Exhibitors Say glasstec 2008 Brought Successful Opportunities

After five long days, traffic during glasstec this past Saturday was a bit slower than the previous show days, however exhibitors said the show itself had been very successful in generating customers and contacts. In total, 1,300 companies exhibited in more than 785,700 square feet of net exhibit space. About 55,000 visitors, a slight increase compared to the 2006 event, attended the five-day event. And while some companies were there offering new products, others were looking at new markets and opportunities.

Bohle, which recently opened U.S. operations had a number of new products on display at glasstec.

Bohle, which has world headquarters in Germany, recently opened a U.S. subsidiary in Charlotte, N.C., and was exhibiting with a number of new products and enjoying serving new markets. Gary Dean, chief operating officer for Bohle America Inc., said the transition to the North American market has been exciting and a positive development.

"The impact [from North America] just keeps rolling," said Dean, who added that they have been making a lot of good contacts.

For CGI International Ltd. from the United Kingdom its focus has been on research and development of its Pyroguard fire-rated products.

"We're working to increase the tested size of the product," said Steve Goodburn, sales director, "We want to offer it in larger sizes, and once we have the test evidence it will make the product more attractive to the market."

Goodburn added that for his company exhibiting at glasstec is about reaching new markets.

Ferro was busy at glasstec as the company was promoting a number of performance coating products during the show.

"A lot of the world's major economies are down, so we want to find ways to reach other markets, such as the Middle East, Scandinavia and Eastern Europe," Goodburn said.

Michael Morrissey, sales and marketing manager, glass, for Ferro Corp. in Washington, Pa., said the show was excellent.

"Our focus here is on performance coatings, which is the direction we see the market going," said Morrissey. Ferro launched a new functional coating, which is a partnership with Nanofilm. The product is designed as a protective coating for glass. The company was also promoting its S1de ONE color enamels for architectural glass and its LustReflex anti-reflective coatings for flat glass.

In fact, a number of exhibitors, such as SEVASA, were showing anti-reflective glass products. Other popular products included a variety of glass flooring and stairs.

Plans are already underway for glasstec 2010, which will take place September 28 - October 2 in Düsseldorf.

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