Gulf Construction Online - Pilkington undergoes major expansion to meet demand

Fire Protection

Pilkington undergoes major expansion to meet demand

01 MARCH 2001

Pilkington is currently undertaking a huge development of its European production infrastructure to improve product availability and quality, and to allow the introduction of technically-advanced products.

Within the current programme, an impressive development both for its complexity and scope is the joint venture between Pilkington and German glass processor Interpane International Glass. A new integrated float glass manufacturing, laminating and coating plant is being built in Lorraine, France. The operation is due to come on stream at the end of this year.

To meet the fast-growing market demand, Pilkington is expanding its production of advanced energy-saving glass at Halmstad in Sweden, through the installation of new plant and upgrading of existing facilities. This will primarily serve Nordic markets with low-E and solar control products.

Fire safety glasses - driven by ever more comprehensive legislation - are in greater demand than at any time. Pilkington's plant at Gelsenkirchen, Germany, produces Pilkington Pyrostop and Pilkington Pyrodur. Work is at an advanced stage to increase production facilities with the goal of fulfilling global demand.

The result will not only increase output, but also optimise consistent quality, a crucial factor in fire safety glass, says a spokesman for the company. An upgrade of the coating facilities at this site is also being carried out to produce the latest high-performance glasses such as Pilkington Optitherm S and Pilkington Suncool. Due for completion in 2001, work on the plant will not disrupt existing production.

A number of developments are already bearing fruit. The revised Watson Street plant in St. Helens in the UK - a town synonymous with glassmaking and still the heart of the Pilkington operation - has been producing Pilkington Pyroshield for some time. Investment has increased output substantially, with further improvements at the Doncaster sister-factory at which the wired glass is polished - the only large-scale glass polishing plant in the world outside Japan.

Together with the commercial issues of volume, operating efficiency and the ability to produce more technically-advanced products, in every case, the environmental impact of manufacturing glass is at the heart of Pilkington's production philosophy.

This is exemplified by the newly-commissioned mirror line at Cowley Hill, another of the company's St. Helens factories to benefit from intensive local investment during the last three years. Here, an automated manufacturing process now produces high-quality mirrors in a wide range of sizes and thicknesses, whilst virtually eradicating the use of lead, copper and other toxic chemicals traditionally used in their manufacture.

The new manufacturing process also offers product benefits: a new mirrored product to be produced on the line, Pilkington Optimirror Plus, has far greater resistance to the natural atmospheric corrosion, cleaning agents and adhesives that can cause unsightly black edges and spot faults associated with conventional mirrors. The superior optical and reflective qualities of Pilkington Optimirror Plus make the product suitable for a vast array of architectural and other design applications, including walls, partitions, doors, displays, ceilings, cupboards and furniture.

Pilkington is also investing heavily in its customer support infrastructure notably in an on-line service centre particularly aimed at specifiers, and on-line ordering system for its customers, which will have benefits throughout the supply chain. A key part of the company's e-Business strategy is the Pilkington on-line service centre, accessible through the Pilkington website. It is designed to allow specifiers to obtain information, brochures and samples quickly and efficiently.

Pilkington sales director David Woodward believes that the introduction of Pilkington's e-Business initiatives is symbolic of a fundamental change.

''The Pilkington on-line ordering system and Pilkington on-line service centre have been turned from concept to reality in a matter of months. Importantly, they are very real, working systems that will present tangible benefits down the supply chain. This is the Pilkington of the 21st century, a company that is totally focused on delivering what the markets - but more importantly, on what our customers - want. This is not just rhetoric - it is happening now,'' Woodward says.