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NEWS: Glass industry showcases greener smarter future at Vitrum 2025 Milan exhibition
The glass industry has converged once more in Milan for Vitrum 2025, a trade fair that feels less like a static display of machines and more like a laboratory for the future of glazing. From September 16–19, at Fiera Milano-Rho, Vitrum is serving up a densely packed agenda of innovation, sustainability and international exchange, reflecting the industry at a moment of rapid transformation.
One of the most striking narratives is the push towards green, low-carbon glass manufacturing. French engineering firm Fives, for instance, is unpacking its hybrid and all-electric furnaces—a “Prium EcoFlex” hybrid furnace and a case study of an all-electric melt furnace for Verallia Cognac that claims up to 80 per cent energy savings. This reflects a wider urgency: with decarbonisation, regulatory pressure (from EU construction rules to environmental certifications), and energy cost volatility, exhibitors are emphasizing not just performance, but footprint.
Another axis of innovation is automation, AI and digitalisation. Adelio Lattuada is presenting a suite of innovations: from a precision edger (the TLR 12 C PC Limited Edition) to a fully automated robotics line in collaboration with KUKA and Knittel Glass, plus its ORQUESTRA IIOT Data Manager platform. HEGLA is also pushing boundaries: thin glass (as slim as 0.5 mm) cutting, new ERP software (“glass365”) based on Microsoft Dynamics 365, fully automatic safety laminated glass cutting tables, laser-processing for decorative or functional features, and improved edge quality.
The Vitrum Technology District—a dedicated area where universities, research centres and startups are showing off R&D, AI/automation, and digital manufacturing—is another highlight. Visitors are getting hands-on exposure to masterclasses (tempering, lamination, screen printing) plus deeper technical sessions via the Stazione Sperimentale del Vetro.
Sustainability threads through many of the exhibits: efforts to certify environmental product declarations, reduce energy use, and move systems and materials toward greener profiles. Fenzi, for example, is emphasising its sealants, spacers and coatings with an eye to environmental awareness, preparing for regulatory shifts and rising demand for EPDs.
It’s also becoming clear that markets beyond Europe are shaping the show’s agenda. There are sessions targeting export strategy and trade with regions such as Saudi Arabia, Morocco, the United States and India; institutions like the Italian Trade Agency are involved in helping Italian glass-technology firms map global opportunity.
If there is one undercurrent that speakers and exhibitors allude to quietly, it is the challenge of integration: how to balance cutting-edge machinery, digital tools, AI/automation and sustainability without disenfranchising smaller fabricators or hiking costs beyond what the market can absorb. Vitrum 2025 does not pretend this will be easy. But it does suggest the direction: slimmer, smarter, cleaner glass; tools and systems that speak to each other; and an industry more conscious of its environmental and economic context.
In sum, Vitrum 2025 is not only cataloguing what glass can do now—it’s sketching what glazing might be capable of in a few years’ time. For slash-and-draw innovation watchers, Milan is proving to be glass sharp.
Why This Matters: Nothing beats a live demonstration of new products, machinery and innovation. The glazing sector is blessed with some of the best trade exhibitions in the world and Vitrum is high on the list. It was really interesting to see how manufacturers are incorporating new technologies into their offerings. The progression of AI into these areas is transformational and leading suppliers of machinery are leading this in the glazing sector.
