Pilkington
Encyclopedia
Pilkington Group Limited is a multinational
glass
manufacturing company headquartered in St Helens
, United Kingdom
. It is a subsidiary of the Japan-based NSG Group
. Prior to its acquisition by NSG in 2006 it was an independent company listed on the London Stock Exchange
and for a time was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index
.
The company was founded in 1826 as a partnership between members of the Pilkington and Greenall families, based in St Helens, Lancashire.. The venture used the trading name of St Helens Crown Glass Company. On the departure from the partnership of the last Greenall in 1845, the firm became known as Pilkington Brothers. In July 1894 the business was incorporated under the Companies Act 1862 as Pilkington Brothers Limited.
Pilkington was floated as a public company on the London Stock Exchange
in 1970. It was for many years the biggest employer in the northwest industrial town. The distinctive blue-glass head office tower-block in Prescot Road, used as the firm's world HQ, and completed in 1964, still dominates the town's skyline.
Between 1953 and 1957, (Sir) Alastair Pilkington
and Kenneth Bickerstaff invented the Float Glass Process
, a revolutionary method of high quality flat glass production by floating molten glass over a bath of molten tin
, avoiding the costly need to grind and polish plate glass to make it clear. Pilkington then allowed the Float Process to be used under licence by numerous manufacturers around the world.
Pilkington, with its subsidiary Triplex Safety Glass, in which it gradually acquired a controlling interest, also became a major world supplier of toughened and laminated safety glass to the automotive and building industries.
During the 1960s and 1970s, Pilkington used the flow of Float royalties to invest in float glass plants in several countries including Argentina, Australia, Canada and Sweden; also to acquire major existing flat and safety glass producers and plants in USA (Libbey Owens Ford
), Germany and elsewhere. A Monopolies Commission report in 1967 concluded that Pilkington and Triplex operations were efficient and entrepreneurial and, despite their high share of the UK glass trade, operated in a manner suited to consumers' best interests.
In late 1985, Pilkington was the subject of an unfriendly take-over bid from BTR Industries
, a large British-based conglomerate group. Pilkington's efforts to reject the bid were assisted by its employees, the town and some government ministers. Their joint successful work was followed by a withdrawal of BTRs offer in early 1986.
On 25 May 1994, the United States Department of Justice
filed suit in U.S. District Court alleging that Pilkington, through its technology licence agreements with more than 60 companies around the world, had created a cartel
by exercising control over the markets in which its licensees could sell float glass and construct float-glass manufacturing plants, and over the customers within each market to which each licensee could serve. Furthermore, the agreements required disclosure and license-back of any improvements to the process developed by the licensees. Such behavior is permissible when the business engaging in it has legitimate intellectual property
interests, but according to the government, in this case it was a violation of the Sherman Act
, because Pilkington's patents had expired and any trade secret
s which it might have had in the process used by the licensees had long since become publicly known. On the same day, the government and Pilkington filed a proposed consent decree
, which enjoined
Pilkington from enforcing these restrictions against its U.S. licensees, or against U.S. non-licensees, or against non-U.S. licensees wishing to export either technology or glass products to the United States. The agreement came into force on 22 December 1994, and expired ten years later.
In late 2005 the company received a takeover bid from the smaller Japanese company NSG
. The initial bid and the first revised bid were not accepted, but on 16 February 2006 NSG increased its offer for the 80% it did not already own to 165 pence per share (£1.8 billion or $3.14 billion in total) and this was accepted by Pilkington's major institutional shareholders, enabling NSG to compulsorily acquire the smaller holdings of other shareholders, many of them being existing and retired employees, who had not wished to support the takeover. The combined company will compete for global leadership in the glass industry with the leading Japanese glassmaker Asahi Glass, which had around a quarter of the global market at the time of the deal. Pilkington had 19% and NSG around half that.
Pilkington has developed a self-cleaning
coated float glass product, called Pilkington Activ. This self-cleaning glass
has a coating which uses a method of photocatalysis
to break down organic dirt with sunlight. The dirt is then washed away by the rain during a hydrophilic process.
Pilkington has also developed and launched Pilkington energiKare - Energy Efficient Glazing, which can increase the energy efficiency in buildings and reduce environmental impact.
