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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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Pilkington
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Firm which has manufactured glass at St Helens, in Lancashire, since 1826. In that year two brothers, Richard and William Pilkington, were among the original investors in the St Helens Crown Glass Company; by 1849 the company was known as Pilkington Brothers. It remained a family firm until 1970, when public shares were issued. By then it had long been a major international glass firm, but its greatest success had come in 1959 with the launch of its revolutionary float glass technology. Invented by Alastair Pilkington (b. 1920), the process involves floating glass on the surface of molten metal. Licensed in numerous countries, this soon became the standard method of manufacturing flat glass.
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