Forum on Translucent Structures discussed the industry issues

The 5th Forum on Translucent Structures. Windows, Facades, Doors took place at the Mir Stekla 2023 exhibition held at Expocentre Fairgrounds within Russian Construction Week.

The forum was organised by the Committee on Entrepreneurship in the Construction Sector of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Russian Union of Designers, NOSI – the National Association of Construction Industry Participants and EXPOCENTRE AO for the glass industry professionals. 

Viktor Novoselov, President of the Russian Union of Designers, and Alexander Loshchenko, President of the National Association of Construction Industry Participants, were the moderators of the event. 

In his opening remarks, Efim Basin, Chairman of the Russian CCI’s Committee for Entrepreneurship in Construction, reminded that the forum is traditionally associated with the Mir Stekla exhibition, where the best production and equipment operation technologies are shown. And this year, he believes, the forum is especially important and useful, as it is held within the framework of Russian Construction Week. Over the four days there are more than 60 events - plenary sessions, discussions, forums, including those on ‘low-rise Russia’, housing construction, etc. Virtually all organisations associated with the construction industry are involved. 

Efim Basin also said that the glass industry in Russia is developing well, as it has managed to set up production facilities. There is enough equipment produced in terms of quality, nomenclature and quantity. Even the harsh sanctions against our country have not affected production. The construction industry is fully supplied with domestically produced glass. 

But there are also problems, which, according to Efim Basin, concern in particular the operation and completion of equipment and imported spare parts. This is a major challenge. But even the participation of companies from foreign countries, including from unfriendly countries, in the current Mir Stekla exhibition shows that this task can be solved, and that many wish to continue cooperation with our country, he stressed. 

Sergey Sekin, the Executive Director of the Glass Union, which unites practically all producers and major processors of sheet glass in Russia, also stated that the Russian economy has withstood the sanctions. The glass industry has been seriously affected. But enterprises are working. And the Mir Stekla exhibition is the place where enterprises strengthen their already established business ties, look for new clients and conclude new contracts, said the executive director of the Union.   

The forum participants discussed a wide range of topics. Thus, during the review and analysis session, Dmitry Pereverzev, Executive Director of the Association of Manufacturers of Building Materials, Equipment and Raw Materials of the Eurasian Economic Union, devoted his speech to the prospects of approving the EAEU Technical Regulation ‘On Safety of Building Materials and Products’. 

‘The state and prospects of development of the window and facade market in the changed geopolitical and economic conditions’ was the topic of the report by Nikolay Gavrilov-Kremichev, Head of the information and publishing centre Modern Building Constructions. 

During the session there were discussed scientific research in the formation of regulatory documentation in the field of translucent structures, opportunities for export and import of glass products with Iran and a number of other issues. 

The forum concluded with a discussion session on ‘The industry and safety of translucent structures, technical regulation, regulatory support for the use of glass in construction’.