Glass Processing Days 2003 Around the Corner

By the mid of April, 2003 the conference organisers had already received 650 registrations, which shows that the next conference will have the same level of success as that of two years ago.

The latest world events have caused slight hesitation among some glass professionals. The organisers of GPD emphasize specialist meeting forum’s significance for information sharing especially in the present world situation. One reason attracting glass professionals to GPD again is the larger content than ever. This year, the conference will have 260 presentations over four days.

Respected visionaries opening GPD 2003

The GPD 2003 conference is honored to have Mr Jacques Aschenbroich, Senior Vice President of Compagnie de Saint-Gobain, Chairman and CEO of Saint-Gobain Vitrage and Managing Director of the Flat Glass Division of La Compagnie de Saint-Gobain as an Opening Speaker. He continues the respected list of opening speakers of GPD conferences. Aschenbroich’s presentation will consist of Saint-Cobain’s views on the industry’s latest trends and on the future challenges of glass compared to other competing materials.

The other speakers of the opening day are Mr Guy Lozach, Director of Vehicle Materials and Engineering Division, PSA Peugeot Citroen and Mr Akira Fujishima, Ph.D., Department of Applied Chemistry, Faculty of Enineering, The University of Tokyo. Mr Lozach will introduce the use of mineral glass glazing in the automotive industry. Mr Fujishima’s presentation will concentrate on the new opportunities offered by nanotechnology and self-cleaning glass.

Unforgettable evening programme including the Wild Western spirit

One of the reasons behind GPD’s success is not only the high quality and wide selection of technical presentations, but also the colourful evening programme. The social programme has been created in order to provide an unforgettable atmosphere for social networking and will exceed all expectations again this year.

Get -Together Party opens the social programme of the conference week on Sunday 15, June, 2003. This time participants will have an unforgettable possibility to enjoy the Finnish summer on a beautiful island. On the second conference evening, the City of Tampere has the pleasure to invite the participants and accompanying guests to a city reception at the Vapriikki Museum. The evening will continue with a classic concert. On Tuesday, all of the participants have the possibility to enjoy modern Finnish cuisine at the official conference dinner.

The last evening of GPD has always been the climax of the conference. This time the content of the evening has not been carefully kept secret as previously. A few tips have already been given at Glasstec 2002 and GlassBuild America 2003, where the GPD girls have been seen with cowboy hats. The Farewell Party will take participants to a Wild Western village with a real atmosphere created by cowboys and Indians.

Charity auction for the first time

The Organising Committee feels that it is also important to help people less fortunate. GPD 2003 will hold a charity auction at the conference dinner. Conference organisers have received interesting donations from leading companies and players in the global glass industry.

The donated objects and art will be sold in the auction in order to raise money for Tampere University Hospital’s Pediatric Hermatology Oncology Ward. The revenue from the charity auction will be used for children’s cancer treatment. By donating interesting things with symbolic value, all of the players in the industry can help the most important people for the future of this world – children.

Glass Processing Days has been organised 7 times, for the first time in 1992 attracting 30 participants. In 1994, the number of the participants exceeded 100 and in 1997 the conference achieved the status of the most respected glass conference with over 600 participates. GPD is organised by Tamglass, which is part of Kyro Technologies. Tamglass designs and manufactures safety glass lines and machines for the architectural, automotive, furniture and domestic appliance glass industries.