In partnership with Saint Gobain, two more float plants were built in South America - an additional one in Brazil, and one in Argentina - and a second plant was opened in Australia near Sydney.
Investment continued in Europe, with float plants started up in Finland (the second in the Nordic area), in Weiherhammer, Germany, and in the UK.
In the same year, Pilkington sold a 20 percent stake in Libbey-Owens-Ford to the Nippon Sheet Glass (NSG) Company.
At the end of the eighties, world recession saw glass prices falling by 25 percent, leading to a further round of cost-cutting and disposal of parts of the business – including the cement and rubber reinforcement businesses, insulation contracting and a 50 percent share in Pilkington Optronics.