The world's leading trade fair Fensterbau Frontale 2024 was all about an extraordinary booth concept at GEALAN: For the first time, the GEALAN exhibition area of almost 900 square meters was designed with a focus on the target group in five different themed cubes. The unusual format was very well received by the trade fair visitors.
GEALAN has developed enormously since its last appearance at Fensterbau in 2018: Since then, almost 100 million euros have been invested in state-of-the-art infrastructure and product developments across the Group. Numerous awards, including for the in-house toolmaking department, as a Leading Employer or most recently as one of the Top 100 Innovations Champions of German SMEs, as well as several BIM awards and a supplier Oscar have been recorded during this time. The remarkable development of the company was also evident at the innovative trade fair stand at Fensterbau Frontale 2024: In five strikingly designed cubes, the GEALAN portfolio was structured precisely according to target group topics.
A total of five themed cubes were tailor-made to the demands and needs of window manufacturers, dealers, architects and planners and equipped with relevant products and systems, supporting digital tools and helpful services in suitably compiled GEALAN worlds. A separate sustainability cube also showed ways to work in a particularly environmentally friendly and resource-saving way.
The trade fair motto "Designed for you " expressed GEALAN's proximity to customers and partners: Providing innovative solutions for all parties involved in the window value chain – this claim is also a top priority for GEALAN outside of the trade fairs.
Window manufacturers learned more about innovative systems and technologies for their market, especially about the outstanding possibilities of GEALAN-acrylcolor® surface technology.
Modern, linear window and door profiles give shape to the zeitgeist in trendy façades: such as the GEALAN-KUBUS®, GEALAN-KONTUR® and GEALAN-LINEAR® design systems. But the visually impressive profile systems can do even more: Outstanding performance values make it possible to produce top-insulated windows and doors at various installation depths and with a great deal of design freedom, which also provide the best possible protection against burglary attempts. Their excellent statics allow for large elements with a high proportion of glass, which allow a lot of light into the interiors. This was impressively demonstrated on 2.60 m high elements. For the first time, the new GEALAN-KONTUR system could also be felt and experienced with the advantages of the GEALAN-acrylcolor®® surface technology. Furthermore, the aluminium option of the PVC system impressed the trade fair visitors in terms of design and function. GEALAN-KONTUR® was also able to demonstrate its sustainable and resource-saving properties in the neighbouring Sustainability Cube, where profiles with recycled content of 60% and more were exhibited. An additional design highlight at the GEALAN booth was the new, extremely slim GEALAN LUMAXX variation in the GEALAN LINEAR® system.
The GEALAN profiles can also be combined with the technical and visual advantages of the premium GEALAN-acrylcolor® surface. The high-quality PMMA finish has been setting standards for window and door profiles since 1980 - colourfast, versatile, durable and robust like no other. And is now available with a dark base body, which allows for a particularly elegant aesthetic from a single source.
A real novelty was also a part of this GEALAN exhibition area that is well worth seeing and experiencing: Fabricators who already install the tried-and-tested 20 mm threshold from GEALAN with its stable and heat-insulating composite of PVC and aluminium now have the opportunity to easily implement the floor-level premium variant GEALAN-COMFORT® – possible for both house and balcony doors in the S 9000 system.
The performance cube was primarily aimed at manufacturers and processors. In this booth area, GEALAN presented modern, sophisticated solutions for all requirements and across all construction depths. In addition, the portfolio was designed across national borders and also had solutions optimized for the respective markets for France, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain and Southern Europe in general.
The following highlights could be experienced with all advantages and possibilities:
This cube showed the variety of intelligent product solutions, the use of which transforms every living space into a modern smart home.
In the Smart Living cube, GEALAN offered all manufacturers and their customers real added value for their windows and doors. For example, products from the TEXINO portfolio make it possible to conveniently connect living and working spaces if required, to automate elements and to provide a healthier, more comfortable and safer environment at the touch of a button, app or voice command.
One of the highlights in the corresponding trade fair area was an innovative shading solution that contributes to the "living of tomorrow" using a TEXINO product: Driven by a newly developed wireless roller shutter motor, the shading can be regulated in a contemporary way, for example via an app. The speed of the motor can be adjusted as required, thus ensuring that operation is as quiet as possible. Wear-free components ensure that the drive remains maintenance-free and has a long service life. Thanks to an innovative connection and mounting concept, it is possible to install the unit in any situation without any problems.
