In servicing the aftermarket, Pilkington Automotive is able both to leverage its global OE supply programmes and to utilise its flexible, short-run manufacturing expertise to produce glazings for models which are no longer current, or for which Pilkington Automotive is not the OE supplier.

Pilkington Automotive products include advanced solar control glass for passenger comfort, glass heating systems to control condensation and icing, security glazing and glazing systems, including encapsulations, extrusions and components, added after basic manufacturing.

High quality glass production starts with the float process, developed by Pilkington and now the industry standard. Automotive glass production includes pre-processing, toughening, laminating, encapsulation, extrusion and assembly, adding functionality.

Pilkington Automotive operates as a single global organisation serving the Original Equipment (OE) and Automotive Glass Replacement (AGR) Aftermarket sectors. Principal operations are in Europe, Japan, North America, South America, China and Malaysia, combined into an integrated worldwide business unit, across all regions and distribution channels.

Lamination is a form of safety glazing where normally two thin glass plies create a sandwich around a polyvinylbutyral (PVB) interlayer. Normally used for a vehicle's windshield, in the case of breakage, the glass is held in place by the interlayer, retaining emergency visibility for the driver.

Advanced glass shaping techniques offer vehicle manufacturers greater freedom to achieve their styling concepts. Automotive designers and engineers demand continuous advances in vehicle glazing systems to meet requirements for improved visibility and safety and better aerodynamics.

Antenna systems for vehicles were first developed in the 1970s. Pilkington Automotive had a major part in this development, with Japan and Germany driving the demand for integrating antennas into glazings, to combat vandalism and to improve aesthetics.

Glazing systems help to simplify the vehicle assembly process. Modular systems such as encapsulation and extrusion are designed to facilitate adhesive bonding of the glazing to the vehicle. Encapsulation involves the injection moulding of a polymer trim, shaped precisely to fit the vehicle body, to the periphery of the glazing.

Pilkington Automotive supplies heated glazings that de-ice and de-mist either part or the whole of the windshield for improved driver comfort and passenger safety. Pilkington Automotive's Hotscreen™ incorporates fine wires that are capable of de-icing a frozen screen at –5°C inside two minutes.

Pilkington Automotive is a market leader in the development of dark tinted automotive glasses, producing two suites of glasses that provide significant benefits to privacy, solar control and overall vehicle styling.