Bristol based glass merchant, MacKenzie Glass, has celebrated its official launch since acquiring Pilkington Bristol from NSG at the end of last year, a move that also sees it become Pilkington’s first ‘Regional Partner’.
The acquisition, that took place on 1 December, included the purchase of stock, a 37,000ft2 purpose-built facility and the transfer of 46 members of staff.
While it is part of the wider Cornwall Glass Group, MacKenzie Glass will operate as standalone, independent business. Last year it supplied more than 1 million square metres of flat glass throughout the South West, South Wales, Southern England and Central Southern regions, and also offers a range of toughening, cutting and polishing services. As Regional Partner, it will actively promote and have full access to Pilkington’s full product range and delivery service, although it will also offer product from other manufacturers when necessary.
The new MacKenzie Bristol site reportedly has the capacity to supply more than 300 tonnes of glass each month, the majority of which is for IGU manufacture, with Pilkington KS (soft coat) said to be a ‘key staple.’ However, the company is keen to capitalise on its value added premium products and technologies in order to deliver maximum growth in the future, as Matt Prowse, joint managing director, explained: “If you have bought from Pilkington, the products that you have always bought will continue to be available on the same or better lead times.
“Going forward, however, we see significant opportunity for growth in added-value products like coatings, laminates – such as Pilkington’s Pyrostop, Optiview, Optimirror and Activ Range – which we believe can generate higher margin opportunities for our customers.
“The other point to make is that we are independent and have the additional flexibility to supply product from other manufacturers. If we can’t deliver it from within our own or Pilkington’s range, we’ll supply it from someone else.
“Culturally, we’re also perhaps a little bit different. The team of directors share a background in glass processing and we’re committed to working in partnership with our customers to add value to that relationship.”
