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Happy clear anniversary for Pilkington Optiwhite

Nov. 22, 2010 – Pilkington is celebrating the 25th anniversary of Pilkington Optiwhite, the extra-clear, low-iron float glass. It has very high light transmittance and is practically colourless, which the company says makes it ideal for applications where transparency and purity of colour are desired.

Nov. 22, 2010 – Pilkington is celebrating the 25th anniversary of Pilkington Optiwhite, the extra-clear, low-iron float glass. It has very high light transmittance and is practically colourless, which the company says makes it ideal for applications where transparency and purity of color are desired.

It's likely that part of the reason for the success of Pilkington Optiwhite is its flexibility; it can be toughened or laminated, it has the widest range of sizes and thicknesses on the market and it can be combined with other products from the Pilkington range to provide additional benefits.

Pilkington Optiwhite has been a popular solution for architects, specifiers and designers for the past quarter of a century. During that time, the company says that it has continuously been refined and improved.

Pilkington Optiwhite has been used in thousands of construction projects so far, including high rise buildings, airports and museums across the globe.  It has been installed in the Glass Pavilion at the Toledo Museum of Art in Toledo, Ohio.  The outside walls and many of the interior walls of the building were made using Pilkington Optiwhite. The building houses one of the world's finest international glass collections with more than 5,000 pieces of glass from ancient to contemporary times.  It has also been specified for use in ‘The Shard’ at London Bridge, the soon-to-be tallest commercial structure in Western Europe. Designed by renowned Italian Architect Renzo Piano, this striking new building uses Pilkington Optiwhite low-iron glass, with the aim of looking like a crystal tower. The transparency of Pilkington Optiwhite will cause the building to change appearance throughout the day, as the levels of light and the position of the sun change.

Jon Phillips, Marketing Director Building Products, said: “We are delighted to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Pilkington Optiwhite, and to see it growing in popularity every year. The experience and reputation we have gained over the last quarter of a century in producing such a high-quality product is invaluable as we look to adapt and evolve Pilkington Optiwhite for all future applications.”

Along with ‘The Shard’, Pilkington Optiwhitehas been chosen for a number of other exciting, high-profile glazing projects worldwide. It is now produced at NSG Group sites in various countries.