Business | Talking Point white back ground transparent
talks to... Simon McKenzie,
Sustainability is the buzziest of buzzwords, and the large-format print sector has been working hard to ensure it’s on point. But are the efforts paying off? I talked to Hollywood Monster CEO Simon McKenzie, who wants more clients to put their money where their mouths are.
In spring 2021 Hollywood Monster made real headlines by stating that it was stopping using PVC media for banner work, and that instead, all its internal and external banner projects would be printed on PVC-free Kavalan. The migration represented about 350,000m2
based on pre-
Covid-19 annual volumes at the time. Three years on, what impact has that had on the company? Just as many other businesses experienced, Hollywood Monster suffered during Covid-19. We still had an important part to play in providing social distancing signage to those businesses that remained open, but we were running on reduced staff and having to make difficult decisions. In March 2020, our trusted partner CMYUK reached out to us and that’s when we took the decision to turn this negative time into a positive one for the planet, turning our attention to our sustainability journey and the impact the signage industry has on the world. CMYUK was in the early stages of trialling an exciting,
new, PVC-free banner material called Kavalan and we were instantly invested. There was a rising outcry for sustainable alternatives - it was what our customers repeatedly told us they wanted. So, we spent months working closely with the manufacturer to test this new material - we knew if we were to offer our customers an alternative, we had to be sure it provided the same quality and durability they were used to receiving from us.
One of the major changes we made to the product was to enhance the coating - initially only lasting 12 months, an additional year made it a suitable rival to PVC. In 2021, it was time to approach our customers, and initially we found it tough - we can all agree nobody likes change and naturally people had a lot of questions. We believed in this product from the get-go, and we just needed to share our knowledge and understanding, and in no time customers started to embrace it. Kavalan has made a significant impact on our business and subsequently, the planet, with some of the world’s biggest brands adopting these environmentally friendly solutions, with large household names specifying these materials for projects over the last two years. This product alone to date has diverted over 500,000m2
of PVC from landfill to date, this equates
to saving 477.6 economy seats saved on flights between London Heathrow and New York. Print companies - importantly, not just ourselves - are putting a lot of time, cost, and resource in to researching and testing new products that come to market, as we continue
16 | June/July 2024
to listen to the requirements of the marketplace, however, we continue to see push back from end customers, especially those launching large print campaigns which can make the biggest impact.
Often the push back is price related, albeit there is only £1 difference per square metre, but without products like this becoming widely used, the price point cannot change and reach those expectations. Kavalan is still on its journey as the manufacturer continues to look for ways to improve the product, with the next focus on its weldability to match PVC. Once this has been accomplished, we will be even closer to our goal of removing PVC altogether in just two years’ time. Kavalan was the first of many products and since 2020, our
work with trusted suppliers and manufacturers has enabled us to change 80% of our materials to sustainable alternatives.
You were also one of the first PSPs to offer the ‘Clean Air’ spray-on coating which, when activated by sunlight, breaks down airborne pollutants. And in February this year you partnered with commercial fleet graphics specialist RGVA to offering the solution on its Traxx trailer framing system. How is this being accepted by customers? Starting our partnership with RGVA earlier this year has been an interesting project for us. Clean Air is a protective coating, launched by Resysten, which is capable of absorbing substantial amounts of air polluting gases when applied to exterior surfaces, such as commercial vehicles. Hollywood Monster and RGVA’s focus on sustainability, and our drive to provide customers with the best possible products, align. And with 99% of the global population breathing air that exceeds WHO air quality limits, it was a no-brainer initially for us to get involved, and then for RGVA to partner with us since they had been looking for a product just like this for some time. The interest in Clean Air has been exceptional, resonating positively with many major household brands, but we are yet to see that interest convert. Unfortunately, we have received significant push back from end users, in particular volume print purchasers. It seems that sustainability targets are measured on carbon numbers alone without looking at the bigger picture. It is scientifically proven that NOx - which Clean Air is
proven to negate, backed by governing bodies, scientists and universities - is significantly more harmful to health than CO2. It is our role as a licensed applicator of this product to educate the market, the credentials are hard hitting and we believe once
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28
