Glass ban
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THERE WOULD be 2,500 potentially unemployed in the glass and glazing industries if weight restrictions in the Greater London Area came into being, said Eric Tunstall, distribution manager of Pilkington Flat Glass Ltd.
"This is the most frightening effect of a lorry ban. A loss of £15m revenue would affect he employment of process workers, maintenance and distribution workers, possibly 500 people." Fifty businesses in the GLC area would be badly hit, he said, each employing about 50 people.
Pilkington Flat Glass, based in St Helens, Merseyside, is the sole British suppliers of flat glass in the United Kingdom.
The company manufactures float and rolled/patterned glasses in St Helens, producing 11,250 tonnes of saleable float glass per week and 3,000 tonnes of saleable rolled/patterned glass per week.
"Our fleet could not operate with an eight-tonne weight limit, as, in most cases, the loads are indivisible. Break bulk depots would not work either," he continued, "because of breakages and hazards to health and safety by double-handling."