Date: 19 January 2007
The GPD was originally established on the concept of information sharing and business expansion in the world of glass applications for automotive, architectural and interior decorating purposes. This key mission has proven its significance over the history of the Conference, which now heads for its 10th edition. Participation has grown from the early stages to some 1,000 participants consisting of decision makers representing business, research, technology and authorities. The practical format of the Conference has facilitated both formal and informal information sharing and has given it a status as the foremost of its kind in the world. Participants come to the GPD to present ideas, test innovations, secure required contacts and contribute to the functioning of the whole global supply chain and sourcing in the glass business.
Grand Panel of Top Executives
The Conference is honored by the participation of four top industrial executives whose companies represent almost 70% of the high quality float glass produced in the world. Three of them supply around 75% of the glass used in the automotive industry. Mr. Tomoaki Abe, Nippon Sheet Glass, Mr. Jaques Aschenbroich, Saint-Gobain, Mr. Russell J. Ebeid, Guardian Industries Corp. and Mr. Arthur Ulens, AGC Float Glass and Glaverbel get together for a Grand Panel with ensuing discussion. This marks one of the highlights of the Conference that typically is an interactive forum. Another case in point displaying the activity of participants is the fact that a record number of more than 250 abstracts for presentations have been submitted so far for the June 2007 Conference. The number of cases thus put before the auditorium is higher than ever. The modular nature of the program highlighted on these pages enables participants to compose exactly the Conference program they feel will serve their interests best. Complete documentation of the Conference both in the form of print and web-presentations at www.glassfiles.com , a portal of 14,000 registered users, open up the full offering for all.
Practical and hands-on
A large part of the Conference program is devoted to the use of glass, new structural solutions and the contribution that advanced glass products can make to energy efficiency. Practical workshops and special briefings of a hands-on nature add to the practical usefulness of the Conference. The workshops are typically of 4-8 hours duration, they focus on one specific subject to provide participants with in-depth knowledge of the chosen specialty. The workshops are held both before and during the Conference in the time period June 14-17th, 2007. The condensed format of the GPD, spreading the summit over an extended summer weekend, leaves room for both networking and the scheduling of proprietary get-togethers. Details of the workshop program will be published at a later stage.
Special address by Former Prime Minister of Finland
Mr. Esko Aho, Prime Minister of Finland from 1991 to 1995 when Finlandmade the historic decision to join the European Union, will share his views on Finnish and European Competitiveness as Keynote Speaker of the Markets and Trends session. Mr. Aho is currently President of the Finnish National Fund for Research and Development (Sitra). Sitra is dedicated to funding national innovations and technology and has a key position in Finland’s industrial infrastructure.
Useful content for glass producers and processors
The usefulness of the Conference to participants is best illustrated by the fact that key specialists return from time to time and that the willingness to contribute with special addresses has grown so strongly. As an example of a highly popular subject area architectural use of glass stands out both in quality and activity. Some of the program modules have actually earned recognition by the American Institute of Architects as recognized educational programs. This will give glass producers and processors a unique opportunity to address the current issues of their largest customer categories – facade builders, designers and architects.
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