The recently concluded glasstec
2014 exhibition has received excellent feedback from both exhibitors and
visitors, signalling positive market trends for the glass industry.
While the exhibitors expressed
their satisfaction with glasstec 2014, over 96 per cent of the 43,000-plus visitors
representing mechanical engineering, glass manufacturing, processing and
finishing, crafts, architecture/construction as well as glazing/façades and the
solar sector gave the world’s most important trade fair in the glass sector a
positive overall rating.
The visitors also rated their
visit in terms of achieving their goals at the trade fair just as high. About
40% came to the event with specific intention to invest, which is likely to
create positive impulses for the exhibitors in the coming months. Over three
quarters of attendees represented middle and top management positions while the
proportion of visitors coming to Düsseldorf from overseas reached about 60 per
cent.
Martin Gutmann, President of
glasstec 2014 and Federal Guilds Master expressed his delight at the positive
feedback from all stakeholders, especially in the field of mechanical engineering
and the glass industry.
Speaking on behalf of the
organisers, Hans Werner Reinhard, Managing Director at Messe Düsseldorf
underlined the importance of customer satisfaction as the basis for positive
and sustainable growth of the event for the benefit of all involved.
The comprehensive supporting
programme at glasstec 2014 was received very well by visitors, particularly,
the ‘glass technology live’ (gtl) show organised by Prof Stefan Behling and his
team from the Institute of Building Construction at Stuttgart University. Featuring
the theme of ‘Intelligent Glass’, the show displayed glass products from the
near future including display glass/technical glass applications, glass
printing/coating as well as thin glass.
Some of the highlights of the gtl
show included a 3.20m x 14m pane of glass finished using a ceramic digital
printing process; display glass used in alternative areas of application;
ultra-thin glass for electronic applications; and numerous facade mock-ups featuring
extraordinary geometries, fascinating optical effects or outstanding insulation
properties.
glasstec 2014’s line-up of three
conferences, ‘Solar meets Glass’, ‘Engineered Transparency’ and ‘Architecture
Congress’ was a major draw among all the delegates. The Solar meets Glass
conference began the day before the start of the trade fair with experts from
the solar and glass sectors meeting to discuss their interconnected topics over
two days. The Engineered Transparency conference was held on the first and
second day of the glass exhibition to shed light on the latest developments in
the field of structural glass engineering, and attracted over 200 participants
from 23 countries. The Architecture Congress successfully closed the conference
line-up with some 280 participants.
The next glasstec will be held
in Düsseldorf in line with its two-year cycle from 20 to 23 September 2016.
