THE FLOAT GLASS CONSORTIUM

Directors and Senior Associates

David Hilton

Chairman and Joint Managing Director

35 years with Pilkington
UK Chartered Engineer and Fellow of the Institute of Engineering and Technology
Masters Degree in Business Administration
Held many senior positions in float manufacturing, design and project management worldwide including Manufacturing Director UK Float Operation, Vice President of Manufacturing Pilkington North America
Specialist fields - All aspects of float manufacturing, design, engineering, commissioning and operation from raw materials to dispatch

David Woodward

Commercial and Joint Managing Director

36 years with Pilkington
Graduate in Business Management
Member of the Chartered Management Institute and Institute of Management Consultancy
Held director level positions for Pilkington worldwide. Responsible for business and commercial strategy including new UK and international float projects and joint ventures.
Specialist fields - Business and commercial strategy

David Robinson

Technical Director

27 years with Pilkington
M.Sc. in Glass Technology and Management
Experienced in Production, R&D and Global Manufacturing Improvements
14 years in development of float and on-line coating technology
13 years in operational management, including Factory Manager of a 2 float operation producing on-line coated products, including low emissivity, solar control and TEC products
Global Manufacturing Improvements Manager for on-line coatings
Specialist fields - All areas of float glass manufacturing and on-line coatings technology

Wendy Parker

Senior Project Manager

5 years working with Pilkington Group Engineering on new float design and build and also rebuilds
Worked in Group Engineering Hot End Design department
Worked on site in China, Italy, Germany and USA
Highly skilled in project management and documentation control systems and tracking
Over 30 years in engineering roles across a range of industries
Specialist fields - project management, documentation control systems and tracking

Joe Pledger

Drawing Office Manager

2 years with Pilkington
Furnace Design Draughtsman
Producing 2D and 3D CAD drawings
Over 32 years experience in mechanical design
Specialist Fields - Mechanical design draughting

Alan Fell

Director of Engineering

35 years with Pilkington
Graduate in Mechanical Engineering
Chartered Engineer and Member of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers
Experienced Furnace and Float Bath Design Engineer.
Experienced Project Manager responsible for the planning., coordination and control of major projects for Pilkington and licensees in the UK and overseas
Specialist fields - All aspects of float manufacturing, design, engineering, construction and commissioning from raw materials to dispatch

Gerry Miller

Senior Associate

33 years with Pilkington
Graduate in Ceramics
Experienced Plant Manager with responsibilities including melting operations of glass fibre, CTV production and float glass melting and production, including low iron glass
Specialist fields- melting operations and problem-solving
Specialist in float, rolled and wired glass manufacture

Bernard Heaton

Senior Associate

30 years with Pilkington
Extensive experience in the use and development of cold end equipment and provision of technical support for worldwide float plants.
Specialist fields- cutting, snapping and overall cold-end operations

Brian Riley

Senior Associate

35 year with Pilkington
B.Sc. Mechanical Engineering
Specialist in Analysis of Production Planning and it’s affects on stockroom layout, Equipment, stock density and turnover analysis, packing and despatch techniques

Ron Bainbridge

Furnace Designer

42 years with Pilkington
Worldwide experience in furnace design. Former Senior Furnace Design Engineer for Pilkington Group
Specialist field - furnace design

Andrew Milne

Senior Associate

38 years with Pilkington
Extensive experience in glassmaking management positions; set up and managed the Pilkington global manufacturing excellence department having worldwide responsibility for benchmarking and instigation of operational and yield improvement programmes
Specialist fields - Operational Yield improvements, cold end equipment and operation

Bob Wilson

Furnace and Float Glass Construction Specialist Associate

Bob spent his entire career working on new float design and construction, hot and cold rebuilds maintenance and inspection on float furnaces and baths.
Bob worked at all levels from apprentice to Manager of the Pilkington Building Services Division, responsible for all Pilkington and associated companies furnaces and float baths
Specialist fields - Furnace and Float Design, Construction and maintenance

