Mumbai: Reaching another milestone in the journey it embarked upon last year, Glass Bulletin, in association with Safex, Messe Duesseldorf India Pvt. Ltd, and Emerge Glass, organised the 2nd Glass Bulletin Awards on December 7, 2017, at the MMRDA grounds, Bandra Kurla Complex, in Mumbai. The glorious evening was graced by the attendance of over 1400 guests and patrons of the glass industry, including top players, and delegates from abroad. The event was a huge success that promised the industry of a fantastic year ahead.
The evening began on a rather promising note as guests started arriving 5:30 PM onward even on a day of overcast skies. Their dedication was a significant pointer to the amount of importance and faith the industry attaches to the Glass Bulletin Awards even though it has just embarked on this journey a year back. And it paved the way for the magnificent night that followed. Our anchors for the evening, Mr Ali Asgar and Ms Dhwani Mittal, set the ball rolling with an hour-long session for propagation of business ideas and best practices. The patrons indulged in meaningful conversations with each other. The healthy interaction brought about much a needed exchange of business ideas. This session was among the many reasons of Glass Bulletin Awardsâ acceptance by the industry. The guests were welcomed at the venue by the Glass Bulletin team. The anchors took the opportunity to interview the guests briefly, who then posed for instant photographs by the GBA trophy replica. It was a proud moment for the organisers as the guests waited patiently for a chance to share the frame with the GBA trophy replica. The faith that the industry places with this award was evident this very moment onward. The event began with the singing of the national anthem as a mark of respect to the motherland. And thereafter the audience was given a brief detail of the events that were to follow. Mr Ali Asgar gave a brief and wonderful speech to put the event in motion. The sponsors of the event were introduced to thank them for making the event possible. Following the tradition of invocation to light, Mr Rishi Gupta, Director of Kolf International Pvt Ltd; Mr L N Jindal, Editor-in-Chief, Glass Bulletin, Mr Lakhan Singh, Editor and Publisher, Glass Bulletin, Mr Thomas Schlitt, MD, Messe Dusseldorf India, and Mr Dharmender Kumar, GM, Emerge Glass India Pvt. Ltd, lit the ceremonial lamp. The award ceremony kicked off with âGanesh Vandanaâ to seek the almightyâs blessings. The audience was then given a brief introduction of Glass Bulletin Awards. The anchors spoke briefly on how Glass Bulletin, Indiaâs premier journal for the global glass industry, embarked on this spectacular journey albeit through humble steps in 2016. Glass Bulletin Awards 2016 was a first-of-its-kind initiative undertaken by Glass Bulletin to recognise and celebrate the outstanding efforts and contributions that changed the face of the glass industry in India.
The novel effort generated fanfare and soon became the talk of the industry. This year, the award show received double the number of applications for nomination and the guest presence took a significant jump to 1400 from a mere 600 in 2016. The event had garnered trust among industry patrons for being a platform free from bias. It gave the industry an opportunity of interaction and propagation of fair business ideas. Video messages from Mr Lakhan Singh and Mr Rishi Gupta welcoming the guests and thanking them for their support were played on the LED screen. These were well received with a big round of applause. Thereafter the jury members were introduced and felicitated. The jury plays the most important role in ensuring fair and transparent evaluation and selection of winners. They make the work look easy but the amount of effort they put in is significant to the eventâs success. Glass Bulletin owes its gratitude to the jury members for the commendable job they pulled off. The Glass Bulletin Awards 2017 jury comprised Mr NG Rau, National Head Sales & Mktg. of Gujarat Guardian Ltd; Mr Vivek Dubey, Director Marketing of Gold Plus Glass Industry Limited; Mr KAS Menon, Senior Vice President (Sales and Marketing) of HNG Float Glass Ltd; Mr Gurmeet Singh, MD of Gurind India Private Limited; Mr Balaji Konidala, MD of Balaji Building Technologies Pvt Ltd; Mr Subhash Jajoo, MD of Jajoo Architechtural Glass Pvt Ltd; Mr Deepak Gahlowt, Convener of CCPS and Mr Sudhir Arora, MD of Techno Trade Links. Mr Alok Kumar Modi, Joint Managing Director of Gujarat Guardian Ltd., was then presented the Glass Bulletin Award for âContribution & Services To The Glass Industryâ by Mr Thomas Schlitt, MD, Messe