Pilkington and Saint-Gobain are digging in for a bitter battle in the potentially lucrative market for self-cleaning glass.
Saint-Gobain, the French building materials group that is Europe“s leading…
Pilkington and Saint-Gobain are digging in for a bitter battle in the potentially lucrative market for self-cleaning glass. Saint-Gobain, the French building materials group that is Europe“s leading building glassmaker, launched its Aquaclean self-cleaning on 26 November. Pilkington, the UK specialist glassmaker, unveiled its version, Pilkington Activ, last February. However, Pilkington“s full commercial launch will not be until March 2002 in Europe and October 2002 for the UK. One analyst said that, at best, the presence of Aquaclean will make Pilkington“s launch more difficult. Pilkington Activ will be more expensive than Aquaclean because it is more sophisticated. Both products are hydrophilic, meaning that they shed water. But Pilkington Activ has added photocatalytic properties, which break down deposits into carbon dioxide and water by reacting to sunlight. Both will be branded “self-cleaning glass” – a market that analysts estimate could be worth GBP 200 milion in Europe by 2005. Pilkington expects sales of GBP 2025 million next year. Saint-Gobain has already begun attempts to belittle its rival“s product. In a technical document the company claims: “The self-cleaning coating of a photocatalytic glass results in loss of light and a visible colour tint, which may be a nuisance to the user.” Nevertheless, a spokesman claims the company has its own photocatalytic product in development and “would be in a position to launch” before October 2002 if necessary. American rival PPG has launched a photocatalytic glass in the US called SunClean.