INDUSTRYNEWS
GGF Hails Groundbreaking Success
The Glass and Glazing Federation ( GGF ) Members ’ Week has been hailed a great success by members , guests and staff alike , as the Federation broke new ground to deliver the industry ’ s first major virtual event .
» WITH ALMOST 450 BOOKINGS from across the Membership , the three day event ( 29 September to 1 October ) consisted of 18 guest speakers / panellists who spoke at 10 online events covering a range of industry topics that Members found informative and engaging .
Mark Austin , GGF President commented , “ The whole week of events was very impressive with perhaps the Brexit 2021 debate the most outstanding . The speakers the GGF garnered for the Members ’ Week events were second to none in their given fields and I am sure all members who attended found the presentations relevant for their business . Of course , I would much rather have seen a physical GGF annual conference but in the circumstances , the quality of the virtual events proved to be the next best thing . I ’ d like to take this opportunity to thank the GGF Staff for organising , the scores of GGF Members for attending and also the guest speakers and panellists who contributed to a truly exceptional event .”
Members ’ Week started with GGF President Mark Austin ’ s welcoming speech in which he thanked Members for attending and in particular , the Chairs of the GGF technical groups , committees and regions for their contribution to the GGF against a very challenging trading environment .
Following the Annual General Meeting and re-election of the GGF ’ s bankers and auditors , a Summary of Proposals was presented by John Agnew with an update on the progress of the work from the Chairperson ’ s Forum held in February this year and the subsequent Strategic Working Group , which was formed in July to follow up on the issues raised by the Chairs of the GGF ’ s technical groups , committees , regions and countries .
John Agnew , GGF Managing Director who also presented on the GGF ’ s operations and strategies said , “ The pandemic forced the GGF to cancel its traditional Members ’ Day and we had to think laterally as health and safety has to come first . I was delighted with the virtual
events of Members ’ Week and the feedback we have received has been nothing but positive . This was another first , not only for the GGF but also for our industry .”
Members ’ Week featured guest speakers such as ; Professor Noble Francis , one of the construction industry ’ s leading economists , The Rt . Hon . David Laws ( former Cabinet Minister and Political Consultant ), Dave Dalton , ( Chief Executive of British Glass ), Jeff May ( Director of Government Relations of the Construction Products Association ) and Graham Hansell ( Director of SLX Marketing and Digital Course Director for the Chartered Institute of Marketing ).
Industry specific speakers included ; Mark Barsby ( BSI Group ), Sharon Alderton ( Total Support Training ) and Sanmukh Bawa ( G-SMATT Europe ).
In addition the GGF also had expert panellists during their health and safety , environment and training webinars .
The topics covered included ;
• The economy – status and potential scenarios
• Brexit 2021 – The end of the Transition Period
• CE marking and the new UKCA mark guidance
• Product substitution and standardisation
• Media glass technology
• Digital marketing and business growth
• Health and safety in a new and very different norm
• Training in the industry
• The environmental factors industry must consider
• Research and Development and tax relief
James Lee , GGF Director of External Affairs , who organised and marketed the events commented , “ The relevant content and the high level of speakers / panellists combined with the latest digital technology enabled the GGF to deliver a superb ground-breaking week of high quality online events . We tried to put on a programme over the three days that would have something for every member regardless of size , status , sector and location . From the feedback so far , it appears Members found the virtual events engaging , informative and interesting . It ’ s been a great success .”
The GGF has uploaded the presentations and video links of the events onto the GGF webpage . https :// www . ggf . org . uk / membersweek-2020 /
8 » DEC 2020 » CLEARVIEW-UK . COM