St Helen's Council has backed plans for a £36M glass plant which will create 50 jobs. The coating facility at the Cowley Hill Works in St Helens will also protect existing jobs and help expand the firm's apprentice programme. Pilkington was recently awarded £5M from the UK government's "Regional Growth Fund" towards the project. The coating line will be in operation from October 2012 and will produce low-E glazing products to complement Pilkington's K Glassline, as well as its solar control glass products. These ranges are currently produced in Sweden & Germany, so the new facility is expected to reduce transport costs and help lower carbon emissions caused by shipping the glass. Councillor Andy Bowden, Cabinet Member for Urban Regeneration and Housing said: "This is a huge vote of confidence for St Helen's from a major international corporation."
