Lord - formerly Sir Harry - Pilkington retired from the company in 1973, after 24 years as chairman. He was succeeded by Alastair Pilkington (later Sir Alastair), the inventor of the float glass process, who had been the company's technical director. Sir Alastair was chairman until 1980, when he was succeeded by Antony (later Sir Antony) Pilkington, who retired in 1995.