glassblowing, Syrris/Glass Solutions, and Premex) and the January 2024 launch of the Pilot Reactor Controller, positioning AGI to move from passive glassware supply into digitally enabled process control.

Name

AGI Glassplant

Legal name

Asahi Glassplant UK Ltd

Website

https://agi-glassplant.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1950

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

AGI Glassplant, the international brand of Japan's Asahi Glassplant Inc., designs and manufactures engineered glass systems (reactors, filters, evaporators, distillation, quartz products) for chemical processing. It serves pharmaceutical, chemical, CRO/CMO, and research customers in 100+ countries via regional subsidiaries and a 40+ distributor network.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Chemical Processing Equipment

NAICS

Other Pressed and Blown Glass and Glassware Manufacturing (327212), Glass and Glass Product Manufacturing (32721)

SIC

Glass & Glassware, Pressed Or Blown (3220)

akta.pro primary industry

Glass Fabrication & Processing Services (Cutting/Edging/Drilling/Polishing) (IMADAHAI)

Keywords

• Engineered glass systems
• Chemical processing equipment
• Glass reactors
• Pharmaceutical process equipment
• Pilot plant reactors

Headquarters

HQ city

Kumamoto

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Engineered Glass Systems: Sale of engineered glass processing equipment including reactors, filtration systems, evaporators, concentrators, distillation units, and quartz products. Products are sold as off-the-shelf, customizable, and custom-made solutions across laboratory, pilot, and manufacturing scales.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

AGI Glassplant designs, develops, and manufactures engineered glass systems for chemical processing applications in science and industry. The company produces a comprehensive portfolio of reaction, filtration, evaporation, concentration, distillation, and quartz-based equipment spanning laboratory, pilot, and manufacturing scales, sold as off-the-shelf, customizable, and custom-made solutions. Recent offerings also include the Pilot Reactor Controller, a software/automation system built on OPC Unified Architecture.

Product overview

AGI Glassplant provides engineered glass systems for chemical processing as a comprehensive portfolio spanning reaction, filtration, concentration, evaporation, distillation, and quartz product categories. The product range includes off-the-shelf reactors (Benchtop, Pilot Plant, Pilot Plant PLUS, Pressure, Universal), specialized filtration equipment (Filter Reactors, Nutsche Filters, Filter Dryers), concentration systems (Thin Film and Short Path Evaporators), rotary evaporators, distillation systems, and high-purity quartz products. The company recently launched the Pilot Reactor Controller - a modular control and automation system built on OPC-UA architecture that enables integrated control of reactors and peripheral devices. The Sakura and Sakura Mini represent the next generation of pilot reactors. Custom solutions including Chemical Acid Plants and Custom Quartz Manufacturing are available for specific customer requirements. AGI serves industries including pharmaceutical, chemical, food, flavor & fragrance, petrochemical, and academia across lab to manufacturing scales.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Premex Solutions: Premium quality high pressure reactor systems, magnetic stirrers, and accessories for research and development with over 40 years of experience
• Premex Reactor
• Syrris
• Cambridge Glassblowing
• Sakura
• Pilot Reactor Controller

Products and services

• Sakura Next generation pilot reactor featuring advanced temperature control and optimized vessel design for superior performance in chemical processing applications, targeted at pharmaceutical, chemical, CRO/CMO, agrochemical, and flavour and fragrance sectors.
• Sakura Mini Compact version of the next generation pilot reactor, offering similar advanced features in a smaller footprint for space-constrained laboratories.
• Benchtop Reactor Lab-scale jacketed glass reactor for synthesis, process optimization and reaction analysis from 300ml to 5L capacity, for laboratory and research use.
• Pilot Plant Reactor Jacketed glass reaction system for pilot scale processing with 10L to 400L vessel options for process development and scale-up.
• Pilot Plant Reactor PLUS Enhanced pilot plant reactor with advanced features for larger scale chemical processing applications from 10L to 30L.
• Pressure Reactor Glass reactor designed for handling pressurized processes in chemical processing applications.
• Universal Reactor Versatile reactor system designed to accommodate a wide range of chemical processing requirements and experimental conditions.
• Benchtop Filter Reactor Integrated reaction and filtration system for lab-scale chemical processing combining synthesis with solid-liquid separation.
• Pilot Plant Filter Reactor PLUS Enhanced pilot-scale filter reactor combining reaction and filtration capabilities for larger volume processing.
• Benchtop Nutsche Filter Lab-scale Nutsche filter for solid-liquid separation using vacuum or pressure filtration methods.
• Filter Dryer Combined filtration and drying system for processing solid products from liquid slurries in chemical manufacturing.
• Pilot Plant Nutsche Filter PLUS Enhanced pilot-scale Nutsche filter for larger volume solid-liquid separation applications.
• Thin Film Evaporator Wiped film evaporator for concentration and purification of temperature-sensitive materials through short residence time evaporation.
• Short Path Evaporator Wiped film evaporator for distillation under reduced pressure, ideal for purifying heat-sensitive compounds with minimal degradation.
• Rotary Evaporator Industrial rotary evaporator available in 20L, 30L, 50L, 100L and 200L capacities for solvent recovery and concentration.
• Distillation Systems Complete distillation systems for separating and purifying liquid mixtures based on differences in boiling points.
• Quartz Burners High purity quartz burners for applications requiring exceptional chemical resistance and thermal stability, including semiconductor manufacturing.
• Custom Quartz Manufacturing Bespoke quartz engineering services for high purity applications requiring custom-designed quartz components and systems.
• Pilot Reactor Controller Turnkey reactor control system built on OPC-UA architecture enabling easy control, automation and monitoring of any pilot reactor and associated devices via a single software interface. Features modular Hub and DAQ system, drag-and-drop interface, real-time visualization, CSV data logging, and integrated safety procedures.
• Chemical Acid Plant Custom-engineered systems for chemical acid processing applications.

