October 2014

Top Take-Aways

By Debra Levy on October 27th, 2014

This impressive handler was about three stories high in the air.

Glasstec was a great show—and now that it’s over, I’ve had a little time to reflect. So if you’ll forgive me for my jetlagged pontifications, I’d like to share my top five take-aways from this year’s event. Here goes: 1. Thin Is In—and Out. I wrote a full story on this one on Friday, as it was the top story to emerge from this year’s event. 2. You’ve Got to Move It, Move It—the second most pronounced theme was the advancements being made in glass handling equipment and machinery. The robotics we glimpsed at at glasstec in 2010 and 2012 have now gone mainstream, and just about every handling equipment… Read More »

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Thin is In–and Out

By Debra Levy on October 24th, 2014

There’s a uniquely American ritual at glasstec. Whenever you run into someone from the U.S.—and there is a very healthy contingent here by the way despite the concerns about airline strikes and Ebola—they will ask you what you have seen that is new or different. I used to think this was because I was covering the show, but it is an equal-opportunity question asked by and to all. “What did you see?” and “What’s new?” are the common questions and they usually result in as many different answers as there are answerers. Not this year. There is only one answer and it is consistent and single response from all: the… Read More »

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Glassy Eyes at glasstec

By Debra Levy on October 23rd, 2014

The stands of manufacturers such as Saint Gobain and Guardian were packed as tightly as a Tokyo subway.

There is so much business being done in these halls that it’s hard to keep up with it. A buoyed economy coupled with pent-up demand has resulted in a deal a minute here in the halls of glasstec. “We sold our machine,” said one machinery maker five minutes after the show opened. It’s been like that ever since. Even through a Lufthansa-planned strike on Monday afternoon and Tuesday, organizers report that opening day foot traffic was the same as the last show. This is a sizable victory given that nearly 1,500 Lufthansa flights were cancelled during the job action, which has now been suspended. And by Wednesday morning the floodgates… Read More »

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Eye-Opening Opening

By Debra Levy on October 21st, 2014

You know the old song, “Another opening, another show?” Well, not quite this time, as glasstec 2014 began with an artistic reminder of the ethereal qualities that keep us enamored with glass, followed by a dose of realistic viewpoints from a number of top industry leaders. The Opening Ceremonies for glasstec 2014 were held Monday evening at the Classic Remise, a converted locomotive roundhouse that featured yards of yards of architectural glass—surrounding and displaying a world-class international collection of cars and motorcycles. But the cars were merely props for evening’s star. Glass of every possible type—architectural, specialty, containers and bottles among them—as interpreted first in artistry by an Italian puppet troupe… Read More »

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The Global Glass Gathering

By Debra Levy on October 20th, 2014

A clever mix of decorative glass and mirror at 90 degree angles made a tiny coffee knook appear expansive.

If there were Nobel prizes awarded to regions of the world for the innovative use of glass, it wouldn’t be hard to choose the winners in any category. Best innovative use of glass/exterior—In general, you have to give that to the buildings of the Middle East, given the amazing designs we’ve seen in Qatar, Bahrain, the U.A.E. The designs of these buildings are truly imagineers with a magic wand of glass in their hands. Best use of energy-efficient glass—I am going with the Scandinavians, because they have been the market leaders in the adoption of highly energy-efficient glass. Even triple glazing is de rigueur there. Best innovative use of glass/interior—My… Read More »

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