Luke Wood revisits Regency Glass’ new Warrington headquarters, less than a year after construction was still underway. Now the UK’s largest glass processing facility is fully operational, production of Regency Triple featuring Corning Enlighten Glass has begun, and the next phase of a multi-million-pound investment programme is already in motion.

When I last visited Regency Glass’ new Warrington headquarters less than a year ago, it was still very much a building site. The shell was complete, but engineers were still installing machinery, production lines were being commissioned and it required a little imagination to picture what would eventually become the UK’s largest single glass processing and IGU manufacturing facility.

Fast forward to today and that vision has become reality.

At 420,000ft², the new factory is an impressive sight before you even step inside. Once you do, the scale becomes even more apparent. Perhaps most impressive of all is how seamlessly Regency has managed the transition from its former Leigh facility.

Moving an entire glass processing operation of this size is no small undertaking, yet according to head of sales Wes Clarkson, many customers barely noticed the change.

“We’ve worked incredibly hard to ensure there was as little disruption as possible,” he says. “The move has been a huge operation, but keeping our customers supplied throughout has always been our priority.”

A factory built for the future
Regency Glass has travelled a remarkable distance since the business began in 1983. What started as a modest operation employing just a handful of people now occupies what is arguably one of the most advanced glass processing facilities anywhere in Europe.

Yet despite the dramatic change in scale, one thing hasn’t changed. “If we’re going to do something, then we’re going to do it properly.” It’s a phrase that crops up repeatedly during my visit and, looking around, it’s difficult to argue otherwise.

The Warrington factory has been purpose-built not simply to house existing production equipment, but to accommodate future growth. Existing machinery from Leigh has been integrated into an operation designed around automation, efficiency and expansion.

And expansion is already happening.
Regency Glass has already committed around £30 million to the project. That investment isn’t stopping there.
Phase two has now been confirmed and includes two new Glaston Ultra TPS lines, two Glaston
Multi-Arrisser machines, multiple Hegla SortJet systems and three additional Hegla ProLam LSR cutting tables.

Commissioning is scheduled for completion before Christmas 2026.

It’s a significant vote of confidence, not only in Regency Glass, but in where the business believes the market is heading.

The catalyst for change
The decision to relocate wasn’t simply about needing more space. The catalyst was Regency Triple featuring Corning Enlighten Glass.

Originally, Regency planned a much smaller new factory. But as customer interest in the lightweight triple glazing system grew, it quickly became clear those plans would not provide enough long-term capacity.

“We had to think much bigger,” explains Wes. “The level of interest in Regency Triple meant we needed a site that could grow with future demand rather than limit it.” That decision now looks increasingly well judged.

Rethinking triple glazing
Triple glazing has always promised exceptional thermal performance – the problem has been the weight, from manufacturing and transportation through to installation.

Developed in collaboration with Corning Incorporated, the world’s leading innovator in glass, ceramics, and materials science, Regency Triple uses an ultra-thin 0.5mm Boro-aluminosilicate glass centre pane rather than traditional 4mm soda-lime glass.

The result is a unit that delivers the thermal performance expected from triple glazing while being up to 30% lighter than conventional triple-glazed units and only around 5% heavier than standard double glazing.

That reduction in weight could prove transformational.
Not only does it make transportation and installation considerably easier, but it also opens up retrofit opportunities that simply haven’t existed previously.

One of the most significant advantages is that Regency Triple can be manufactured within a 28mm cavity while achieving U-values of between 0.8 and 0.9 W/m²K.

For installers, that presents an entirely new conversation with homeowners.

Rather than replacing perfectly serviceable window frames, existing units could be upgraded with high-performance thin triple glazing, delivering significant energy improvements without the cost and disruption of complete window replacement.

For developers, the appeal is equally obvious.

As more housebuilders move towards triple glazing to satisfy increasingly demanding energy efficiency targets, Regency Triple offers the performance benefits without the handling challenges associated with conventional heavyweight units.

Performance can be taken even further with larger cavities:
• 28mm: 0.8–0.9 W/m²K
• 36mm: 0.6–0.7 W/m²K
• 40mm+: 0.5–0.6 W/m²K
The units are manufactured using Thermo Plastic Spacer technology, providing precise manufacture, excellent gas retention and improved condensation performance.

The Corning Enlighten Glass itself is equally impressive. At just 0.5mm thick, it initially appears incredibly delicate – almost impossibly thin. Yet picking it up quickly changes that perception.

Rather than feeling fragile, it has a flexibility more akin to Perspex. Despite its appearance, it is remarkably strong, doesn’t require toughening and benefits from a coefficient of thermal expansion around three times lower than conventional soda-lime glass.

A significant retrofit opportunity
Regency believes this product isn’t just a benefit for the new build and replacement sector, but for retrofit glazing too.

A white paper commissioned by the company highlights the scale of the UK’s energy efficiency challenge.

Around 80 million windows are currently rated E or remain unrated under Window Energy Ratings, while 98% of existing windows fail to meet today’s minimum building regulation performance level of 1.4 W/m²K.

“The opportunity is to deliver immediate energy efficiency improvements while extending the life of existing window frames,” says Wes. “That reduces cost, minimises disruption for homeowners and creates a compelling sales opportunity for installers, while supporting wider decarbonisation and fuel poverty objectives.”

Sustainability built into the business
Environmental performance has clearly been considered throughout the design of the new Warrington facility. Sustainability isn’t being treated as an afterthought, it has been built into the operation from day one.

Regency is part of Saint-Gobain’s Glass Forever programme, supporting a circular approach to glass manufacturing through the recovery and recycling of waste material.

In 2025 alone, the company returned 1,369 tonnes of soda-lime glass back into production, saving 1,642 tonnes of virgin raw materials while reducing carbon emissions by 958 tonnes.

Corning Enlighten Glass also contributes to that sustainability story. Being only 0.5mm thick, one skip of Corning Enlighten Glass carries the equivalent amount of glass as eight skips of traditional 4mm soda-lime glass. It also offers up to a 50% reduction in embodied carbon, reduces inbound glass deliveries by up to 27%, lowers toughening energy requirements by as much as 33% and cuts transport emissions per unit by up to 29% compared with conventional triple glazing.

For Wes, sustainability is becoming just as important commercially as it is environmentally.

“Sustainability is hugely important for us, and for our customers, who increasingly need to demonstrate they’re working with partners that share those same environmental values,” he says. “Our new Warrington facility is powered by 100% renewable electricity, has achieved a BREEAM Excellent rating, generates renewable energy through solar PV and operates under a comprehensive Carbon Reduction Plan covering Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions.

“We recycle 100% of our glass cullet whether it is soda-lime or Boro-aluminosilicate, recover and reuse water throughout production, and support low-emission travel through complimentary EV charging and employee car-sharing initiatives. Sustainability is embedded into how this business operates.”

Looking ahead
At the time of my visit, Regency Triple volumes were modest but were already a larger part of daily intake than conventional triple-glazed units. But everything about Warrington suggests Regency isn’t planning for today’s demand. It’s planning for tomorrow’s.

By the time this magazine reaches readers, customers will also be able to experience the new Nexus Suite – a purpose-built viewing gallery positioned at the heart of the factory, offering a panoramic view across the production facility, including the dedicated Regency Triple manufacturing lines.

Less than a year ago, I left Warrington looking at a building full of potential. Today, that potential is becoming reality.

And with another major investment programme already underway, it feels like Regency Glass is only just getting started.