St Helens manufacturer produces enough specialist glass to cover 7000 football pitches
Pilkington United Kingdom Limited, part of the NSG Group, has manufactured its 50 millionth square metre of specialist glass at its advanced coating line in St Helens, as the site marks ten years since production began. The milestone was passed after the manufacturer ramped up production to meet consistently high demand from building designers and the construction sector over the last year.
The volume of glass produced by its OLC1 off-line coater at Cowley Hill in the town is enough to cover 7000 football pitches. This total includes glass that prevents heat from escaping through windows, such as Pilkington K Glass S, a low-emissivity glass designed to provide the highest Window Energy Rating (WER) performance and Pilkington Optitherm S1 Plus which is helping building designers meet increasingly tougher regulatory requirements for insulation.
The line also manufactures the Suncool range of solar control glass that helps to prevent overheating in buildings by limiting the amount of energy transmitted by the sun through glazing. The company expects to see higher demand for solar control glass in the UK as building designers mitigate against the increasing frequency of heatwaves, and work to meet new Part O regulations for overheating in new homes.
Neil Syder, managing director at Pilkington UK, said: “Demand for advanced coated glass that helps to deliver better energy performance to buildings is growing as building regulations tighten and developers go above and beyond to meet their own environmental targets."
“Advanced coated glass is also solving new challenges thanks to R&D breakthroughs, from antimicrobial glass that helps to sanitise healthcare and transport settings, to glass with a special UV pattern that helps to protect wildlife by being visible to birds."
“It’s set for another busy 10 years as industry demands more performance from glass to meet major challenges like net-zero.”
Image: The volume of glass produced by Pilkington UK OLC1 off-line coater at Cowley Hill in the town is enough to cover 7000 football pitches.
