Vitrum 2027

Attendees, exhibitors & solutions

Who this event is for

New this edition

• 1

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  The established Vitrum format pairs flat-glass processing lines - cutting, edging, tempering, lamination, IGU and coating - with hollow-glass machinery such as forming machines, moulds, lehrs and cold-end inspection, so buyers can compare both branches of glass manufacturing in a single visit to Fiera Milano Rho.

• 2

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  Rather than only raw glass, the show's weight sits on downstream machines: edging and CNC machining centres, drilling, washing, tempering furnaces and laminating lines, which is what Italian glass processors travel to Milan to evaluate.

• 3

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  Recent editions have put machine connectivity, production-monitoring dashboards, remote diagnostics and automated line handling next to the mechanical equipment, aimed squarely at glass plants trying to raise yield and cut changeover time.

• 4

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  Furnace efficiency, electric boosting, heat recovery, cullet handling and low-energy coating and tempering routes have become a recurring theme, reflecting the energy intensity of both float and container glass production.

• 5

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  Because GIMAV, the Italian glass-processing machinery association, organises the fair with Italian Exhibition Group, the Italian supplier base forms the spine of the exhibition, with international builders filling out the halls around it.

Industry trends

Key trends shaping this market and its wider industry.

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Frequently asked

Glossary

1

Flat glass

Sheet glass produced by the float or drawn process and used in architectural glazing, automotive, mirror and interior applications. Flat-glass processing machinery is one of the two product pillars of Vitrum at Fiera Milano Rho.

2

Hollow glass

Containers, bottles, jars and tableware formed from molten glass gobs. At Vitrum the hollow-glass strand covers forming machines, feeders, moulds, annealing lehrs and cold-end inspection.

3

Secondary processing

Cutting, edging, drilling, CNC machining, tempering, laminating and coating steps applied to flat glass after primary forming - the equipment segment Vitrum is best known for.

4

GIMAV

The Italian association of suppliers of glass-processing machinery, accessories, systems and special products. GIMAV organises Vitrum together with Italian Exhibition Group.

5

Tempering (thermal toughening)

Heating glass to roughly 600-700 C and then quenching it rapidly so the surfaces lock in compressive stress. Tempered glass is roughly four to five times stronger than annealed glass and breaks into small blunt fragments; tempering furnaces are a recurring exhibit category at Vitrum.

6

Lamination

Bonding two or more glass plies with a PVB or EVA interlayer under heat and pressure to produce safety, security or acoustic glass. Laminating lines and autoclaves are shown in the flat-glass halls.

7

Insulating glass unit (IGU)

Two or more panes separated by a spacer bar, sealed and often filled with argon or krypton plus a desiccant, to cut heat loss through windows. IGU assembly lines, sealants, gas-filling and spacer equipment are part of Vitrum's flat-glass chain.

8

Low-E coating

A low-emissivity metallic oxide layer that reduces radiative heat transfer through glazing. Coatings are applied on-line during float production or off-line in a vacuum coater, and coating technology is a regular theme in the flat-glass halls.

9

Magnetron sputtering

A vacuum deposition process used for off-line coating stacks such as low-E and solar-control layers on flat glass. Sputter coater lines sit upstream of the fabricators that visit Vitrum.

10

CNC glass cutting

Numerically controlled scoring, breaking and shape cutting of flat glass, increasingly combined with waterjet cutting for complex geometries, cut-outs and holes. Cutting tables and software are staple Vitrum exhibits.

11

Edge processing

Grinding, polishing, chamfering and seaming of cut-glass edges to raise edge strength and improve finish. Straight-line edgers, shape edgers and CNC machining centres for glass are core machine categories at the show.

12

Autoclave

A pressure vessel that cures laminated glass interlayers at elevated temperature and pressure. Autoclave suppliers and retrofits appear alongside laminating line builders at Vitrum.

13

IS machine (individual section)

The multi-section forming machine that turns molten glass gobs into containers at high speed. IS machines, gob feeders and forehearths define the hollow-glass technology on display.

14

Cold-end inspection

Automated checks on finished containers after the annealing lehr - dimensional, cosmetic, wall-thickness and pressure testing. Inspection and packing systems close the hollow-glass production line at Vitrum.

15

Cullet

Crushed recycled glass returned to the furnace batch, which lowers melting energy and raw-material use. Cullet handling, batch plants and furnace efficiency equipment sit at the upstream end of the process chain shown at Vitrum.