Gary Owen

Senior Associate – Float Glass Manufacturing

25 years with Pilkington
Operational experience of float manufacturing lines worldwide
Direct manufacturing experience of product range from 1mm to 25mm, automotive and architectural tinted products and on-line pyrolitic coatings.
Worked on many new float start-ups and re-builds including responsibility as start-up team leader
Specialist fields - Hot End Float Glass Operation and Manufacture

Frank Briscoe

Senior Associate - Float Glass Manufacturing

40 years with Pilkington
Experienced in providing operational and technical support for float manufacturing lines worldwide
Senior R&D Technologist and provider of process support and improvements planning
Involvement in start-ups in America, Europe and Asia
Specialist fields- Forming and Annealing and the problems associated with thick and heavy glass manufacture

Ian Whittaker

Senior Associate - Refractories Specialist

15 years with SEPR (UK Sales Director)/Saint-Gobain
19 years - Senior Project Engineer - KTG
B.Sc. - Mechanical and Production Engineer
Diploma in Glass Technology
Experience in Float, Container, TV, Insulation, Crystal and Special Glasses
SGT Refractories Committee Member
Specialist Fields - Refractory's and Furnace Construction

Stephen Birchall

Senior Associate – Float Glass and Patterned Glass Manufacturing and Design

32 years with Pilkington
Graduate in Mechanical Engineering
Worked for 30 years in Pilkington R&D function on float and patterned glass production and control system development
5 years as Senior Design Engineer on float and patterned glass projects
Specialist fields - Furnace surveys, all aspects of Float and Patterned Glass manufacture

Brian Quirk

Senior Associate – Float Glass and Patterned Glass Manufacturing and Design

31 Years with Pilkington
B. Eng, Chartered Mechanical Engineer
Plant Operations Manager responsible for all manufacturing and engineering activities associated with the production of textured, wired and low iron glass.
Experienced in MIP management from raw materials to cold end operation
Specialist fields - Rolled and Float Glass manufacture, Rolled line design and Plant Management

Arthur Holt

Senior Associate – Float Glass and Patterned Glass Manufacturing and Design

39 Years with Pilkington
Process Engineering Manager and Senior Design Engineer
Experienced on float and rolled projects, rebuilds and start-ups worldwide including Installation, Commissioning, Improvement & Routine Maintenance systems and procedures
Specialist fields – All aspects of Float Engineering and operation from raw materials to dispatch and off-line cutting

Clive Rogers

Senior Associate – Float Glass and Patterned Glass Manufacturing and Design

30 Years with Pilkington
Degree in Engineering
Worked in Research and Development Department
Worked on many development and new float projects worldwide
Specialist fields – Float glass forming and annealing

Geoff Atherton

Float Quality Control Expert

30 years with Pilkington
B.Sc. in Science and Technology
Quality Control Manager
Specialist fields- Float Glass Quality Control systems and methods

Nick Hall

Senior Design Engineer – Float Electrical and Control Systems

Chartered Electrical and Control systems Engineer with a broad spectrum of experience
M.Sc. in Power Electronics and Control Systems
Float line experience ranging from Furnace to Cutting Line
HV/LV Electrical distribution
DCS/PLC/SCADA design and programming
Instrument control systems
Extensive installation and commissioning experience in over 20 countries
Specialist fields – Coating equipment, hazardous areas variable speed drives, networking

Clive Watkin

Senior Design Engineer

3 years with Pilkington, 2 years with St Gobain
Degree in Mechanical Engineering working towards Chartered Engineer status with IMECHE.
Experienced in Float Glass Mechanical Services and Float Line Design and Construction
Experience in the implementation of preventative maintenance schemes (TPM) within the glass and automotive industries.
Working knowledge of float glass and fibre glass operations as well as extensive automotive experience with Toyota
Specialist fields- mechanical engineering design of hot end, mechanical services and on-line coatings systems, alongside site implementation and project management