Bundesverband Flachglas

The Federal Flat Glass Association (Bundesverband Flachglas e.V., "BF"): One industry – one association!

All companies that produce or sell flat glass share common interests.
In line with the motto "One industry – one association", three separate long-standing associations joined forces in 1987. They were:

The Flat Glass Refining Industry's Professional Association (Fachverband Flachglas veredelnde Industrie),
the Federal Association of German Insulating Glass Producers (Bundesverband der Deutschen Isolierglashersteller e.V.)
and the Federal Association of German Insulating Glass Wholesalers (Bundesverband des Deutschen Flachglas-Großhandels e.V.).

These three associations merged to form the Federal Flat Glass Association (Bundesverband Flachglas e.V., BF), with its registered office in Troisdorf (near Bonn), Germany.

BF is the renowned voice of the industry in the fields of lobbying and networking, standardisation and technology as well as public relations.

Most regular and supporting members of BF are medium-sized companies. Producers and retailers of a wide variety of building glass products such as heat insulating glass, insulating glass with additional characteristics such as noise or sun protection or burglar-proof glass, ornamental and safety glass, mirrors, all-glass doors and fire safety glass are all represented here. Furthermore, industrial manufacturers of the so-called "base glass" are also among the members.

Our more than 100 member companies with their more than 200 production sites and our more than 45 supporting members cover over 90% of the German flat glass production.

The Multi-Pane Insulating Glass Quality Association (Gütegemeinschaft Mehrscheiben-Isolierglas, GMI) awards the RAL quality label for high-quality insulating glass products to certified member companies. The extraordinary quality of the products manufactured by the association's more than 100 members is guaranteed due to neutral, external production quality monitoring performed by recognised testing institutions on behalf of GMI.

The technology-related work of BF comprises a number of working groups in areas such as "Warm Edges", "Safety Glass", "Systems for the Space between the Panes", “Bonded Glass” und “Curved Glass” as well as internal work groups.

Where other technology-related projects are concerned, BF works closely with related professional associations from the window industry and from the crafts sector. In addition to this, BF represents its member companies' interests in national and international standardisation committees.

On the political scale, BF accompanies the passing of regulations dealing with the conservation of energy. It campaigns for taking into account solar gains and summer heat protection. With a view to future amendments to the Ordinance on Energy Saving in Buildings (Energieeinsparverordnung, EnEV), BF works out models to reasonably account for cost-free solar energy and daylight gains, continuing its opposition against a reduction of window pane sizes in the Regulation. From the very beginning of its political work, the association has supported the need for a change toward three-pane insulating glass as tomorrow's standard product.

BF takes part in a number of political initiatives that campaign to, above all, strengthen and optimise the framework conditions for energy-efficient construction of new and renovation of existing buildings.

BF public relations department informs consumers and the press of products and services offered by the flat glass industry. To this end, the association makes press releases and brochures, issues a monthly newsletter and provides additional information. In 2015 the BF created a new homepage “Glas-ist-Gut.de” which is designed to inform consumers about the numerous ways in which they can use glass and - of innovations in glass products.

BF hosts symposiums dealing with current topics of interest to the industry and offers product training in the form of online-seminars.

BF takes on those activities that either cannot be performed by the member companies themselves (representation of interests in politics), or that profit from a bundling of activities in the hands of a neutral institution at a higher level (standardisation, public relations).