PERSPEX® as modern as ever
The innovative acrylic sheet celebrates 90 years
PERSPEX® acrylic sheets are well known as one of the world’s highest quality acrylic materials. Their impressive features include light weight, high transparency, countless colour options, flexible formability and resistance to light and breaking. It is hard to believe that this modern and versatile material has been manufactured for 90 years.
It is time to celebrate and to look back over 90 years of PERSPEX®!
PERSPEX®, from the Latin verb to see through, was registered as a trade mark by the British chemical company ICI on 16/11/1934. ICI was at that time looking for a safe, transparent alternative to glass, a material which would also be durable and robust.
Rearmament at the end of the 30s led to the first orders: ICI produced cockpit canopies for fighter aircraft including the legendary Spitfire cockpit.
Clear, colourless PERSPEX® offers an impressive light transmission of 92% – a level not even matched by glass.
Picture: Preparatory work for PERSPEX® processing in the early days of the brand.
At the end of the Second World War, ICI looked for new markets for PERSPEX®. Acrylic sheet material was revealed to be an excellent transparent material for roofing purposes and PERSPEX® skylights allowed natural light into factories, agricultural building and schools.
Picture: Transparent, resistant to breaking and easy to form: at a later date, the whole glazing in the Göteborg Palm House was made from PERSPEX®.
The first PERSPEX® bath tub was created in 1947. Although the emphasis was on the material’s transparent qualities in the early days, later on, coloured matt finishes were also produced. PERSPEX® soon became popular in more and more every day contexts. Acrylic sheet material is nearly always used in applications ranging from incubators for premature babies to implosion protection for cathode ray tube (CRT) televisions.
Picture: A bath made from PERSPEX® is warm to the touch, easy to clean and comes in luxurious colours: a PERSPEX® advertisement in 1961. Premium sanitary ware made from acrylic material is now sold by Perspex International under the brand name ASTERITE®.
Starting in the 1960s and 70s, things became really colourful: an increasing number of designers discovered the material with its unique formability and range of colours. Furniture, handbags, buttons, jewellery, glasses, toys, tableware, all made from PERSPEX®.
Picture: Colourful design – PERSPEX® lampshades from Finland
A firm favourite in shop design and shop fitting applications since the 1950s, PERSPEX® is also a key element in signage and corporate design. But over the last 90 years, there has been a massive increase in the number of colour options. Practically every customer request for a particular colour can be fulfilled – the database already includes thousands of colour formulations for acrylic sheet material. Lighting technology has also experienced a great deal of innovation.
Perspex International Ltd. was acquired by Schweiter Technologies in late 2018. The product range has been part of 3A Composites since that time. The most significant application areas for this versatile material currently include architecture, visual communication, shopfitting and furniture construction as well as lighting technology. We look back on a long company history and look forward to being part of the successful future of PERSPEX®.
Picture: Even illumination, weather resistance and colour fidelity: a brand name made from PERSPEX®.
PERSPEX® is as modern today as it ever was, and to mark its anniversary year, an example of a striking application will feature the coming months. Watch this space... and join us to celebrate 90 years of PERSPEX®.
