FAQs

Very much so. Pilkington Automotive has operations across Europe, Japan, North America, South America, China and Malaysia, serving both the original equipment market, and the aftermarket.

Pilkington Automotive researchers are involved at the earliest stage in the design of the vehicle in order to help our customers realise their design aims, whilst being mindful of optical and manufacturing constraints. 

Pilkington Automotive's European Technical Centre is based in the UK, while our US technical centre is in Ohio. Additionally, Pilkington Automotive has a technical centre in Japan and glazing solutions centre in Italy, as well as local automotive support groups in Germany and Italy. Pilkington Automotive also has  glazing simulation centres in Europe, Japan and the USA. 

Pilkington Automotive is a recognised leader in innovative glazing products and is constantly looking for new benefits to bring to our customers. This can be through shaping and manufacturing technologies, or via new coatings, and systems integration such as the de-icing hotscreen, and on-screen antennae and rain sensors. 

Pilkington Automotive provides glazing systems to simplify assembly. Many glasses today have a polymer trim moulded, extruded or bonded around the periphery. This can be shaped precisely to fit the vehicle body.

Adhesive is automatically applied and the encapsulated glass fitted by robot into the body. Encapsulation provides an opportunity to mould in fixing mechanisms, additional styling features and even hinges for opening windows in minibuses and estate cars.

Yes, we do. For more information about our Group Environmental Policy visit the environmental section of our website.

For the glass industry, the use and availability of cullet (recyclable broken glass) is very important. The recycling of flat glass reduces a potential waste disposal problem, and the use of cullet as a raw material in float glass manufacture helps reduce energy costs. Consequently, we are actively researching additional ways of using more cullet in order to minimise the overall environmental impact of our activities.

Currently the main issue of recycling automotive glass in Europe, however, is the removal of glass from vehicles. The end of life vehicle directive set standards for the amount of material in vehicles, which must be re-used or recycled.

Pilkington Automotive is working to comply with this directive. But some automotive glass has limitations in terms at the recycling. This is due to additional features, such as heating elements, coatings, adhesives, or metal clips that are added to glass.

Pilkington Automotive is adopting the ISO 14001 Environmental Management System Standard around the world.  The Group's policy is to obtain certification in all major manufacturing facilities to this standard. Virtually all Pilkington Automotive Original Equipment facilities have ISO certification.

The quickest and easiest way to contact us is by email at pilkauto@nsg.com or write to us at:

Pilkington Automotive Limited
Hall Lane
Lathom
Nr Orkmskirk
Lancs
L40 5UF
United Kingdom

One of the main differences is our global capability, with operations spread across Europe, Japan, North America, South America, China and Malaysia.  

Pilkington Automotive is a leader in the development and user of computer simulations for advanced glazing technology.  Though probably most frequently associated with the invention of the float process to manufacture the high quality glass used by the automotive industry, Pilkington Automotive has also pioneered other techniques that have led to automotive glazing industry firsts such as:

• the production wraparound windshield
• the S-bend backlight
• dark tint glass 
• solar reflective automotive glazing 
• full vehicle glazing systems including encapsulation, extrusion, bond-on components and mechanical assemblies 
• electrically heated filament windshields

Yes they do.  Over the years, Pilkington Automotive developed a large number of glass operations around the world, each with their local identity.  Recognising both the global nature of the OE industry, and the way in which Pilkington Automotive serves it, for current manufacture, these and other local names have all now been absorbed by the Pilkington Automotive brand.

Laminated sideglazing has significantly increased intruder resistance compared to conventional toughened glass sideglazing.  It is strong enough to withstand vigorous attack from a heavy or sharp weapon, acting as an effective deterrent against attack or the opportunist thief and is expected to significantly reduce car crime in Britain and Europe.

Laminated side glazing also reduces NVH (noise, vibration and harshness) by at least 3 decibels inside a vehicle and also blocks over 95% of UV rays, bringing added comfort to vehicle occupants and protecting the interior of the vehicle. 

We provide glazing for one in three of the world's vehicles and supply all of the major vehicle groups including Toyota, GM, Ford, Daimler, VW, Renault/Nissan, PSA Peugeot Citroen, Honda and BMW.

Glass is more durable, provides better optical quality and can be laminated or toughened to provide additional safety in case of breakage.

Yes, we provide a range of solar control tinted and darker privacy glazings, dependent on customer requirements.

Safety is paramount and our testing regimes are extremely rigorous. They include impact tests, durability and strength tests and optical quality tests. Testing of our glasses is carried out not just during the development phase, but also at each stage of manufacture to strive to maintain the highest standards.