Multinational corporation
A multi national corporation or enterprise , is a corporation or an enterprise that manages production or delivers services in more than one country. It can also be referred to as an international corporation...
glass
Glass
Glass is an amorphous solid material. Glasses are typically brittle and optically transparent.The most familiar type of glass, used for centuries in windows and drinking vessels, is soda-lime glass, composed of about 75% silica plus Na2O, CaO, and several minor additives...
manufacturing company headquartered in St Helens
St Helens, Merseyside
St Helens is a large town in Merseyside, England. It is the largest settlement and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens with a population of just over 100,000, part of an urban area with a total population of 176,843 at the time of the 2001 Census...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. It is a subsidiary of the Japan-based NSG Group
Nippon Sheet Glass
is a Japanese glass manufacturer. In 2006 it purchased Pilkington of the United Kingdom. This makes NSG/Pilkington one of the four largest glass companies in the world alongside with another Japanese company Asahi Glass, Saint-Gobain, and Guardian Industries Corp.....
. Prior to its acquisition by NSG in 2006 it was an independent company listed on the London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...
and for a time was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index
FTSE 100 Index
The FTSE 100 Index, also called FTSE 100, FTSE, or, informally, the footsie , is a share index of the 100 most highly capitalised UK companies listed on the London Stock Exchange....
.
History
Pilkington was floated as a public company on the London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...
in 1970. It was for many years the biggest employer in the northwest industrial town. The distinctive blue-glass head office tower-block in Prescot Road, used as the firm's world HQ, and completed in 1964, still dominates the town's skyline.
Between 1953 and 1957, (Sir) Alastair Pilkington
Alastair Pilkington
Lionel Alexander Bethune Pilkington, and his associate Kenneth Bickerstaff, both of Great Britain, developed the world's first commercially successful manufacture of high quality flat glass using their float glass process...
and Kenneth Bickerstaff invented the Float Glass Process
Float glass
Float glass is a sheet of glass made by floating molten glass on a bed of molten metal, typically tin, although lead and various low melting point alloys were used in the past. This method gives the sheet uniform thickness and very flat surfaces. Modern windows are made from float glass...
, a revolutionary method of high quality flat glass production by floating molten glass over a bath of molten tin
Tin
Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn and atomic number 50. It is a main group metal in group 14 of the periodic table. Tin shows chemical similarity to both neighboring group 14 elements, germanium and lead and has two possible oxidation states, +2 and the slightly more stable +4...
, avoiding the costly need to grind and polish plate glass to make it clear. Pilkington then allowed the Float Process to be used under licence by numerous manufacturers around the world.
Pilkington, with its subsidiary Triplex Safety Glass, in which it gradually acquired a controlling interest, also became a major world supplier of toughened and laminated safety glass to the automotive and building industries.
During the 1960s and 1970s, Pilkington used the flow of Float royalties to invest in float glass plants in several countries including Argentina, Australia, Canada and Sweden; also to acquire major existing flat and safety glass producers and plants in USA (Libbey Owens Ford
Libbey Owens Ford
The Libbey–Owens–Ford Company was a producer of flat glass for the automotive and building products industries both for original equipment manufacturers and for replacement use. The company's headquarters and main factories were located in Toledo, Ohio, with large float glass plants in Rossford,...
), Germany and elsewhere. A Monopolies Commission report in 1967 concluded that Pilkington and Triplex operations were efficient and entrepreneurial and, despite their high share of the UK glass trade, operated in a manner suited to consumers' best interests.
In late 1985, Pilkington was the subject of an unfriendly take-over bid from BTR Industries
BTR Industries
BTR plc was a British industrial conglomerate, which merged with Siebe in 1999 to form BTR Siebe plc, later renamed Invensys. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.-History:...
, a large British-based conglomerate group. Pilkington's efforts to reject the bid were assisted by its employees, the town and some government ministers. Their joint successful work was followed by a withdrawal of BTRs offer in early 1986.