Smart home solutions from TEXINO also help to conveniently control secure access to one's own four walls: A newly developed access module makes it possible to integrate automatic locks into the network. With the TEXINO solution, access authorisations can be configured for specific persons at specified times. So that you no longer have to worry about manually locking and unlocking the doors: At night, the smart locks lock automatically if desired. Access control can also be accessed on the go.
Anyone who wants to open and close hard-to-reach windows remotely in a barrier-free and uncomplicated way can also get the right support from TEXINO: For example, a concealed window drive including smart control makes operation easier: The elements can be conveniently tilted and closed via buttons.
In this exhibition area, interested planners, manufacturers and dealers were also able to find out about solutions that combine natural ventilation with the advantages of automation and sound insulation: With the GEALAN HafenCity window®, fresh air enters the interiors with significantly minimised noise pollution. This is made possible by the well-thought-out tilt function, which is activated at the touch of a button.
At the GEALAN stand, the Smart Living cube offered an inspiring atmosphere in which interested processors and retailers could get business ideas for the living and working spaces of tomorrow.
In this area of the fair, visitors were able to be inspired by:
GEALAN offers design freedom for all creative visions – from optimised planning tools to a wide range of products and interfaces.
Above all, architects looking for innovative planning and design solutions found what they were looking for in the Vision Cube. The first eye-catcher here was the wide range of design options with which GEALAN-acrylcolor® turns profiles into real masterpieces. In addition to its design diversity, the surface technology – which, by the way, is gradually planned for all GEALAN systems – has proven itself above all through its durability and colour fastness. At the GEALAN booth, the PMMA surface could not only be examined, but also subjected to personal tests during scratch tests. In addition, an expansion of the range was announced: The colours of the GEALAN-acrylcolor® Extended series will soon be available to GEALAN customers in addition to the standard colour range and only differ in different delivery times.
In addition to the above-mentioned design possibilities, Designed for your visions also described the planning level at the GEALAN stand: When it comes to digital window planning, GEALAN has positioned itself as a real pioneer not only with its three golden Architects Darling Awards 2020-2022. In the all-in-one tool Planner Software 3.0, visions are quickly and easily converted into reusable 3D models thanks to award-winning BIM data. The highlight: The software checks the feasibility in real time during the planning phase, thus enabling not only individual and realistic, but also reliable designs. In addition, real experts from GEALAN's architectural consultancy were on site throughout all days of the fair, who will also be on hand to provide valuable tips on the implementation of individual projects outside of the fair.
This is how GEALAN turns visions into reality:
Window manufacturers as well as retailers as well as architects and planners found supporting solutions and digital services in this trade fair area that make their business fit for the future.
At GEALAN, designed for your success means: Tailor-made services and solutions support industry partners in setting up their business with the most valuable business model possible and in the long term. Inthe Cabinet Cube, GEALAN has demonstrated its wide range of options that enable every company in the window industry to be truly differentiated.
GEALAN is also taking its partners by the hand with a great deal of know-how and sophisticated ideas, as the trade fair stand impressively demonstrated: Retailers, for example, benefit from showroom concepts that have a modular design that enable individually optimised exhibition space in their home store depending on space, preferences and budget. Well thought-out matching is also expected to offer an increase in business: GEALAN not only supports the recommendation of suitable window manufacturers to tender architects, but also generates private customer enquiries itself in order to pass them on to suitable manufacturers and dealers on a platform-based basis.
Where specialist knowledge is still lacking or refreshers are necessary: The GEALAN ACADEMY offers suitable further training in theory and practice and for every level of prior knowledge – because well-trained personnel ensure the success and future of every company.
Under the motto Designed for your success , GEALAN has bundled the impressive range of services with which it supports its partners in their daily business and makes them successful.
Successful business with the support of GEALAN:
GEALAN is committed to resource-saving and future-proof materials, products and processes, the application of which makes the construction industry more sustainable. The Sustainability Cube was therefore not aimed at individual target groups, but showed sustainable solutions that are intended to inspire the entire industry.
