星空传媒

It seems that no region is without its own trade fair these days. Scandinavia is the latest to supplement an already crowded calendar. Glass Expo Lasi is an offshoot of the Finnish building fair, co-located with the Nordic Stone 2006 exhibition. The venue was the Turku Fair and Congress Center in snowy Finland in February.

Finland is trialling its own Window Energy Ratings system for launch this year. There are already 300 rated windows, and this is perhaps not such an administrative feat when eight companies supply around 80% of the home market.

The most common specification is a maintenance-free aluminium outer frame, single glazed, plus an inner DGU with a 12-15mm cavity. With the use of high performance low E glass it is perfectly acceptable to use just the DGU, but three panes is still perceived to be better.

First impressions of Glass Expo Lasi were that it was very much for the local market, i.e. Finland. The stand of Tamglass-Bavelloni took pride of place in the exhibition hall. This global machinery player has two newer divisions to promote to the local market - IG manufacturing and balcony glazing.

The other exhibitors were an interesting mix of glass and window suppliers along with components, machinery, testing equipment, and products for interiors. The mirror television was probably the most interesting attraction (see www.kaupananni.fi).

鈥業n Finland, the market is small but we are always trying to find new customers and applications', says Mika Vuorela of Lumon, a specialist manufacturer of laminated glass. The Tampere business exports two thirds of production to countries such as Spain, Sweden and Ireland (see www.lumon.fi).

Most exhibitors were home grown, although firms from Estonia and other Baltic states were an indication of the inroads made into Scandinavia by these newcomers, which generally offer high quality at a competitive price. Glaskek of Tallinn, Estonia, supplies various systems of curtain walling, and windows in aluminium, wood/alu composite and PVC-U. The company has five manufacturing sites and numerous outlets and sales agents in the Baltic states (see www.glaskek.ee).

Also from Estonia, Glasstress Ltd demonstrated a handy laser system, which can be used to determine whether toughened glass is fit for purpose (see www.glasstress.com).

Overall, Glass Expo Lasi delivered an interesting mix of products and timely seminars, but visitor numbers were low. While the organisation was impeccable, the exhibition must widen its scope to other Scandinavian countries and the Baltic states if it is to have a future.

Info: www.turunmessukeskus.fi

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