VITRUM – the glass industry, narrated by its star player: glass

VITRUM 2021: launch of the “GLASS IS… the Qualities of Glass” communication initiative, a new perspective on promoting the glass industry by highlighting the qualities and benefits gained with the everyday use of glass in objects formed through the know-how and technologies that pervade the entire supply chain.

How many types of glass are there? It can be highly technological, or fashionable, it can be made to protect, and to be used on tables every day …
Glass objects have found their way into myriad aspects of daily life. Thanks to its physical properties, in many cases glass is preferable to its equivalent in another material – because it is aesthetically more pleasing or because it offers results or effects that would otherwise be impossible to achieve.
Yet, the end consumer who uses these objects rarely stops to consider that an entire supply chain lies behind the advantages that come with the use of an item made of glass. From raw material to finished product, many necessary processes and technologies come into play.

This becomes clear with one of the foremost innovations at VITRUM 2021, the “GLASS IS… The Qualities of Glass” project. Visitors will be able to access carefully constructed thematic journeys that are immediately traceable to the qualities of glass we encounter in objects of everyday use.

“One characteristic of good communication is immediacy; that is, the ability to make the message you want to convey engaging and clear to everyone. If, through VITRUM, we aim to communicate the excellence of the glass industry, we must start with a message that everyone gets. In other words, the qualities of glass, or, even better, the benefits that each user gains from the use of glass products,” said VITRUM Director, Fabrizio Cattaneo.

Describing the project, he added, “Comparing and sharing input from industry players, we have pinpointed ten Qualities that seem to express many of these benefits: USEFUL, SAFE, GREEN, PURE, SMART, SOCIAL, VOGUISH, FLEXIBLE, TRADITION. For example: GLASS IS SMART relates to the players in the supply chain who work together to produce hi-tech products like fiber optics, smartphones, touch screens, etc. … GLASS IS GREEN identifies exhibitors who produce items clearly focused on safeguarding the environment. Obviously, in the end, we also wanted to emphasize, that GLASS IS … GLASS – a reminder that glass is a unique material that has been around forever, that constantly changes and evolves, while still staying the same.”

Every exhibitor at VITRUM 2021 will be asked to indicate the Qualities that, directly or indirectly, trace back to their production. These will be printed in the catalogs and on the exhibition maps, thus creating parallel themed pathways complementary to the VITRUM Specialized, that allow visitors to plan their time at the show based on their own interests.

The project will be promoted through all the available communication tools – at the show, on social networks (VITRUM is now on Instagram) and on the new VITRUM Life portal, with regularly updated news and interesting tidbits.
The initial response to the project was extremely positive and encouraged the belief that GLASS IS… can win over exhibitors and visitors alike and, as the editions progress, become a well-integrated, distinctive and much-appreciated facet of VITRUM, similar to the Specialized.

“We want glass, along with the entire industry that derives from it, to become the star player at VITRUM. Of course, in part, it already is: machinery, technologies, accessories all have glass as their common denominator. But it is now time for the key guest to sit in the place of honour,” concluded VITRUM President, Dino Zandonella Necca, reiterating the reasons why this new project was launched. “We know it’s not easy. Forty years of history and tradition tend to “frame” VITRUM within certain concepts that will not easily be wiped away. We must engage all of our outstanding players to make our exhibition even more attractive to stakeholders in the glass industry.
Much depends on us: the organizers. We need to know how to keep our “platform” open in order to meet the industry’s needs for visibility, while all of us working in the glass industry must grasp this opportunity, overcoming the individual interests that often divide us and limit our potential.
I truly believe that, together, we can add value, globally, to the entire Italian glass industry, as it richly deserves.”