Huddersfield-based glass manufacturer Specialist Glass Products (SGP) will feature in an upcoming episode of Channel 4’s Grand Designs after bending large units of glass for a home renovation featured on the show.
Despite the episode airing at the end of this month, the filming occurred at the company’s Milnsbridge-based factory back in September 2020, in which the film crew documented the process of large-scale glass curving.
The glass was used for a property renovation in Hales Barnes, Cheshire, which the episode focuses on. The high-performance glass was supplied free issue by the customer and needed bending to fit the project’s design requirements. SGP’s extensive and innovative factory and machinery allows the company to curve glass up to 3200mm x 5000mm and is one of the only manufacturers in the country to be able to do so.
The customer chose to use glass as they desired a material that would keep heat in and out when necessary. Whilst the team faced some technical difficulties whilst filming due to unprecedented faults in the glass provided, the outcome was successful and even received praise from the show's host Kevin McCloud who made a point of how fantastic the glass looked and what a key part of the design it was.
Being no strangers to television appearances, SGP previously featured in an episode of Channel 4’s Amazing Spaces last year. In the episode, the factory was visited by host George Clarke who was taught the process of toughening glass by Managing Director, Andrew Taylor.
The upcoming television appearance adds to an already successful year for the Yorkshire manufacturer, winning Business of the Year at the Examiner Business Awards in March and providing the glass signage used around London for the recently opened Elizabeth Line.
Speaking on the episode feature, Andrew Taylor, Managing Director of Specialist Glass Products, commented: “Having the film crew visit us was an amazing experience, and we can’t wait to see how our products have been used in the upcoming episode.”
“As a manufacturing business, it’s fantastic to showcase the types of products we create on a daily basis here at the factory and highlight what we are capable of with our machinery, experience and innovation.”
The episode will air on Channel 4 on Wednesday 31st August at 9 pm.
