glasstec 2006: from basic glass to high-tech façades

The attendance of international glass producers, converters and upstream suppliers, as well as an information programme covering all the jobs involved in building a façade will make glasstec, from 24 to 28 October 2006, of great interest to façade builders.

Even in previous years it was obvious that the glass industry’s and its suppliers’ foremost international trade fair was becoming increasingly important for façade builders. The closing of ranks between glass producers, glass converters and façade builders is both in keeping with the times and reasonable. It is impossible to imagine doing without glass in the modern design of building skins.

A company that wishes to make innovative façades must keep up to date with current trends in the glass industry. At the same time, it is just as important for the glass industry to be guided by the needs of façade builders. It is only the functional and aesthetic combination of individual glass and façade components that allow for developments that render building shells even more appealing and efficient.

Bernd Blümmers, Head of Marketing at the glass manufacturer and converter Saint-Gobain Glass Deutschland, knows the needs of the market and believes that the meeting of the various trades at glasstec 2006 will be very positive: ‘For Saint-Gobain Glass, the attendance of façade builders at glasstec 2006 is of fundamental importance. This would make the uniqueness of glass visible from production to transformation to its use in the façade, and give the visitor access to the entire process chain. At the end of the day it is the façade builders who make glass visible to the customer. We work jointly to satisfy customer demands, and we should be represented jointly at the leading trade fair of the glass industry from 24 to 28 October 2006 in Düsseldorf.’

 
Advantages for exhibitors and visitors

With a view to the ever more complex requirements for building skins, the organizers of glasstec 2006 have made it their goal not only to allow for the presentation of product innovations but also to intensify the dialogue between specializations. Marianne Ingenhoven, glasstec Project Director, considers this to be beneficial for everybody involved: ‘Even in the past, glasstec was far more than a mere product showcase. glasstec 2006 will offer exhibitors and visitors an even more comprehensive information package by involving more façade builders.’

That constructive cooperation between the glass industry, suppliers, and façade builders is imperative, given the rising demands made of the construction industry, is something that Michael Voigt, General Manager of Solutia Deutschland GmbH, confirms as well. Solutia is among the world’s leading suppliers of film for laminated toughened glass, which is increasingly used in façades. Voigt: ‘Safety, climate control, sound protection and design are critical requirements that façade builders must increasingly satisfy. We expect the presence of façade builders to result in intensive working contacts and to attract additional target groups, thus enhancing the standing of glasstec in exhibitors’ and trade visitors’ view.´

Special show opens up perspectives

In the exhibition halls in Düsseldorf there will be products and lectures that will show what is possible today and what will become possible tomorrow. At glasstec 2006, the special show Glass Technology Live, which in previous years provided a host of interesting ideas for pioneering applications of glass in façades, will again contribute to this.

The unique presentation of modern high-tech glasses and of the possibilities for using them in façades will again attract thousands of planners and architects from around the world to the exhibition halls in Dusseldorf on the occasion of glasstec 2006. There is no other trade fair that gives them such a comprehensive overview of the design possibilities offered by glass as an important material for architecture. Last but not least, the large number of visitors from this important target group makes attendance at glasstec 2006 highly worthwhile for façade builders.