Specialist Glass Products (SGP) has supplied 12 toughened laminated glass panels for Yorkshire Wildlife Park’s biggest investment since COVID.

The project arose when Yorkshire Wildlife Park had the opportunity to house critically endangered African penguins and wanted to create one of the world’s largest penguin enclosures.

The strength, clarity and performance of the glass were key considerations throughout. The glass needed to support a large, deep body of water under high pressure, and therefore required specialised manufactured glass.

Because it is a viewing area, glass clarity was also a major requirement.

Cheryl Williams, director at Yorkshire Wildlife Park, commented:

“People were completely amazed when they walked through the gates, and you are hit with this wall of blue. It’s such a wow factor for visitors when they come straight through the gate, and the first thing they see is these 33m of glass.”

The initial enquiry was for 12 large panels of 48mm thick triple-laminated glass, but as the project developed, the design changed due to an increase in water pressure. Upon review, the originally specified PVB interlayers were removed and replaced with SentryGlas, a structured rigid interlayer that gives the glass additional strength and enables it to meet the loading requirements.

The project’s timing was essential to ensure the enclosure was completed in time for peak summer season. SGP put in additional shifts at the factory and accelerated the project, managing to deliver all glass on time for the penguins’ arrival. The glass performed as expected and was delivered without issues.

The original program to manufacture the 12 panels was three to four weeks, but as the project neared completion and the program had to be accelerated, SGP turned around all 12 panels in just over a week.

Wayne Lewis, sales manager at SGP, said:

“When approached with the project, we of course said yes; this is the type of project that Specialist Glass Products excels in, the type of project that we love and that a lot of our competitors will shy away from.”

The glass was purchased in a jumbo sheet size of 6m by 3,210m. SGP then cut the glass to size and polished the edges. The project requirements also included radius corners and toughening. Finally, it was laminated with the Sentryglas interlayer, again using a heat-and-pressure process, before the glass bonded itself to the three layers to create a finished product.

A secondary heat-soak test was also carried out to prevent spontaneous breakage from impurities naturally present in the glass when toughened.

The final product delivered has resulted in the largest penguin enclosures in the UK, with extremely positive feedback from the public. The opening event hosted 700 gold members attending on the launch day.