Pilkington is a glass-manufacturing company based in Lathom, Lancashire, England. It includes several legal entities in the UK, and is a subsidiary of the Japanese company Nippon Sheet Glass (NSG). It was formerly an independent company listed on the London Stock Exchange and a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. Established in 1826 as the St Helens Crown Glass Company, the company gradually grew to become the largest employer in St Helens, where it was originally based. It was renamed Pilkington Brothers in 1845 following the ending of the partnership with the Greenall family. The business continued to expand, becoming Pilkington Brothers Limited after its incorporation in 1894. In 1903, it became the sole British manufacturer of plate glass as well as the dominant producer of sheet glass. After the First World War, Pilkington was one of only two large glass manufacturers remaining in Britain, the other being Chance Brothers; the firm gradually expanded its stake in Chance and fully acquired it in 1951. Pilkington performed strongly during the Second World War, fulfilling all wartime demands and emerged in a relatively strong position after the war's end. During the 1950s, Pilkington employees Alastair Pilkington (no relation) and Kenneth Bickerstaff invented the float glass process; the firm leveraged licensing agreements for many other manufacturers to use this new process in exchange for royalty payments. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Pilkington invested heavily into its manufacturing sites and acquired numerous overseas competitors. It also became a major world supplier of toughened and laminated safety glass via its controlling interest in Triplex Safety Glass. During 1970, Pilkington was floated as a public company on the London Stock Exchange; prior to this, the firm had been owned by a combination of descendants of the Pilkington family and several employee trusts. In late 1985, Pilkington was the subject of a hostile takeover bid from BTR Industries which it successfully warded off. During the 1990s, amid allegations that Pilkington had organised a cartel due to its hold on the float glass market, the US government and Pilkington filed a proposed consent decree that released other businesses from several licensing terms. In late 2005, the company received an initial takeover bid from NSG; a second and more generous bid was accepted by Pilkington's key shareholders. The acquisition was completed during June 2006; the combined company has since competed for global leadership of the glass industry.
History
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