Acquisition of Pilkington Flat Polishing Business
On May 1st 2008 Phoenix added to its flat and twin lapping department by acquiring the CD & DVD disc mastering business from Pilkington Special Glass in North Wales. This year marked the 50th anniversary of the origins of the current optics cluster which began with Chance Pilkington. Phoenix was one of many opto-electronic companies formed in the area from this beginning.
Tony Palframan confirmed that the acquisition enables Phoenix to add significantly to its annual turnover and capability in flat and twin lap plano polishing. Prior to this acquisition there were only 2 twin lap machines plus 2 single surface polishers with a maximum part size of 150mm diameter. Nine machines are now in operation, able to polish the maximum part size of 480mm diameter. 
Tony sees a growth in opportunities in supplying defence contract airborne avionic windows and avionic combiners.
The production requirement for CD and DVD mastering discs is 900 pieces per day. This daily batch quantity increases Phoenix’s normal production capacity enabling improvements in efficiency and competitiveness in their flat lapping department.
For Flat lapping, Optical and DVD mastering discs contact : Christine Featherstone, Business Manager – Discs, sales@potl-ltd.co.uk
