The Glass Association of North America’s (GANA) Decorative Division met during the group’s fall conference, which took place September 8-10 in Dallas. Only two years old, the division has grown quickly in its short history. In the past year the division gained 12 new members, bringing total membership to 50, and during the meeting in Dallas they were busy developing a number of informational and educational documents and resources.

The division’s technical committee, chaired by Greg Saroka of Goldray Industries Ltd., met first. Task groups are working on a number of projects including a LEED position paper on decorative glass; a glossary of decorative glass terms and definitions; guidelines on product cleaning and handling; and also updating some existing GANA documents, including section six of the Tempering Division’s Engineering Standards Manual, which covers the Specification for fired-On Ceramic Enamel Decorative Architectural Flat Glass. A task group has completed its review and the manual has been updated to reflect those revisions.

A key project for the marketing committee has been an online survey of architects, designers and installers about their experiences with decorative glass. Cathie Saroka of Goldray Industries Ltd. compiled the findings and shared some of the results during the meeting. Highlights included:

· A positive correlation between awareness of and use of decorative glass;
· Decorative glass is viewed as an expensive option rather than a viable one;
· The respondents like the aesthetics and function of decorative glass, and are looking for more technical information about it so they can feel more comfortable using and specifying it;
· There is an overwhelming need for information and education including technical information, specification information on products, where to get it, etc.
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Cathie Saroka will serve as the group’s membership committee chair. She suggested that committee members not only be a resource to new member companies, but all member companies. This could include further informational enhancements to the group’s website, such as the possibility of a message board.

The Decorative Division will next meet during Glass Week, which is scheduled to take place February 12-15, 2009 at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas.