Triplex Safety Glass
British safety-glass manufacturer and historic automotive glazing brand.
Last updated August 25, 2026
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Overview
Triplex Safety Glass was a British manufacturer and brand associated with laminated and toughened glass for vehicles, aircraft and other transport applications. The company was established in 1912 by Reginald Delpech to manufacture laminated windscreens in the United Kingdom under licence from the French Société du Verre Triplex. That French enterprise was connected with the work of chemist Édouard Bénédictus, whose development of laminated glass provided the technical basis for safety glazing in which a transparent interlayer holds broken glass together rather than allowing it to scatter. Triplex became particularly visible through its use in automotive and aircraft windscreens. The brand marque was commonly applied to vehicle and aircraft glazing, making it recognizable not only as a manufacturer but also as a quality and safety designation. Its products were based on laminated constructions using multiple glass layers and an intermediate plastic membrane, commonly polyvinyl butyral. The company also produced toughened glass, expanding its range beyond laminated windscreens into other forms of transport glazing. A major institutional turning point came on 9 September 1929, when Triplex formed a joint venture with Pilkington in St Helens. The relationship linked Triplex's safety-glass business with one of Britain's major glass manufacturers and eventually provided the corporate path into Pilkington Automotive. Triplex operated from a factory built at Eccleston, St Helens, and maintained a major plant at Kings Norton in the West Midlands. By the 1980s, its St Helens operation employed approximately 1,000 people and the Kings Norton site approximately 700, illustrating the scale the business had achieved in British industrial glazing. Triplex also strengthened its market position through acquisition. During the 1960s it bought British Indestructo Glass, described in reference material as its principal domestic competitor in laminated glass. This transaction gave Triplex a dominant, effectively monopolistic position in British laminated-glass production at the time. Its products served automotive, rail, marine and aerospace customers, with aerospace transparency remaining an important legacy of the St Helens manufacturing location. The Triplex brand was retired by Pilkington in August 1993. The underlying industrial capabilities did not disappear immediately: the St Helens site later manufactured aerospace glass under GKN Aerospace Transparency Systems, while Pilkington Automotive continued to restructure its activities. The automotive building was reportedly no longer in use by the period surrounding the collapse of MG Rover in 2005, although the precise date of its closure is uncertain. The Eccleston site was subsequently demolished and redeveloped as housing. The company itself was formally dissolved in September 2019, making Triplex principally a historic marque and industrial legacy rather than an active standalone brand.
History
Triplex Safety Glass originated in Britain during the early development of laminated safety glazing. Reginald Delpech founded the Triplex Safety Glass Company Ltd in 1912 to manufacture laminated windscreens in the United Kingdom. The enterprise operated under licence from the French Société du Verre Triplex, whose technology was associated with Édouard Bénédictus. Bénédictus's laminated-glass concept used an interlayer between sheets of glass so that fragments remained attached after impact. This property made laminated glazing particularly suitable for windscreens and other applications where uncontrolled shattering could injure occupants. Triplex glass was reportedly being applied to automobiles during the First World War. Over time, the brand became associated with vehicle and aircraft windscreens, and its mark was widely seen on transport glazing. The company produced both laminated and toughened glass, serving automotive, rail, marine and aerospace requirements. Its laminated constructions generally involved two or more sheets of glass bonded around an interlayer, commonly a polyvinyl butyral membrane. This construction improved fragment retention and impact safety, while toughened glass offered a different safety-glass solution based on controlled breakage characteristics. The business formed a significant relationship with Pilkington on 9 September 1929 through a joint venture established in St Helens. Triplex was headquartered at Eccleston, where a factory built in 1928 became a central part of its operations, and it also maintained a major plant at Kings Norton in the West Midlands. The Pilkington relationship eventually connected the Triplex operation with Pilkington Automotive. In the 1960s, Triplex acquired British Indestructo Glass, its main competitor in the British laminated-glass market. Contemporary descriptions characterize the result as a monopoly or near-monopoly in British laminated-glass production. Triplex retained a substantial industrial workforce into the late twentieth century. Reference material indicates that approximately 1,000 people worked at the St Helens site and around 700 at Kings Norton during the 1980s. The company supplied glazing across several transport sectors, with aerospace transparencies representing a particularly durable part of the St Helens site's industrial identity. The brand was retired by Pilkington in August 1993, although related production capabilities continued under successor ownership and branding. Following the retirement of the marque, aerospace-glass production at St Helens continued under GKN Aerospace Transparency Systems. Pilkington also downsized operations, and the automotive building was believed to have fallen out of use around the period of MG Rover's collapse in 2005, though the exact closure date is not established in the available material. The Eccleston works was later demolished and replaced by a housing development. The legal company was finally dissolved in September 2019. Triplex therefore survives primarily as a historical British safety-glass name and as a reference point in the development of laminated transport glazing.
