The Glass Association of North America’s (GANA) 2013 Annual Conference opened today at the Coronado Island Marriott Resort and Spa with a focus on the development of a number of areas related to decorative glass. Greg Saroka of Goldray Industries chaired the decorative division’s technical meeting this morning, where members discussed various glass informational bulletins and other future activities.
Danik Dancause of Walker Glass began the meeting with the recyclability of glass task group. The group reviewed changes to the glass informational bulletin document, which has been through a number of drafts. Dancause noted that as technology continues to evolve, regulations will also continue to change in order to meet the demand of products. Included in the changes to the document, Dancause noted that a number of graphics and illustrations have also been added. The document was approved during the task group meeting and will next be balloted at the committee level.
Next, Jeff Nixon of Glass Coatings and Concepts provided an update on the activities of the product color and durability subcommittee. He pointed out that their glass informational on color and appearance properties has been approved by the board; they are also continuing to work on the durability properties bulletin.
During the decorative standards subcommittee meeting, chaired by Kris Vockler of ICD High Performance Coatings, the group continued to focus on a number of areas. These include the possibility of developing a GANA standard for the performance durability testing of coatings in backpainted decorative glass products, as well as a glass informational bulletin on measuring the optical performance of decorative glass. Also as part of the meeting, the group discussed a GIB on sealants and adhesive compatibility with various types of coatings. The group noted that one concern involves architects and contractors specifying/using incompatible sealants and adhesives with coated glass. The document is currently in draft stages.
Under new business, Arthur Berkowitz of J.E. Berkowitz LP brought up two topics for future discussions. These include looking at how the application of various decorative processes affects the strength of glass, as well as how first-surface decorative applications affect the durability of glass. The group agreed to look at both of these areas.
GANA’s Annual Conference takes place all this week. Be sure and look to daily USGNN reports for more updates from the event.
