Gulf Construction Online - Pilkington to launch self-cleaning glass

Regional News

Pilkington to launch self-cleaning glass

01 December 2001

Glass maker Pilkington will introduce its newest product, the world's first self-cleaning glass, to the UAE market early next year.

The new product, called Pilkington Activ, was launched in the European and north American markets this year, after extensive test marketing in the US, Ireland and Austria.

Pilkington plc is one of the world's largest manufacturers of glass and glazing products for the building, automotive and technical markets, with annual revenues of £2.8 billion ($3.96 billion) in 2001 and manufacturing operations in 25 countries on six continents. The group employs around 27,400 people.

Pilkington was founded in 1826 and remained a private company until 1970 when shares were issued on the London Stock Exchange.

Today, over 80 per cent of the group's sales are outside the UK. Pilkington has major market shares in the building and automotive product markets of the world, said a company spokesman.

In conjunction with its associates, the group has the widest geographical reach of any glassmaker, enabling it to respond to customers whose operations are increasingly global. Over half of Pilkington's sales are in Europe, more than a quarter are in North America, and the rest primarily in South America and Australia.

"Around half of the group's revenue comes from flat glass products for buildings, and Pilkington is a market leader in Europe, South America and Australasia for these products," said the spokesman.

"This business contains Pilkington's activity in float manufacture (the group operates 25 float plants worldwide and has interests in a further 10) and other processed building glass products.

"Pilkington supplies a quarter of the world's £4 billion automotive glass market, which accounts for just under half of the group's sales.

"Pilkington also supplies the specialist aerospace market.

"Pilkington is widely recognised as a technological leader in the global glass industry. It has played a key role in the industry's major technological advances both before and after the invention of the float process by Sir Alastair Pilkington in 1952.

"Today, Pilkington invests between £30 and £40 million a year in research and development."

The group's technical programmes focus on product development and manufacturing efficiency improvement. Pilkington Engineering is the first call for most new float construction projects where technology partners are sought.

Over the past 50 years, Pilkington claims to have been responsible for almost every major advance in glass technology. In addition to the float glass process, which is now the universal method for making high-quality flat glass, Pilkington inventions include products such as Pilkington K Glass, advanced bending processes for making car windscreens in complex shapes to fine tolerances; Pilkington Pyrostop advanced fire-resistant glass; Ez-Kool, Sundym and Galaxsee solar control glass for cars; solar reflective automotive glazing; the Pilkington Planar structural glazing system; and the 3R clean air process for reducing nitrogen oxide emissions from glass furnaces.

Pilkington products are distributed by Dubai-based Inter Glass Company.