The NSG Group recently announced plans to invest £36 million (~ $58 million) in an off-line vacuum sputter coating facility at its Pilkington Cowley Hill site, St. Helens, Merseyside, UK. The new installation will manufacture a range of high-performance energy-saving glazing products. The expansion is supported by a grant of £5 million (~ $8 million) from the UK Regional Growth Fund and is due to come on stream in October 2012.

“The installation of this advanced technology coater will allow us to widen our range of high-performance coated glasses, enabling our customers to meet and exceed UK building energy-saving regulations and complementing our well-established and widely used Pilkington K Glass™ online low-emissivity product, which continues to meet UK building regulations requirements,” said David Pinder, managing director, Building Products UK and South Europe. “Our aim is to widen customer choice, and the new investment will enable us to expand our range of energy-saving products to meet increasingly tough regulations. Local UK manufacture of some products currently imported from our plants elsewhere in Europe will help reduce transport costs and environmental impact, in line with the NSG Group’s Sustainability agenda.

“The investment will help create 50 new jobs and also allow us to extend our successful Apprenticeship scheme, bringing young people into our industry.”

For additional details, visit www.nsggroup.net.