VITRUM 2027 Gears Up for Growth: From Bottles to Space, Glass Opens Up New Markets Alongside MADE Expo

The industrial partnership with Italian Exhibition Group supports the goal of increasing the number of exhibitors and expanding exhibition space. Glass4Space and FORMAE bring the Glass Economy to life. On the international front, the target is to attract 150 international buyers, with dedicated country presentations highlighting new market opportunities.

From bottles to the aerospace industry, glass plays a key role in sectors that may seem worlds apart. What connects them are the technologies, expertise and companies that make these applications possible. This is the foundation of VITRUM 2027’s ambitious vision: to increase participation, bring together market demand and innovation, and create new business opportunities for the glass industry.

Officially presented to the international press during the press dinner on 22 October, the upcoming edition of the Milan-based exhibition introduces an industrial partnership with Italian Exhibition Group (IEG), new projects dedicated to industry segments and applications, and a business-oriented internationalization program.

VITRUM 2027 will also take place alongside MADE Expo, creating an opportunity to bring together the glass industry and the construction sector, with the aim of fostering new synergies between complementary industries and expanding business opportunities for exhibitors and visitors.

At the heart of this vision is the Glass Economy: the economic ecosystem generated around and through glass, encompassing machinery, products, expertise and end-use industries. This perspective brings a fundamental question to the exhibition: where will the next wave of demand for glass emerge, and which technologies will be needed to meet it?

Partnering with IEG to Drive Growth

The industrial partnership with Italian Exhibition Group represents a key driver of growth for VITRUM 2027. The goal is to increase company participation and expand exhibition space, strengthening the event’s ability to attract businesses and industry professionals.

IEG’s trade fair expertise and extensive network of industry connections will complement VITRUM and GIMAV’s in-depth knowledge of the glass industry and their long-established relationships across the sector. This joint effort aims to increase exhibitor participation, enhance the visibility of the various industry segments and strengthen the exhibition’s international positioning.

More companies, more technologies, more opportunities to connect: the expansion of exhibition space will be supported by a comprehensive program of content and networking opportunities designed to deliver greater value to participants.

Glass4Space: Where Glass Meets the Aerospace Industry 

The Glass Economy initiative will begin with Glass4Space, a project specifically dedicated to exploring the relationship between glass and the aerospace industry.

This initiative brings VITRUM into dialogue with a sector where precision, reliability and performance are critical. Glass4Space will highlight the contribution of glass to the aerospace industry and the opportunities that collaboration between different industries can create for materials, manufacturing processes and technologies.

Aerospace thus becomes the first focus of this new approach: connecting the capabilities of the glass industry with the needs of end-use sectors, identifying new development opportunities and fostering relationships with potential partners.

The next business opportunity for a glass company could come from a market it has never engaged with before. VITRUM aims to make that connection possible.

FORMAE: A New Identity for the Industrial Strength of Hollow Glass

With FORMAE, VITRUM 2027 will provide a distinctive and dedicated space for the entire hollow glass and glass packaging ecosystem: machinery, technologies, processes and products, from bottles and vials to containers and tableware.

The scale of the market highlights the significance of this initiative. According to the FEVE 2025 Annual Report, European production of glass containers for food and beverages reached 73.3 billion units, representing 2% growth.

The glass packaging ecosystem, including packaged products, also generates over €140 billion in added value across the European Union and supports more than 850,000 jobs. These figures demonstrate how closely glass is linked to the competitiveness of industries such as food, beverages, pharmaceuticals and perfumery.

FORMAE has been created to showcase the technologies driving this ecosystem and encourage discussion of its key challenges: energy efficiency, productivity, quality, automation and product innovation.

Internationalization: Bringing Global Markets to the Exhibition

VITRUM will reaffirm its role as a meeting point between companies and leading international industry players, further strengthening its focus on global market demand. 

For 2027, the goal is to attract at least 150 international buyers through an incoming buyer program focused on the quality of participants and the business opportunities available to exhibitors.

Alongside business meetings, the country presentations will provide valuable insights into emerging markets, exploring local demand, investment prospects, technological requirements and market entry opportunities. This approach will complement business networking with the knowledge and information needed to understand where and how commercial relationships can be developed.

 This strategy builds on VITRUM's ongoing international activities, including trade missions, incoming buyer programs and Italian glassWAYS, the initiative launched at glasstec to promote the Italian glass industry internationally, with plans to continue at major global industry events, including China Glass and GlassBuild America.

VITRUM will be the place where these relationships can translate into business meetings, projects and new opportunities for companies.

Technologies at the Core, New Markets on the Horizon 

“With VITRUM 2027, we want to give companies concrete reasons to participate: qualified business contacts, access to international markets and opportunities to engage with industries capable of generating new demand,” says Barbara Antonini, President of VITRUM.

“Our partnership with IEG supports our growth ambitions. Glass4Space and FORMAE bring substance to the Glass Economy concept. Our international program brings buyers and valuable market insights directly to the exhibition. All these elements are part of a single, integrated project: to increase the commercial and industrial value of VITRUM for everyone involved.”

For an exhibition that has connected glass technologies with the world for more than forty years, 2027 marks another step forward: expanding its ability to attract industry players and turning new applications into growth opportunities for the entire glass value chain.

From bottles to space, market demand is evolving. VITRUM 2027 is bringing together the technologies needed to meet it.

*The figures presented in the FORMAE section are drawn from the FEVE 2025 Annual Report, published on 24 July 2026. The €140 billion in added value and 850,000 jobs include products packaged in glass, as specified in the text.