Quantifiable outcome

• Ring Baffle technology provides superior temperature control in glass reactors
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers18 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration8 records

AI capability3 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Premex Solutions GmbHcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 31 May 2022AGI Group acquired Premex Solutions GmbH (Switzerland) and Premex Reactor GmbH (Germany) effective May 31, 2022. Premex is a supplier of premium quality, high pressure reactor systems, magnetic stirrers, and accessories with over 40 years of experience. This acquisition expands AGI into the high-pressure chemistry market and complements AGI Glassplant's product portfolio.
• Syrris and Glass SolutionscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020AGI acquired Syrris and Glass Solutions from Blacktrace Holdings Ltd on January 1, 2020. Syrris is a global leader in flow chemistry and jacketed reactor systems with a large global customer base in R&D laboratories. Glass Solutions provides glass manufacturing capabilities outside Cambridge, UK. Acquisition increases AGI's manufacturing capacity and adds flow chemistry to the portfolio.
• Cambridge Glassblowing LtdmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 July 2019AGI UK acquired Cambridge Glassblowing Ltd on July 11, 2019. Established in 1977 and based in Cottenham, Cambridgeshire, Cambridge Glassblowing specializes in the manufacture of high quality scientific glassware in borosilicate glass and silica quartz. The acquisition provides a platform for future growth in EMEA region.
• H.S. Martin IncmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 March 2019AGI USA Inc. acquired H.S. Martin Company Inc. assets in March 2019. Located in Vineland, New Jersey, the acquisition expanded AGI's manufacturing capability in North America. All key H.S. Martin staff were retained to continue providing products and services.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Radleys: UK-based supplier of laboratory reaction workstations, jacketed reactors, and chemistry tools; competes with AGI's benchtop and pilot-scale reactor portfolio in the same pharma and academic segments.

Broad incumbents

• IKA Works: Broad-line laboratory and process equipment manufacturer with reactor, stirring, and temperature-control products directly competing with AGI's benchtop and pilot-scale reactor systems.
• Corning Life Sciences: Produces glass and plastic labware, cell culture products, and specialty materials; overlaps with AGI in scientific glassware supplied to pharmaceutical and academic research customers.
• DWK Life Sciences: Manufacturer of premium scientific lab glassware (formerly Wheaton/Kimax) supplying borosilicate glass products to pharma and research customers; comparable to AGI's lab-scale scientific glassware offerings.
• Heidolph Instruments: Manufacturer of laboratory equipment including rotary evaporators, magnetic stirrers, and reactor systems; competes with AGI's evaporation and benchtop reactor product categories.
• Büchi Labortechnik: Established lab equipment vendor with overlapping rotary evaporators, distillation systems, and pilot-scale chemistry tools, plus a broader portfolio in parallel evaporation, spray drying, and chromatography.

Direct peers

• De Dietrich Process Systems: Supplies glass-lined and enameled reactors, filters, and dryers for pharma and chemical processing; overlaps directly with AGI's reactor, filtration, and drying product lines.
• Pfaudler: Global leader in glass-lined reactors and process equipment for the chemical and pharmaceutical industries, directly comparable to AGI's core engineered-glass reactor portfolio at manufacturing scale.
• Schott AG (Schott Pharma / Schott Technical Glass Solutions): Manufactures specialty glass for science and industry including pharmaceutical glass packaging and technical glass components; competes with AGI in engineered borosilicate and quartz glass for chemical processing.

Others

• Asahi Glass (AGC): Japanese parent-group-adjacent major glass manufacturer producing flat glass, display glass, and electronics materials; related by heritage name but operates in largely non-overlapping categories versus AGI's engineered process equipment.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments1 record

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about AGI Glassplant