Glass Performance Days – 25 Years Anniversary Conference June 28-30, 2017
Dedicated to Information Sharing
The age of digitalization makes customer relationships personal
The Glass Performance Days started in 1992 triggered by the observation that glass processors had something very important in common: Effective use of state-of-the-art equipment and technology. It was equally evident that this know-how was something that needed and could well be shared. The road from a seminar with limited participation to a truly global, world-leading conference was swift and successful. The dynamo of the concept and long-time Chairman of the Conference Organizing Committee Jorma Vitkala sets the essence and substance of the Conference into perspective:
- The success formula we have followed is crystal clear. We have always believed in the power of information sharing for the development of the industry. In fact we have worked from the hypothesis that information is the only commodity that grows from continuous sharing, he says. When information sharing is conducted in the manner that we call the GPD Spirit it produces results. We have seen that this atmosphere creates benefits for all and the more experience participants possess the better information sharing travels between them. The search for new forms of cooperation and information at the GPD is on-going. In this way participants and speakers have made the Conference into what it is and the organizers are naturally more than grateful in being able to facilitate this high-level exchange.
A note of appreciation
The GPD has worked from a platform of cooperation since the beginning. The participants and sponsors as well as the organizations behind them have contributed remarkably to the common good.
- There have been many spinoffs from the GPD, regional conferences have followed and the formula has been generally accepted and even served as a catalyst for other events, Jorma Vitkala says. Our supporters and contributors deserve genuine appreciation for the input they have contributed and that has made the Glass Performance Days into what the Conference is today – not to mention what it will be tomorrow.
25 Year Anniversary next
Now that the Glass Performance Conference heads towards its 25 Year Anniversary in what will be the 16th Conference June 28-30, 2017 GPD can look back at an impressive record of collecting and sharing glass industry essentials. A total of over 13,000 delegates have attended 3,000 presentations, listened to 1,000 speakers and formed 30,000 contacts over the years.
But a Conference like the GPD is much more than impressive numbers. It is a get-together that brings specialists together for the purpose of learning from an open exchange of information on a personal level. Above all it is something that changes very much over time as experiences and business environments develop. One of the main reasons for going to the GPD is to sense the atmosphere of the times together with colleagues. Business development has a lot to do with intuition and creativity. To stay competitive professionals have to stay in the mainstream of the leading trends. Development is driven by people and that is very personal. The same applies to the career paths of glass professionals. New experts enter the scene, others may leave it but the core remains to pursue continuous development.
- As important as the live Conferences are networking and continuous development is in no way limited to the physical conferences only, Vitkala observes. Web documentation and professional portals are open for facts presentations within the world of glass between conferences as well. The Glassfiles-portal that started up earlier now contains some 8,000 pages of technical articles and offers GPD-speakers an opportunity to communicate with the registered users of the portal.
Bloggers welcome
The latest addition brought on by the digital age is the www.glastory.net portal introduced and spearheaded by Miika Appelqvist of Glaston.
- We have taken on this initiative to serve the entire supply chain of the glass business, from designers to researchers and industry. The mission of the portal is to invite and serve individual bloggers primarily from our GPD sponsor networks representing professional views on the development of the glass business to share information with colleagues on-line and to form acquaintances that go beyond sheer business relationships. The professional respect gained makes on-line contact activity quite personal, Miika Appelqvist remarks.
The next generation
- Twenty-five years could well be labeled one generation in the life of a business, Vitkala ponders. Many things have changed and some essential basics, like the physical properties of the glass material, have remained the same. New technology has been adapted to the inherent physical properties of glass and new products have been developed by utilizing the best the material can offer. A look at today´s city planning and building designs plus the requirements put on energy-efficiency, environmental comfort and stylishness reveals how far we have come from the very first use of glass to cover window openings in buildings, Vitkala reflects. Looking back at the major advances of the latest 25 years of the glass industry one has to mention coating technology, especially LowE and solar applications that have hoisted energy-efficiency to a completely new level. The changes and shapes of modern building design, increased glass sizes, new bonding techniques and the use of glass as a structural element are other notable and significant advances.
Essential GPD features
The special workshops arranged in conjunction with the GPD are tailored for special audiences that have the need for hands-on information on specific issues. At GPD 2015 one of these was the spotlight put on high-rise construction. The lecturers represented leading experts on high-rise and participants were particularly appreciative of the special challenges attached to high-rise – quite different from normal housing or low-rise construction. This workshop proved to be a real eye-opener even for experienced and widely recognized architects. Quote:
- The significance of extensive experience was very evident, special buildings have special demands and the technical requirements of high-rise increase exponentially. The presentations by Keith Boswell and Leon Jacob complimented one another extremely well, from the inside out (building typology and space allocation) and the exterior (curtain walls). The GPD is a super concept, in one-two days one can amass a lot of information, the internet-summaries are excellent, too (Pekka Helin, Pekka Helin & Co. Architects).
Although the GPD is an international forum and English the language participants represent different regions of origin. Some participants hosting business partners at the Conference have arranged simultaneous translation to make sure nothing is lost behind any language barrier. These visitors voiced both appreciation and thankfulness for this special consideration.
The effort of the organizers to screen and streamline presentations added a lot to their clarity and visual appearance. This clearly contributed to the efficiency of communications and also helped keep presentations structurally uniform and within their allocated time frames.
The 16th GPD in its 25th year also coincides with the 100th Anniversary of independent Finland – the home of the main Conference since its beginning. That fact will also contribute to the feeling around the Conference that takes place at the height of the Midsummer season in Scandinavia.