DĂźsseldorf India, and Mr Devender Pundhir, CEO, Gujarat Guardian Ltd, for his efforts to introduce float glass to the Indian market and thereby helping change the face of the industry. Thereafter the award ceremony kicked off with Mr Mayuresh Shah, Managing Director of Gopal Glass Works Ltd, being awarded the Glass Bulletin Award for âLifetime Achievementâ for his efforts to take the industry forward by leaps and bounds. The award was presented by Mr Gerd Schreier, CMO, Hegla. The guests were served drinks and cocktails as the evening progressed. The 2017 Glass Bulletin Award for âSafety and Green Initiativeâ was then bestowed upon Mr Aditya Agarwal, Managing Director of S A Glass Private Limited by Mr Laul, Director, Gutal Trading. The audience was treated to some light-hearted entertainment by a live dance troupe. Thereafter, Mr Philip Soares, MD, Advanced Process Technologies, give away the Glass Bulletin Awards for âBest Innovationâ. These were presented to winners from three zones and a national winner. This was followed by the award for the âBest Glass Showroomâ to three zonal winners and a national winner by Mr Rishi Gupta, Director of Kolf International Pvt Ltd. The audience was then treated to a musical melody by Mr Sameer Mohite of Benteler. The event then progressed with the presentation of the Glass Bulletin Award for the âBest Glass Dealerâ by Mr Balaji Konidala, MD, Balaji Buildings Technologies Pvt. Ltd, and the âBest Young Entrepreneurâ by Mr Vivek Dubey, Director, Gold Plus Glass Industry, and Mr Sharanjeet Singh, MD, GSC Ltd. Thereafter, a short video presentation was given by Gopal Glass Works Limited, Silver Sponsor for the event. Mr Johnny Li, Director, Northglass, then took the stage to present the award for the âBest Young Emerging Companyâ. This was followed by the felicitation of some industry patrons â Mr Vasudevan Suresh (former CMD, HUDCO), Mr Sashi Kant (Adviser, Confederation of Construction Products and Services), Mr Prem Anveshi (MD, Futurex Trade Fair and Events Pvt. Ltd), Mr Ashok (Vice-President, MGPMA), Mr Anoop Solanki (Founder & Director, Vardhaman Recruiters RPO) and Mr Ashish Chakravarty (on behalf of Mr Motiur Rehman, MD, Euro Bangla Glass) – by Mr NG Rau, National Head Sales & Marketing, Gujarat Guardian Ltd. As the evening progressed, the guests were served dinner. Mr Sudhir Arora, MD, Techno Trade Links, then presented the award for the âBest Glass Innovations/ Creativityâ. This category was reserved for organisations. The awards for the âBest Glass Processorâ were then presented to the respective winners. Certificates of Appreciation were presented to Mr. Shashi Kant, Adviser, Confederation of Construction Products and Services (CCPS); Former Deputy Adviser, Planning Commission by Mr. N. G. Rau, jury member and Marketing Head, Gujarat Guardian Ltd, for his outstanding efforts and contributions in the promotion of glass, development of safe use of glass guidelines, standards, spreading awareness and motivating Govt. Departments and Policy Makers to implement and mandate the conditions on Safe Glass Use in their departments and Mr. Vasudevan Suresh, former CMD HUDCO and Vice Chairman of the National Building Code of India 2016. Who is an eminent personality representing in various capacities in a number of Task Forces, Technical Advisory Group & Expert Groups constituted under Govt. of India, State Govt. Departments, various Councils, Associations and Federations on Housing, Urban Development, Building Technologies, Disaster Mitigation and Sustainable Development, Real Estate / Housing Price Indices, Rural Housing and Habitat, innovative infrastructure development, use of appropriate technology applications in the built environment. As the award ceremony was nearing its culmination, Mr Lakhan Singh took the stage to distribute certificates of appreciation to the sponsors of the event and gave a âVote of Thanksâ to the guests and he also thanked Mr Navneet Kumar, Additional Director General, CPWD and Mr T. S. Vivekananda, Chief Architect, CPWD, Mumbai for gracing the event. Mr Thomas Schlitt then took the opportunity to give the audience a brief introduction of glasspro India 2018. Glass Bulletin and Messe Duesseldorf India Pvt. Ltd., are going to organise glasspro India 2018 – a world-class exhibition of flat glass processing, products and accessories – from September 7-9, 2018, in Mumbai, and it would be held concurrently with Glass Bulletin Awards 2018. The event was then brought to a close with a singing performance. GB thanked its guests, sponsors, jury, event managers and participants and the curtain was drawn to the glorious night.
