Pilkington United Kingdom Limited, part of the NSG Group, is making a multi-million-pound investment in its Merseyside facilities as part of a government-backed project that will save 15,000 tonnes of carbon emissions each year while securing the future of rolled glass manufacturing in the UK.
Under the project, Pilkington UK will move its Watson Street manufacturing operations to its Greengate site in the town.
The move represents a major investment in its Greengate glass furnace, which melts the raw materials into glass as part of the manufacturing process.
The Greengate furnace will be upgraded to accommodate its continued production of flat glass, while delivering the additional output required from the relocation of its Watson Street rolled glass manufacturing line.
The project was instigated as the manufacturer’s furnace at Watson Street, where the business has operated since 1826, reaches its end of life. The site will be shutdown with all jobs from Watson Street being relocated to Greengate as part of the project.
Producing all glass out of the upgraded furnace, rather than running two, will save carbon emissions equivalent to taking 8,800 cars off the road each year*.
The work will begin in August 2023, with the line due to be up and running by August 2024. Watson Street will remain open until then, with no impact expected on the availability of glass while the work takes place.
The project will benefit from a £3.7m grant via the government’s Industrial Energy Transformation Fund (IEFT), which helps cover the costs of industrial energy efficiency and decarbonisation projects in the UK.
*Based on a carbon saving of 15,000 tonnes of CO2 and the average CO2 emissions per car per year in the UK of 1.7 million grams (NimbleFins)