A wide variety of measures and solutions contribute to environmentally friendly developments: For example, GEALAN is continuously increasing the recycling content across all GEALAN systems in order to save valuable raw materials. The innovative technology of tri-extrusion enables GEALAN to produce long-lasting profiles from a single cast, in which recycled PVC replaces virgin material in ever increasing proportions: In addition to the combination of fresh and recycled material, the production technique mentioned above also involves the refinement by means of the PMMA surface GEALAN-acrylcolor® in the same work step.
The sustainability cube at the GEALAN booth also made it clear where well-thought-out product and system developments are already massively improving energy efficiency: profiles optimised for thermal insulation effectively separate the inside from the outside and ensure that the cold stays out in winter, while it remains pleasantly cool indoors in summer – energy costs can be significantly reduced. Optimised PVC mixtures and protective surfaces such as GEALAN-acrylcolor® also make windows more durable and do not need to be replaced as frequently. However, research and development at GEALAN is not only carried out with regard to higher-quality formulations – the CO2 footprint of the plastic profile is also being fine-tuned at a granular level. The goal: ever more sustainable PVC formulations, in which new bio-circular materials increasingly replace fossil ingredients and thus further reduce the CO2 footprint of GEALAN products.
Since certain bio-circular and circular raw materials are only available in limited quantities, these materials are managed in a differentiated manner using a so-called mass balance principle, which is checked and certified by ISCC PLUS.
GEALAN has recently fulfilled the demanding criteria of such an ISCC PLUS certification. This refers to all types of raw materials that are processed from recycled waste, organic or other different residues and subsequently serve as building blocks to generate proven raw materials. GEALAN is committed to this cycle and has been certified for biocircular materials such as PVC, PMMA, polyethylene and polypropylene. Initial agreements have also already been reached with suppliers who will make these bio-circular raw materials available to GEALAN. The ISCC PLUS certification underlines GEALAN's sustainable efforts and a pioneering role of the plastics system provider in the development of a circular economy and a sustainable bioeconomy. The aim of the measures is to develop a resilient economic system on the one hand and to make a valuable contribution to mitigating climate change on the other.
Designed for our sustainable future also demonstrated GEALAN's integrative aspirations: a balcony door made of the new floor-level threshold system GEALAN-COMFORT® illustrated in the sustainability cube how important it is to think about tomorrow today. After all, future-proof, comfortable and safe threshold solutions make life and living easier for all generations. It is not only for older people with physical disabilities that unnecessary tripping hazards mean the exclusion of parts of daily life. GEALAN enables stepless transitions for both new construction projects and renovations.
GEALAN's broad product portfolio also includes other well-thought-out solutions for making clever and stylish use of existing building fabrics.
Building on the future with GEALAN:
„I am completely satisfied with our presence at Fensterbau Frontale. All the partners who visited us were full of compliments for our concept, for the solutions we presented to the market and for the target group-orientated presentation. We were able to hold hundreds of valuable discussions over the four days, so I can only describe Fensterbau Frontale 2024 as a great success for us at GEALAN. I would like to thank all my colleagues who made such a fantastic presentation possible during the week of the trade fair, but also in the weeks and months leading up to it!
Here are a few impressions of the GEALAN booth at Fensterbau Frontale 2024:
Marc Schenk
22/03/2024
GEALAN remains true to the much-praised trade fair concept, which had already attracted a lot of attention at Fensterbau Frontale 2024: Four strikingly designed cubes will once again present the GEALAN portfolio structured according to target group topics at the BAU 2025 trade fair. At GEALAN, it's called Designed for you. A number of new products at the trade fair will complement the proven GEALAN products and services next January.
With exciting and personal stories, the new GEANOVA #6 once again takes a look behind the scenes at GEALAN. The magazine comprises 56 pages in this issue and is available both as a print copy and can be read online.
GEALAN's Building Information Modeling data offering has once again convinced the jury: At the ARCHITECTS ́ DARLING Award® 2024, the GEALAN solution once again achieved a top ranking with 2nd place. With its award-winning BIM data, GEALAN is one of the pioneers in the planning method of the future in Germany's construction industry.
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