Crafting innovation and managing risk at AGI Glassplant UK

AGI Glassplant UK’s establishment in the European market is built from strategic acquisitions, expert craftsmanship, and adapting to an evolving global science and technology industry. At the centre of this evolution is Stuart Simcock, Co-Founder and Director of AGI Glassplant UK. His background in scientific glassblowing and ownership of glassblowing businesses previously has helped establish AGI across a diverse range of industries, from pharmaceuticals and chemical manufacturing to architectural design.

AGI Glassplant’s roots go back more than 70 years to Japan, where the third-generation family business parent company, Asahi Glassplant Inc., holds an impressive 80% share of the domestic market for scientific glassware. Despite this dominance, AGI’s presence outside Japan was sparse. Looking to establish a foothold in the UK, Stuart’s approach was led by strategic acquisitions of similar glassblowing businesses.

“The decision to expand internationally was driven by the growing globalisation of science,” Stuart explains. “Multinational companies expect consistency - if they have a glass product in Switzerland, for example, they want the same product available in Japan or the US. Asahi Glassplant recognised that they needed to establish a global presence to retain and grow their market share.”

Stuart says. “Asahi Glassplant were recruiting skilled labour, so the goal was twofold: to increase our sales and market penetration in Europe and boost production capacity for the Japanese market.”

That’s where Stuart and his co-founder came in, seeing the opportunity to bring AGI’s expertise to the European market. In 2019, AGI Glassplant UK was founded, based in Royston, and well-placed to service the booming science industry around Cambridge and Oxford.

“Cambridge has always been a centre for scientific glassblowing. Many small glassblowing businesses have been built around the scientific community here.”

AGI UK employs nine glassblowers - a significant figure considering that there are only an estimated 50 scientific glassblowers across the entire UK. AGI’s product range reflects the breadth of its customer base.

“From simple lab glassware to complex chemical processing systems, we serve industries ranging from academia, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and even architectural design. We work with small laboratories and large manufacturing plants,” Stuart says. “For some clients, we’re designing completely bespoke systems to help them develop new compounds, where we’ll visit their site to understand what they need, design the product, quote, and then go off and make it for them. For others, we’re producing high-volume components integrated into their manufacturing processes.

“We’re involved at every stage - from discovery through to manufacturing,” Stuart says. “But our sweet spot is in the development phase, helping customers move from small-scale experiments to full-scale production.”

Operating a specialised manufacturing business has its own unique set of risks.

“We work with hot glass, chemicals, and highly specialised equipment,” Stuart explains. “If a fire were to damage our facility, replacing that equipment could take up to a year. That’s a problem if we’re only talking about one piece of machinery, if we were to lose the entire plant that would be catastrophic for us. There’s no used market for this kind of machinery - we’d have to rebuild from scratch.”

To mitigate this risk, AGI has established strict processes and procedures developed through years of experience, and manufacturing facilities in Switzerland, Italy, the US, and Japan that it can call upon if needed.

Cybersecurity is another major concern. “We handle a lot of sensitive technical data,” Stuart notes. “Losing that data - or having it stolen - could be catastrophic both in terms of production but also reputationally. But we have well-tested security processes, and our employees regularly undergo cyber training. Alongside this, we have the back up of our insurance if needed.”

Stuart recalls, “Our acquisition of another Cambridge-based glassblowing business connected us with Alan Boswell Group through David [Lowe, Account Executive]. The previous owners spoke so highly of David that it was impossible not to meet him.

“The difference in service was night and day,” Stuart says. “Our previous broker was competent but disconnected - they never visited us on site and didn’t really understand our business.

David and the team at Alan Boswell Group are the opposite - knowledgeable, proactive, and genuinely interested in helping us strengthen our business and looking for risks that we haven’t covered.

When AGI UK first partnered with Alan Boswell Group, one of the first things David identified was a gap in Directors’ and Officers’ (D&O) insurance. “We had no protection in place, which left us potentially exposed.” Stuart says. “David advised us to fix that immediately.

“In terms of providing the right data for renewals, some of the questions from insurers can be difficult to interpret; without your guidance we would’ve been either under or over covered, leading to immediate costs or losses in the future if we needed to make a claim”.

The partnership proved particularly valuable when one of AGI’s employees faced a difficult health situation. “The insurer wasn’t handling the case well, which put a lot of stress on the employee,” Stuart recalls. “Calum [O’Donnell, Chartered Financial Planner] stepped in, acting as a buffer between us and the insurer, and got things back on track.”

Having someone who knows the system and can apply pressure and leverage made all the difference. Calum was instrumental in doing that for us, so, as things have come up, we’ve been gradually moving them over [to Alan Boswell Group].

Alan Boswell Group have been AGI Glassplant UK’s insurance broker since 2021, providing protection for their property, business interruption, liabilities, and marine transport. From our Cambridge office, our science and tech insurance experts provide support and advice to Stuart and the wider AGI team. Alongside this, Calum and our employee benefits team have created a package of benefits that support employees and help establish AGI as an attractive employer in a competitive market.

Looking to the future, AGI’s long-term strategy remains unchanged. “Asahi Glassplant [the Japanese parent company] has been around for 70 years and takes a 100-year view on business,” Stuart says. “It’s about sustainable growth and building lasting relationships with customers.”

That customer-focused approach is a shared ethos embedded in both our culture and that of AGI. “We believe in doing things the right way,” Stuart says. “Treat customers well, deliver a quality product, and they’ll keep coming back.”

It’s a philosophy that has served AGI well for decades - and will undoubtedly continue to drive its success for years to come.