SOUTH AMERICA — GPD South America Speakers Discuss Flat Glass Market, Advanced Structure Challenges
July 18, 2012

The two-day Glass Performance Days South America (GPD SAME), held in accordance with the Glass South America Expo, featured global technology transfer and structural solutions for design and glass architecture in Sao Paolo, Brazil, for its 200 attendees, according to GPD chairman Jorma Vitkala.

Alexandre Pestana, president of Abravidro, provided a market review of flat glass and Vitkala gave an overview of the 220 GPD Finland 2011 lectures. Both Pestana and Vitkala utilized expertise from South American, North American and European specialists during their coverage of "flat glass [and] advanced processed products and current technologies," according to information provided by GPD SAME.

"The fact is that the competitiveness of glass compared with other building materials today is greatly enhanced by the cost-efficient production of flat glass made possible by technology," Vitkala says. "Taking this competitive material into advanced processed products is a result of global application of accumulated know-how."

According to Vitkala's presentation, Europe, China and North America compose more than 70 percent of the world's demand for flat glass. China is the largest supplier and Europe has "the most mature glass market with the highest proportion of value-added products."

"Coating, solar applications and the continued drive toward increased energy efficiency spearhead this development," Vitkala says. "Glass providers today offer advanced solutions such as intelligent glass, building integrated photovoltaic glass and a variety of advanced coated products for different applications."

Vitkala says an obstacle for builders is to design "advanced glass structures" that are energy-efficient while maintaining up-to-date communications technology.

"With 70 [to] 80 percent of mobile communications located indoors, the penetration of the tight building structures of today attracts special attention that requires cooperation between builders, telecom specialists and providers of building materials," he says. "Without any actions in legislation or solutions for radio signal propagation enhancements the mobile radio coverage will substantially suffer in the near future as the drive towards increased energy-efficiency."

GPD SAME was held May 17-18, 2012, at the at the Transamerica Expo Center.