Mir Stekla showed that Russian glass companies are ready to meet new challenges
The 24th edition of Mir Stekla successfully completed its work, bringing together both leaders of the Russian glass industry and young regional companies. For the first time, the show was held within Russian Construction Week, which gave it an additional scale and significance, as its exhibitors and visitors were able to discuss the most relevant issues in the presence of heads of industry departments and ministries.
This year's show brought together more than 100 companies from 13 countries: Belarus, China, Germany, India, Italy, Kazakhstan, Turkiye, and others. According to Mir Stekla Project Head Ekaterina Razumeitseva, the 2023 edition has become a kind of mirror of the situation in the glass industry in the new realities. “This year, the most active market players have come to the show. They are ready to look for new suppliers and customers, and clearly understand that it is necessary to respond quickly to new challenges and rearrange logistics.”
Leading glass companies demonstrated equipment and technologies for the production of flat glass, glass containers, tools and materials, innovations, R&D, medical, construction, furniture, interior, automotive glass, as well as art and decorative glass products. The exhibitors included Yta, Ritservice, Ritsteklo, Stanki Mira, Diacraft, Intmarket, Meran, HFD House, Sklostroj Turnov RU, Stromizmeritel, Podolsk Refractories, Borovichi Refractories Plant, StroyMart, and many others.
“This year our company is celebrating its 20th anniversary, and Mir Stekla is the first important event that opens our anniversary year,” said Daria Zhmak, Head of Marketing at Yta. “During all the days, we had meetings at our stand with clients who came literally from all over the country. In addition, we met representatives of new companies that want to start their own business in the glass industry. We are happy that they have decided to do so with us. Our company continues to develop, and our main goal is to offer new, modern equipment that will be in demand on the market, and Mir Stekla contributes to this very much.”
The foreign exhibitors included Best Makina Sanayi ve Ticaret, Horn Glass Industries, Àll Glass, Yuntong Glass Mech-Electro Technology, Refmon, Beleva, TKS International GmbH, Orda Glass, Nirmal Glasstech Industries, Shanghai Pony Technology, Shamvik Glasstech, etc.
“The show stands out for its positivity and activity,” said Vikram Munshi, CEO at Shamvik Glasstech Private Limited. “Its management is excellent: whatever we ask for, the organisers reply: yes, it is possible. This year we came out with a big stand because we have a huge number of products that we want to show to our Russian partners. Over the four days we had a large number of clients at our stand and we received a very warm response from our Russian colleagues. We have established friendly relations with most of them. I am already planning to double the size of our stand at Mir Stekla 2024.”
Government and business representatives set up a programme to support the industry
The Forum on Made in Russia: How to Support the Glass Industry has opened the conference programme of Mir Stekla. Natalya Popkova, Deputy Director of the Department of Metallurgy and Materials at the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade, giving examples of state support for the domestic glass industry, named the amount of compensation for the previous year in the form of subsidies from the budget for export deliveries, which amounted to almost 700 million roubles. The representative of the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade stressed that it was important to expand exports by redirecting them to new markets, as Russian glass was quite competitive.
Sergey Sekin, Executive Director at the Glass Union, expressed the hope that the supply to the new construction market could grow, and noted that a government support programme was needed for the industry to operate steadily and export its products to foreign markets.
The 5th Forum on Translucent Structures. Windows, Facades, Doors on March 1 was devoted to the government support measures for the sustainable and effective development of the glass industry in the period of the introduction of sanctions against Russia. The event was moderated by President at the Russian Union of Designers Viktor Novoselov and President at NOSI – the National Association of Construction Industry Participants Aleksandr Loshchenko.
Efim Basin, Chair at the Committee on Entrepreneurship in the Construction Sector of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, opened the forum. He stressed that the harsh sanctions imposed on our country have not greatly weakened the glass industry. The construction industry is fully supplied with domestically produced glass. The main problems that need to be solved today are related to the operation and maintenance of equipment and imported spare parts. During the review and analytical session the forum participants discussed urgent issues regarding technical regulation and regulatory support for glass use in construction. The topics of research for regulatory documentation in the field of translucent structures, the possibility of export and import of glass products with Iran and a number of other issues were also touched upon.
On March 2, the Panel on the System of Training and Professional Development for the Glass Industry. New Educational Products and Forms of Interaction Between Vocational Education and Training Institutions, Universities, Research Organisations and Industry Enterprises was organised by EXPOCENTRE AO and Grebenshchikov Institute of Silicate Chemistry of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The panel was moderated by Deputy Director for Research at Grebenshchikov Institute of Silicate Chemistry Natalia Tyurnina. The participants discussed the need to develop new educational programmes, noted the importance of training personnel for enterprises producing high-temperature functional materials, as well as the creation of a system of additional professional education in research organisations.
The Panel on Popularisation of Scientific Knowledge Through the Prism of Glass: Objectives, Formats, Resources, Models was held on the same day. The participants talked about the relevance of science outreach activities from the perspective of scientists, teachers, art historians, and representatives of production companies within the Decade of Science and Technology in Russia. Various formats were proposed during the discussion, ranging from popular science lectures and master classes to science tourism, science volunteering and the creation of children's technology parks.
The Mir Stekla conference programme also included conferences organised by Glass Institute such as the Choice of Glazing from an Architect's Point of View: Criteria, Design Stages, Questions, and the Glazing Design: Current Issues and Choices. During the conferences, their participants discussed new materials and products, issues of import substitution, standardisation of the glass industry, testing and certification of glass and glass products, and the testing of glass products and projects.
You can already book your stand at the 25th anniversary edition of Mir Stekla on 27 February – 1 March 2024 at EXPOCENTRE Fairgrounds, Moscow, Russia. The show will be held within Russian Construction Week 2024.