On 25 May 1994, the United States Department of Justice
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
filed suit in U.S. District Court alleging that Pilkington, through its technology licence agreements with more than 60 companies around the world, had created a cartel
Cartel
A cartel is a formal agreement among competing firms. It is a formal organization of producers and manufacturers that agree to fix prices, marketing, and production. Cartels usually occur in an oligopolistic industry, where there is a small number of sellers and usually involve homogeneous products...
by exercising control over the markets in which its licensees could sell float glass and construct float-glass manufacturing plants, and over the customers within each market to which each licensee could serve. Furthermore, the agreements required disclosure and license-back of any improvements to the process developed by the licensees. Such behavior is permissible when the business engaging in it has legitimate intellectual property
Intellectual property
Intellectual property is a term referring to a number of distinct types of creations of the mind for which a set of exclusive rights are recognized—and the corresponding fields of law...
interests, but according to the government, in this case it was a violation of the Sherman Act
Sherman Antitrust Act
The Sherman Antitrust Act requires the United States federal government to investigate and pursue trusts, companies, and organizations suspected of violating the Act. It was the first Federal statute to limit cartels and monopolies, and today still forms the basis for most antitrust litigation by...
, because Pilkington's patents had expired and any trade secret
Trade secret
A trade secret is a formula, practice, process, design, instrument, pattern, or compilation of information which is not generally known or reasonably ascertainable, by which a business can obtain an economic advantage over competitors or customers...
s which it might have had in the process used by the licensees had long since become publicly known. On the same day, the government and Pilkington filed a proposed consent decree
Consent decree
A consent decree is a final, binding judicial decree or judgment memorializing a voluntary agreement between parties to a suit in return for withdrawal of a criminal charge or an end to a civil litigation...
, which enjoined
Injunction
An injunction is an equitable remedy in the form of a court order that requires a party to do or refrain from doing certain acts. A party that fails to comply with an injunction faces criminal or civil penalties and may have to pay damages or accept sanctions...
Pilkington from enforcing these restrictions against its U.S. licensees, or against U.S. non-licensees, or against non-U.S. licensees wishing to export either technology or glass products to the United States. The agreement came into force on 22 December 1994, and expired ten years later.
In late 2005 the company received a takeover bid from the smaller Japanese company NSG
Nippon Sheet Glass
is a Japanese glass manufacturer. In 2006 it purchased Pilkington of the United Kingdom. This makes NSG/Pilkington one of the four largest glass companies in the world alongside with another Japanese company Asahi Glass, Saint-Gobain, and Guardian Industries Corp.....
. The initial bid and the first revised bid were not accepted, but on 16 February 2006 NSG increased its offer for the 80% it did not already own to 165 pence per share (£1.8 billion or $3.14 billion in total) and this was accepted by Pilkington's major institutional shareholders, enabling NSG to compulsorily acquire the smaller holdings of other shareholders, many of them being existing and retired employees, who had not wished to support the takeover. The combined company will compete for global leadership in the glass industry with the leading Japanese glassmaker Asahi Glass, which had around a quarter of the global market at the time of the deal. Pilkington had 19% and NSG around half that.
Operations
NSG Group has manufacturing operations on four continents and with sales in more than 130 countries.Pilkington has developed a self-cleaning
Self-cleaning glass
Self-cleaning glass is a specific type of glass with a surface which keeps itself free of dirt and grime.-Introduction:The field of self-cleaning coatings on glass is divided into two categories: hydrophobic and hydrophilic....
coated float glass product, called Pilkington Activ. This self-cleaning glass
Self-cleaning glass
Self-cleaning glass is a specific type of glass with a surface which keeps itself free of dirt and grime.-Introduction:The field of self-cleaning coatings on glass is divided into two categories: hydrophobic and hydrophilic....
has a coating which uses a method of photocatalysis
Photocatalysis
In chemistry, photocatalysis is the acceleration of a photoreaction in the presence of a catalyst. In catalysed photolysis, light is absorbed by an adsorbed substrate. In photogenerated catalysis, the photocatalytic activity depends on the ability of the catalyst to create electron–hole pairs,...
to break down organic dirt with sunlight. The dirt is then washed away by the rain during a hydrophilic process.
Pilkington has also developed and launched Pilkington energiKare - Energy Efficient Glazing, which can increase the energy efficiency in buildings and reduce environmental impact.