Glasstec 2016, Germany

Industry in an Upbeat Mood @glasstec 2016

The international expo for glass industry glasstec 2016 was once again at its innovative best with 1,235 exhibitors from 52 countries and more than 40,200 trade visitors from over 100 countries thronging with gusto the four-day trade fair at d from September 20, 2016 to September 23, 2016. In the aftermath of a near-lean session for the last two years, glasstec 2016 has again provided impressive proof of its standing as the leading global trade fair for the glass sector this year Industry experts from fields as varied as mechanical engineering, glass production, processing and finishing to skilled crafts, architecture/construction as well as window/façade and solar systems have felt pretty satisfied, with exhibitors unanimously reporting concluding good business deals, promising contacts and an upbeat mood in the global glass sector — a fact expected to generate profitable follow-up business. “Without doubt glasstec is, and will remain, the most important trade fair for glass machinery and plant building. This has been confirmed once again this year by the high percentage and quality of international visitors. This position now has to be built upon. A challenge we have to meet together with our partners from the glass industry, the glazier trades and Messe Düsseldorf,” says Dr Bernd-Holger Zippe, Chairman of the Board of VDMA’s Glass Technology Forum and Chairman of the glasstec Advisory Board. One, the quality of this trade fair is again underscored by the high percentage of top-management executives who visited the expo this year. More than half the visitors came from this decision-making level of their companies. Two, over 40% of visitors attended glasstec 2016 with concrete intentions to invest. The proportion of guests travelling to Düsseldorf from abroad continues to be unrivalled by international standards. Summing up the results, Joachim Schäfer, Managing Director at Messe Düsseldorf, said, “The glass sector has once again impressively demonstrated its many facets and performance potential in Düsseldorf. We were able to see an innovative industry in the nine exhibition halls that looks to the future with optimism.” Special show glass technology live (gtl ) was inspiring and pioneering by means technological and futuristic. Hosted at Hall 11 under the auspices of Prof Stefan Behling, Senior Executive Partner at Foster & Partners in London, and the IBK 2 team of Stuttgart University, gtl served as a central meeting place for the industry. As an innovation forum for future glass applications, gtl is the most important catalyst for the international glass sector. Under the banner ‘Future – Glass – Performance’, exhibits focusing on free-form, ultra-thin, solid and informative glass were on display at the gtl. Highlights included smart glass that can adapt to varying light conditions such as electrochromic glass, or interactive glass as a carrier of information and electronics as well as head-up displays and SmartHome functions or an interactive all-glass sports floor. In the structural segment a nine-metre long and four-meter high all-glass slide made for surprised faces, to name but one exhibit . The Special show, therefore, not only proved an inspiration for architects and designers with new application possibilities in building skins but also bolstered a host of further developed glass products for new fields of application. The agenda of the three conferences — “Function Meets Glass”, “Engineered Transparency” and “International Architecture Congress” — convinced the delegates with a spectrum of subjects which were eloquently delved upon by internationally renowned speakers. The first “edition” of the two-day conference “Function meets Glass” saw more than 120 participants from 22 countries, representing the crème de la crème from the technical world of glass. The scientific conference “Engineered Transparency” attracted to Dusseldorf as many as 210 participants from 25 countries, with over 70 lectures on the latest developments in structural glass construction. Finally, the “International Architecture Congress” marked the successful culmination to the series with 200 delegates engrossed in tech-talks such as the one delivered by ace British architect Ian Ritchie. The next glasstec will be held in Dusseldorf from October 23, 2018 to October 26, 2018.