GLASS&SEALEDUNITS
GLASS GIANT RAMPS UP ANTIVIRAL COATING
RESEARCH IN THE FIGHT AGAINST COVID-19
The NSG Group, parent company to
Pilkington United Kingdom Limited, is
fast tracking its research into producing
glass with an antiviral coating, as it looks
to help specifiers find new ways of
reducing the transmission of viruses
within buildings and transport.
» THE GLASS GIANT’S
research into anti-microbial
glass was already at an advanced
stage prior to the COVID-19
pandemic. But the outbreak
has made it a key priority for
the business’ UK research and
development (R&D) team based
in Lathom, Lancashire.
Its work has been supported by
a grant from Innovate UK, as part
of its £40 million of funding to
help drive forward technological
advances which address new
challenges from COVID-19.
The team is studying how
coatings can effectively reduce
viral loads on a glass surface.
According to the World
Health Organization (WHO),
coronaviruses can live on surfaces
anywhere from two hours to nine
days. The survival time depends
on a number of factors, including
the type of surface, temperature,
relative humidity and specific
strain of the virus.
A glass with antiviral properties
is expected to help control viruses
in areas like shopping centres,
hospitals, care homes, schools and
public transport. It will also help
to make touch screen devices safer.
As part of the research, Pilkington
United Kingdom Limited is
looking at how an antiviral layer
can be combined with other
functionality glass, such as solar
control to further extend its
applications.
Dr Neil McSporran, global
portfolio manager at NSG Group
said: “Curbing the transmission
of viruses will be a priority for
those who design and manage
buildings and transportation for
years to come, not least until
a vaccine for COVID-19 is
found.”
“Reducing infection via
surfaces that the virus lives on
will be an important part of any
strategy organisations have to
control the virus. This is where
antiviral glass would play an
important role in reducing the
spread of a virus – limiting viral
load on high-touch surfaces, like
the inside of a bus window or a
shopping centre door.”
www.nsg.com
Automated route planning optimises deliveries
» MORLEY GLASS & GLAZING HAS
invested in new software to optimise the
dispatch and delivery of its popular Uniblind
sealed units with integral blinds inside.
The company, which makes thousands of
deliveries across the UK every week, has
introduced Fleet Wizard automated route
planning to all 26 of its delivery vehicles.
The software gives Morley Glass & Glazing
a clear visual of its weekly orders nationwide
and enables the company to carry out
easy load planning for vans that takes
into consideration both location and load
capacities, helping to save both time and
fuel.
With Fleet Wizard, Morley’s planners
and dispatchers simply load data into the
software’s easy-to-use dashboard which then
automates multi-depot, multi-route, multidrop
scheduling. Optimal trips are created,
and resources assigned in a fraction of the time
needed for a manual planning process.
To make the most of the vans, and prevent
them from returning empty, Morley Glass also
offers customers a free glass collection service;
which is turned into cullet in the company’s
glass crushing machine before being sent to
Saint-Gobain for use in new float glass.
www.morleyglass.co.uk
CLEARVIEW-UK.COM » AUG 2020 » 57