Word: pilkington
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Great Britain, which exported the industrial revolution to the world, has been embarrassed in recent years by a technology that lags far behind the U.S. and much of Europe. Among the notable exceptions to this lack of inventive spirit is a 138-year-old firm named Pilkington Brothers Ltd., Britain's largest glassmaker. Pilkington's new "float glass" process has not only brought dramatic change to an ancient industry but restored some glitter to Britain's industrial reputation. Last week Pilkington completed a licensing agreement that allows Ford Motor to produce float glass for its autos...
Floating Out Glass. Ordinary plate glass is melted, put through a series of rollers and then ground and polished to remove imperfections. The float process, devised by Alastair Pilkington, the company's production head and a distant cousin of the founder, produces better glass more simply and cheaply. In the process, molten glass flows onto the surface of hot liquid tin, acquiring a smooth, flawless surface as it floats, then is quickly cooled and hardened before it can be marred by touching any solid object. By reducing the steps in the production process, the method saves...
...Pilkington scrapped 100,000 tons of glass while perfecting its process, has since produced and sold 200 million sq. ft. of float glass, which is now used for windshields in nearly all of the 2,000,000 cars made in Britain each year. Most of the world's major glass producers have obtained licenses to make glass according to Pilkington's patented process. Pittsburgh Plate Glass Co., the first licensee, is already floating out glass...
Bicycling to Work. St. Helens, the "glass city" of Britain, is today dominated by Pilkington's new glass headquarters tower and its five plants, which are complemented by factories in eight other British towns and in seven foreign countries. The family-owned company produces more than 500 million square ft. of glass annually, nearly a fifth of it by the new float process...
...Pilkington's postwar expansion and its plunge into float glass has been directed by Alastair's cousin, Sir Harry Pilkington, 58, a tall, craggy Cambridge graduate who bicycles to work. Previous Pilkington chairmen have had Httle interest in affairs outside their company, but Sir Harry is a director of the Bank of England, has served as head of government commissions that have investigated everything from TV programs to dentists' fees. He believes that a glassmaker should have a window on the world...