GPD Gets Underway Today

Registration lines moved quickly at GPD, which has attracted approximately 1,000 people from around the world.

Attendees have overtaken Tampere, the picturesque town in Finland, for the newly renamed Glass Performance Days (GPD/Glass Processing Days). The official program got underway this afternoon with the Opening Ceremony.

Approximately 1,000 people are participating in the event, which runs through Monday. This is the 10th edition of the every-other year event.

At the opening session, Tomoaki Abe, vice chairman of Nippon Sheet Glass, set the tone of the event when he spoke about energy conservation and industry trends in automotive glass.

He discussed the history of primary glass manufacturing and how advancements have reduced the amount of energy and carbon dioxide emissions in the process over the years.

Tomoaki Abe, vice chairman, Nippon Sheet Glass, said that 10 percent of the world's production of high quality float glass goes into vehicles.

The role of glass in energy conservation led him to point out how the amount of glass used in vehicles has increased and will continue to grow. "Around 10 percent of the world's production of high quality float glass goes into vehicles," he said. "Consumption of glass in vehicles has been growing by 5 percent a year over the last 10 years."

Abe told attendees, "Since the 1970s, the total glazed area in some popular vehicle models has grown by 24 percent and windshield area by 60 percent. This is, however, only part of the story. While the growth in vehicle build over the past 10 years or so has been around 11 percent, the value of the glazing fitted has risen by 40 percent."

He said that manufacturers continue to develop and invest in leading-edge glass shaping and fabricating technology. He also said that there would be more movement to laminated glass in side windows and that this would help improve solar control, as well as offer more security.

Over the next three days, the winds of the glass industry will be examined thoroughly at GPD in Tampere.