Invention of Float Glass
Invention of Float Glass
On the 20th January 1959, the Float Glass process was announced to the glass-making world which completely changed the future for glassmaking and the Pilkington company. This process was invented by Sir Alastair Pilkington and his R&D team after seven years of experimenting and investing in the process.
It is often said that Sir Alastair invented the idea of float glass while helping wash the dishes after dinner. He supposedly saw how the oil floated on the surface and thought “what if glass is floated on liquid?”. This romantic idea of a lightbulb lighting up is in fact a myth and Alastair rejected the idea profusely. It is a fact however that Alastair thought about the idea while completing a mindless task and his mind was wondering.
He began experimenting in December 1952 and though imperfect, he made a flat piece of glass very early in the experimentation stage. However, for this process to reach its full potential and be a success it would have to create a constant flow of high-quality glass 24/7. Creating beyond-industry standard glass 24/7 would give Pilkington a huge advantage over any competition at the time. All pieces of glass which were made by the process between 1952 and 1959 were not perfect, which made the honing of this process so long and gruelling.
Invention of Float Glass
In 1955, Pilkington formally decided to build float process machines and after seven years of effort and £28 million (approximately £150 million in today’s money*) in R&D expenses, a sheet of glass made entirely by the float process was produced in July 1958.
In 1959 Pilkington announced this cutting-edge process to the glass-making world and licenced out the rights to use this process. This decision has been widely disputed and, in many opinions, considered controversial due to Pilkington giving away a prime spot in the market and not taking advantage of a monopoly situation.
There are now around 500 glass float lines in the world and the float process is considered the world standard for high quality glass manufacture.
*Calculated using Bank of England’s inflation online calculator
Information sourced from The Glassmakers by T. C. Barker and Float: Pilkingtons' Glass Revolution by D. J. Bricknell and in-house.The Inventor of Float Glass
Sir Alastair Pilkington was the inventor of the float process which is now the world standard for high-quality flat glass manufacture.
Born on 7th January 1920, Lionel Alexander Bethune (Alastair) Pilkington was educated at Sherborne School and Trinity College, Cambridge.
During his time at Trinity College he volunteered to join the Royal Artillery and became an officer just before the outbreak of World War II, and later fought in the Mediterranean, where he was taken prisoner after the fall of Crete.
When the war ended, he returned to Cambridge and gained a degree in mechanical science.
He joined what was then Pilkington Brothers (there was no family connection) as a technical officer in 1947. He was often publicly referred to as a distant cousin to the glass-making family, but no link was established between their ancestors.
Sir Alastair Pilkington
In 1952 Sir Alastair Pilkington came up with the idea of the Float Glass process and on 20th January 1959 it was announced to the glass-making world.
After this extraordinary invention and plenty of shared traits with Sir Harry (Lord) Pilkington, Alastair moved rapidly through the positions within Pilkington:
- 1953 Sub-director and Member of Executive Committee
- 1955 Director
- 1971-3 Deputy Chairman of the Group
- 1973 Chairman of the Group
He retired from executive office in 1980 to give him more time out of work and retired from the board in 1985.
Sir Alastair Pilkington passed away on 5th May 1995 at the age of 75.
Information sourced from The Glassmakers by T. C. Barker and Float: Pilkingtons' Glass Revolution by D. J. Bricknell and in-house.