Retrospective to glasstec 2002 - for the first time with interactive Portal-Website

Retrospective to glasstec 2002 - for the first time with interactive Portal-Website

glasstec 2002, International Glass Trade Fair with special presentation + symposium, closed its doors in Düsseldorf on 1st November with a very positive bottom line. Not only exhibitors but also visitors confirmed that they were very pleased with new links forged and deals sealed. Over 54.000 trade visitors were unanimous in applauding the broad-based exhibit range. Trade visitors came from 76 countries all over the globe, which exceeds the total for previous glasstec. The calibre of visitors was impressive with 70 percent of visitors being top-echelon executives with decision-making powers. According to glasstec visitors' main interest areas included glass processing and finishing (53%), glass production (40%), glass products and applications (40%) and tools, wear and spare parts (28%).

The "glass technology live" special presentation with symposium proved a magnet for archi-tects' practices and engineering consultancies as well as universities and technology colleges.

Already in May 2002, the new website www.glasstec-online.com, a specialized internet portal for all glasstec exhibitors and visitors was launched. It provides a searchable database with up-to-date company profiles and product descriptions of glasstec 2002 exhibitors as well as glass news and extra features. The topicality of glasstec-online.com ,however, is not limited to the runtime of the fair but it remains online also throughout the next two years.

Internet Café

For the first time ever, this year’s glasstec provided a large Internet Café not only for the ex-hibitors but also for the visitors. This new service has proven to be a complete success and was emphatically welcomed and favourably commented by the majority of exhibitors.

In a specially reserved exhibitor area with Beamer and Computer-Terminals, a qualified and skilled support team answered all questions and tasks, which ranged from simple explanation about the glasstec-online.com portal features to completing company profiles and entering complex product presentations. Lots of exhibitors preferred especially this face-to-face coop-eration with the glasstec-support team to have their company portraits typed in or modified and procured detailed information about all technical features.

The exhibitors frequented this area regularly to check emails, to have material printed or scanned and to make downloads of files. The remaining Internet Café area was free for the visitors of glasstec 2002 where several computer terminals were made available for free ac-cess to the internet.

The glasstec portal

Also after the fair has ended, the extensive service features of glasstec portal are available to all exhibitors, specially the features to post free job offers or advertisements for the Sell and Buy of Machinery. The glasstec-support team is still ready to answer all questions of exhibi-tors at glasstec-support@messe-duesseldorf.de.

Exhibitors still can use their personal online office access data (Password and Username) that has been provided by Messe Duesseldorf to get free access to the portal website in order to make entries. With these access data, each exhibitor is permitted to create company news or job and machine offers and also to make changes in the company profile or the product de-scriptions without any further cost and any time within the next two years.

The fact that the glasstec portal is continuously updated with top news, job offers and ma-chine postings, opens all visitors of the website the chance to gather up-to-date information about the exhibitors even now the fair is closed.

In October 2002, the portal website glasstec-online.com counted more than 1.000.000 Page Views and thus confirms the attraction of the portal as modern communication medium.

A regular newsletter will be sent out to all exhibitors and interested visitors.

Conclusion

"All in all glasstec 2002 was a complete success”. As Horst Klosterkemper, Managing Director of Messe Düsseldorf, made clear at the close of the show: "Messe Düsseldorf views glasstec as one of the most successful products in its exhibition portfolio. Quality and quantity are spot on! As regards exhibitor numbers, space rented and visitor calibre, it's the global No. 1."

The next glasstec will take the stage in Düsseldorf in autumn 2004.

Source: OGIS GmbH, www.glassglobal.com