he ASEAN Federation of Glass Manufacturers (AFGM) is a 20-year old regional industry association presently composed of 43 glass manufacturers in South East Asia.

It was organized in 1977 by 19 glass manufacturers from the then five member countries of ASEAN who convened on July 23 and 24 of that year at the Silahis International Hotel in Manila and then at the Development Academy of the Philippines in Tagaytay City for the purpose of setting up a regional industry association.

The prime mover behind the organization of AFGM was the late Perfecto T. Darvin, then President of the Glass Manufacturers Association of the Philippines, Inc. (GMAPI). He passed away on October 23, 1982 shortly before he was due to attend the 7th Annual Conference in Bangkok, Thailand.

At the organizational meeting, it was agreed that AFGM would consist of the national industry association of the five member countries of ASEAN. At that meeting, the constitution and by-laws of the group were drafted.

At the second conference on October 31, 1977 held again in Manila, the constitution and by-laws were ratified. Signing for their respective countries were Raul C. Hernandez (Philippines), Soegiono Hartadi (Indonesia), Leslie Struys (Malaysia), Iam Ying (Singapore), and Chainarong Srifuengfung (Thailand).

On July 26, 1978, the AFGM was given interim recognition by the ASEAN Chamber of Commerce Industry (ASEAN-CCI) and became a member of its Working Group on Industrial Complementation.

Under the AFGM Constitution, three Working Groups were set up, namely:

On October 28, 1979, the Working Group on Flat Glass held its first meeting at the Kuala Lumpur Hilton Hotel attended by flat glass executives from Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand.

Since 1978, AFGM conferences have been held every year usually in late October or early November. These conferences which had been earlier named AFGM Annual Conference are now officially named ASEAN Glass Conference of the ASEAN Federation of Glass Manufacturer. Starting in 1981, the conferences carried a theme.

The national industry associations took turns in hosting these conferences which were:

3rd Conference	1978	Bangkok, Thailand
4th Conference	1979	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
5th Conference	1980	Jakarta, Indonesia
6th Conference	1981	Manila, Philippines	"ASEAN Glass Industry in the 80's"
7th Conference	1982	Bangkok, Thailand	"AFGM looks Ahead"
8th Conference	1983	Penang, Malaysia	"Go First Glass"
9th Conference	1984	Bali, Indonesia	"Glass Industry Meeting the Challenge of the Eighties"
10th Conference	1985	Manila, Philippines	"Keeping Glass Ahead"
11th Conference	1986	Bangkok, Thailand	"Glass Must Fight Back"
12th Conference	1987	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	"Towards 21st Century"
13th Conference	1988	Yogyakarta, Indonesia	"Towards Quality Glass"
14th Conference	1989	Cebu, Philippines	"ASEAN Growth in the 90's A Challenge to Glass"
15th Conference	1990	Chiang Mai, Thailand	"Let's Stay Ahead Through the 90's"
16th Conference	1991	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	"Sharpening the Competitive Edge"
17th Conference	1992	Bali, Indonesia	"Glass Industry in the Globalization Era"
18th Conference	1993	Cebu, Philippines	"Thinking the Future: Thinking in Glass"
19th Conference	1994	Chiang Mai, Thailand	"Glass Reflecting A Brighter Environment"
20th Conference	1995	Kuching, Malaysia	"The Glass Industry in A Borderless World"
21th Conference	1996	Surabaya, Indonesia	"Glass Preserving the Borderless Environment"
22th Conference	1997	Manila, Philippines	"Towards the Challenge of the 21st Century"
23th Conference	1998	Phuket, Thailand	"Overcoming Crisis Into the Third Millennium"
24th Conference	1999	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	"Keeping a Clear Edge Beyond 2000"

No conference has been held in Singapore and Brunei, the 6th member of ASEAN, since they had no glass industries. In the years to come, newest ASEAN members Vietnam and Myanmar may eventually host these annual meeting and conference.

The Third Conference held in Bangkok, Thailand in 1978 was attended by only about 40 delegates but attendants kept on increasing and by 1989, at the 14th Conference in Cebu, Philippines, this went up to more than 300, a level of attendance maintained in succeeding Conferences.

Attendance at the conference have not been limited to AFGM members only. Glass manufacturers from nearby countries and suppliers from all over the world have also been attending.

AFGM also holds Council Meetings usually in June or July to review preparations for the conference, to address common issues and concerns and discuss the affairs of the organization. These meetings are normally attended by the officers of the national industry associations who also take turns in hosting these meetings.

Council Meetings were held in 1980 in Jakarta, 1981 in Singapore, 1986 in Singapore, 1987 in Manila, 1988 in Pattaya, Thailand, 1989 in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, 1990 in Lembang, Indonesia, 1991 in Jakarta, 1992 in Cebu, Philippines, 1993 in Hua Hin, Thailand, 1994 in Langkawi, Malaysia, 1995 in Cipanas, Indonesia, 1996 in Baguio, Philippines, and 1997 in Thahtay Kyun Island, Myanmar.

In 1991, the host country was supposed to be the Philippines but because of the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo and its disruptive effects, Indonesia offered to host for the second consecutive time the Council Meeting which was then held in Jakarta.

AFGM's officers are a chairman, a vice-chairman and a secretary general who hold office for 2 years. The member-countries take turns holding the positions of chairman and secretary general. The vice-chairman normally comes from the member-country whose turn it is to next chair the federation.

The officers of AFGM have been:

1978-1979	Chairman Vice-Chairman Secretary General	Perfecto D. Darvin (Philippines) Leslie Struys (Malaysia) Leopoldo A. Abad (Philippines)
1979-1981	Chairman Vice-Chairman Secretary General	Leslie Struys (Malaysia) Sediono Notoadhiwiono (Indonesia) Nari Gidwani (Malaysia)
1981-1983	Chairman Vice-Chairman Secretary General	Sediono Notoadhiwiono (Indonesia) Chainarong Srifuengfung (Thailand) Frans P. Iskandar (Indonesia)
1983-1985	Chairman Vice-Chairman Secretary General	Suthep Phanasomburn (Thailand) Yu Kim Giang (Philippines) Chainarong Srifuengfung (Thailand)
1985-1987	Chairman Vice-Chairman Secretary General	Peter M. Javier (Philippines) Leslie Struys (Malaysia) Reynaldo S. Palmario (Philippines)
1987-1989	Chairman Vice-Chairman Secretary General	Leslie Struys (Malaysia) Soediono Poerwodihardjo (Indonesia) M. Morgan (Malaysia)
1989-1991	Chairman Vice-Chairman Secretary General	Soediono Poerwodihardjo (Indonesia) Suthep Phanasomburn (Thailand) Frans P. Iskandar (Indonesia)
1991-1993	Chairman Vice-Chairman Secretary General	Dibhyaraks Sukhum (Thailand) Peter M. Javier (Philippines) Supawan Kanyaprasith (Thailand)
1993-1995	Chairman Vice-Chairman Secretary General	Lubin Nepomuceno (Philippines) Leslie Struys (Malaysia) Peter M. Javier (Philippines)
1995-1997	Chairman Vice-Chairman Secretary General	Leslie Struys (Malaysia) Soediono Poerwodihardjo (Indonesia) M. Morgan (Malaysia)
1997-1999	Chairman Vice-Chairman Secretary General	Soediono Poerwodihardjo (Indonesia) Dibhyaraks Sukhum (Thailand) Frans P. Iskandar (Indonesia)
1999-2001	Chairman Vice-Chairman Secretary General	Dibhyaraks Sukhum (Thailand) Ferdinand A. Tumpalan (Philippines) Chartchai Panichewa (Thailand)