- 2019
Company formally dissolved
[1]The Triplex Safety Glass company was formally dissolved in September.
- 1993
Brand retired
[1]Pilkington retired the Triplex brand in August.
- 1980
Large industrial workforce
[1]During the 1980s, approximately 1,000 people were employed at St Helens and about 700 at Kings Norton.
- 1960
British Indestructo Glass acquired
[1]Triplex bought its main British competitor in laminated glass and gained a dominant position in the domestic market.
- 1929
Joint venture with Pilkington
[1]Triplex and Pilkington formed a joint venture in St Helens on 9 September, laying the groundwork for the later Pilkington Automotive connection.
- 1928
St Helens factory built
[1]A factory was built at Eccleston, St Helens, which later served as the company's headquarters and a major production location.
- 1914
Early automotive application
[1]Triplex laminated glass was reportedly first applied to automobiles during the First World War.
- 1912
Triplex Safety Glass Company founded
[1]Reginald Delpech established the company in Britain to manufacture laminated windscreens under licence from the French Société du Verre Triplex.
Products and positioning
Triplex was positioned around impact-resistant safety glazing for transport and industrial applications. Its laminated glass used bonded glass layers and an interlayer to retain fragments after breakage, while its toughened products provided an alternative safety-glass construction. The brand's strongest historical associations were with automotive windscreens, aircraft transparencies and British manufacturing expertise.
Automotive glazing · 1912
Laminated windscreens
Triplex's core historical product was laminated windscreen glass for automobiles. Multiple glass layers were bonded around an intermediate membrane, helping retain fragments when the glazing was struck or broken. The product became the most visible expression of the Triplex marque and was also adapted to other transport applications.
Safety glazing
Toughened safety glass
Triplex manufactured toughened glass in addition to laminated products. Toughened glazing provided a separate safety-glass approach for vehicle windows and other applications, using heat treatment to alter breakage behavior. Specific product names and launch dates are not identified in the available reference material.
Aerospace glazing
Aerospace transparencies
The company supplied aircraft and aerospace glazing, making the St Helens operation relevant beyond the automotive sector. Aerospace glass production continued at the site after the Triplex marque was retired, later operating under GKN Aerospace Transparency Systems rather than as an active Triplex-branded offering.
Brand decisions
1993
Retire the Triplex brandStrategyBackground
Pilkington had developed successor operating structures and no longer continued Triplex as an active brand.
Action taken
Pilkington discontinued the Triplex marque in August 1993.
Aftermath
Related capabilities continued under Pilkington and later successor branding, including GKN Aerospace Transparency Systems at St Helens.
1960
Acquire British Indestructo GlassM&ABackground
British Indestructo Glass was identified as Triplex's principal competitor in domestic laminated-glass production.
Action taken
Triplex acquired British Indestructo Glass during the 1960s.
Aftermath
The acquisition gave Triplex a dominant, reportedly monopolistic position in British laminated-glass production.
1929
Create a joint venture with PilkingtonM&ABackground
Triplex operated in a safety-glass market where scale, manufacturing capacity and access to industrial glass expertise were strategically important.
Action taken
On 9 September 1929, Triplex formed a joint venture with Pilkington in St Helens.
Aftermath
The relationship eventually connected the Triplex business with Pilkington Automotive and influenced the later ownership and branding of related production.
Sources2 sources
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