GIMAV official statement gathers the Companies position: “participating in Exhibitions during 2020 is nonsense” and sends a message to the Organizers: “avoid an overcrowded calendar in 2021”.

Milan, 26th May 2020 – it has been published today GIMAV official statement signed by President Michele Gusti, which gathers GIMAV Members position about their participation in 2020 Exhibitions.

98% of the Companies involved (more than the 85% of the Members) agreed with the statement.

The focus is on the Companies’ belief that “the emergency won’t be solved by the end of the year” and for this reason is “impossible having successful shows”. Besides, GIMAV underlines how “people’s safety comes first” in a high-level risk situation of infection.

For these reasons the Association of Italian manufacturers and suppliers of machinery, equipment and special products for glass processing demands, on behalf of the whole Italian Glass Industry, to cancel all the events scheduled in 2020, because there won’t be the opportunity for the Exhibitors to participate “as in the past editions”.

In addition to that, together with other Companies which spontaneously subscribed the statement, Gimav declares that Italian Exhibitors won’t participate in any event before the end of 2020, whether any scheduled Show is cancelled or not.

Lastly, there is a recommendation to consider how “in 2021 the Exhibitions’ calendar - related to the Glass Industry - is already crowded” together with the resulting request to “avoid additional postponements observing the actual calendar” in all Exhibitors’ interest, as in Organizers’ and Industry’s.

The high-positive feedback is an encouraging result, from where GIMAV wants to start building the future of Italian Glass Industry: “from this newfound unity, we can and should lay the foundation for the main work we are called to do. The whole economy, not only the Glass Sector, has to find the key to face the new challenges that the pandemic creates. Today I have a new belief: in GIMAV, we can and we will do it together” stated President Gusti.

In attachment you may find the position stated by GIMAV and the list of all the Member Companies that have signed it.

GIMAV aims to spread this position to all the Players involved in the Industry and to give it the greatest prominence. This will avoid that the Italian Companies participate in events with an extremely high level of risk, and uncertain success.

We invite you all to give your personal help once again in spreading this statement, so that no Company of the Industry will remain excluded from what the Member Companies have confirmed it’s a right decision, and based on widely shared reasons.

Therefore, even those Companies of the Industry that are not GIMAV Members will have the chance to subscribe this statement if they want to: they just have to send a countersigned copy of the attached document at , to reinforce the position stated by the Association.

pdf Posizione GIMAV sottoscritta GB (130 KB)