The centre is a not-for-profit research and development facility, and businesses will be able to use the plant to bridge the difficult gap between the lab and full-scale manufacturing. PSR has supplied the distributor, alcove, container forehearth, and rolled plate forehearth for the pilot plant for the centre – and the next step of our collaboration with Glass Futures has now begun, with the build and installation having starting in June.

Simon Parkinson, PSR’s Managing Director said:

“With the installation at Glass Futures in now in full swing we thought it an excellent opportunity for our employees to gain experience of a glass factory under construction. Our employees have been able to see first-hand how the things that they are making at our manufacturing site in Halifax are then constructed and put together. Thank you to Glass Futures for enabling this to happen.”

More visits will follow, but we have already had positive feedback from members of our staff, such as “I had the pleasure of attending and thoroughly enjoyed it. It is always good to see our products in situ and to see how everything works.”

As members of Glass Futures, having an operational glass manufacturing and research facility on our doorstep, in the North of England, opens up possibilities for future training or research and development opportunities to PSR and the wider glass industry.

We have also installed technology which will enable us to build a timelapse video of the installation at the Global Centre of Excellence for glass, which we will share over the coming months.