Window Day 2019 ift Rosenheim Hrvatska

The 6th international “WINDOW DAY 2019” conference was held, hosted by ift Rosenheim Hrvatska, in cooperation with the German Institute for Window Engineering as the European certification body and company partner ift Hrvatska from Zagreb.

The WINDOW DAY conference is a large annual gathering of manufacturers of construction joinery and ancillary industries, held on March 19, 2019, at the Antunović Hotel in Zagreb for the sixth time.

This year, the conference gathered 235 participants from nine 9 countries of the region, including Germany, Austria, Italy, Turkey, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the host country Croatia.

Traditionally, the panel participants were the manufacturers of windows, doors, suspended facades, glass, and frames, along with profile vendors, installation material suppliers, designers and architects, and media representatives.

The goal of the conference was to educate the industry in the field of legislation and marketing trends, as well as to show new solutions, present innovative products, and see the improvement of production with an emphasis on quality. The day was fulfilled with current expert topics. In the morning block, after the introductory words of the organizer Mr. Hrvoje Komac representing ift Hrvatska and Mr. Roland Fischer in front of ift Rosenheim Germany, there was talk of “smart windows” and “smart buildings”. The mentioned themes point to the new trend and market demands, along with the solutions and advantages we get as users of such products/buildings. Our long-time lecturer — Mr. Alexander Riemer of Alukönigstahl from Vienna — helped us with this subject. This was followed by a lecture by Mr. Fischer “Rolling shutters and tandem windows” in which we wanted to clarify the relationship and cohesion of those two closely-linked products and legal regulation. Then we continued our work day with the increasingly present topic of “the carbon footprint”, presented by Mr. Florian Stich from ift Rosenheim. He explained what the carbon footprint of a single product is, and how much consumption of CO2 we need to produce it.

After a good coffee break that is always extended not only to rest for a while but also because of socializing and networking among the participants, we have continued with very interesting topics related to window installation, which are essential to our branch. Mr. Aleksandar Terer from Profine Croatia and Mr. Torsten Voigt from ift Rosenheim explained the big difference between proper professional window installation — the RAL montage — and the current situation on our construction sites. That inexhaustible topic is in need of constant education of the working staff and contractors.

There was also talk of IZO glass and glazing, as well as gluing. Our colleague Karin Lieb from ift Rosenheim explained the changes in EN 1279:2018 norm regarding IZO glass, and Mr. Albrecht from Gealan brought us new innovations and trends in gluing and window glazing.

After lunch, in the afternoon block, there was talk of fire resistance and CE marking of fireproof windows and doors. The EN 16034 norm comes into force this year and we wanted to bring this issue closer to the CE marking procedure itself. We have also added to the Austrian approach to labeling fireproof products and explained how it currently works firsthand. The topic was handled by our lecturers Alexander Riemer from Alukönigstahl and Roland Fischer from ift Rosenheim. There is not a single conference in which we do not say something about the most important window properties such as water penetration, wind blows, and air permeability. Thus, a long-time examiner and laboratory manager, Mr. Goran Jakovac, explained the classification of the test results. Finally, our dear guest from the Faculty of Architecture in Zagreb, Mr. Zoran Veršić, spoke about the nZEB cluster, along with energy efficiency and sustainability in the building industry.

We finished the working day with a panel discussion in which we discussed the day behind us, answering the direct question from the audience. The lecturers gave some concrete tips and solutions.

During the active day, there was time for mutual conversation, exchange of experiences, dialogue, and meetings. We have used the opportunity to consult with our experts from the branch and get the right answers on the spot.

Partnerships and support to this field have also been shown by numerous sponsors that not only closely follow world trends, but also offer solutions and answers to all project challenges. Those are:

Alphacan, AluK Tim, Alukönigstahl, Alumil, Aluplast, Gealan, Heroal, Inoutic/Deceuninck, Kovinoplastika Zagreb, Profine Croatia, Rehau, Roloplast Mošić, Sisecam, Veak AG, Wicona, Würth Hrvatska, Magazine Prozori&Vrata, along with the support of the Croatian Wood Cluster and nZEB Cluster.

The entire conference was moderated by Mr. Marijan Kavran, who has been focusing on topics with interesting and interactive leadership.

A few words to conclude: after the sixth conference, the record one, judging by the visit-count, there is a growing interest in quality sustainability through the education of industry participants, but also interest in proper window installation as a special challenge, and constant educational need. That being said, we want to thank all of our sponsors, partners, and participants, and we are looking forward to seeing you at our next 7th international WINDOW DAY conference, which will be held in early March 2020.