Hollywood Monster drops PVC in favour of Kavalan

The business will stop using PVC banner from 1 March. Image: Hollywood Monster
The business will stop using PVC banner from 1 March. Image: Hollywood Monster

Hollywood Monster has revealed that all of its internal and external banner work will be produced using PVC-free Kavalan as of next month.

The Birmingham-based wide-format specialist claims the migration makes it the first printer in the UK “to formally reject the use of traditional PVC banner”.

The switch comes into effect from next Monday (1 March) and is said to represent a volume of around 350,000sqm based on the firm’s pre-Covid normal year output.

The business said it has long been searching for an alternative to PVC and has worked closely with supplier CMYUK in the testing of TAYA Groups' Kavalan range prior to its official UK launch last year.

“We have immense confidence and trust in this product. We have been testing and championing it for over a year, and now is the time to make a change,” said Hollywood Monster managing director Simon McKenzie.

“Many of our clients have been asking for a viable alternative to PVC, and they trust us to deliver.

“Cost-wise too, it’s making sense, and economies of scale will rapidly turn Kavalan into a cost neutral exercise. It is the right thing to do, and we are delighted to be leading the way into becoming fully sustainable.”

Kavalan meets all the required strength and safety standards, including B1, EN 13501-1 and NFPA 701 fire ratings, as well as having stringent eco accreditation.

Furthermore, Kavalan Sunlight weldable and Kavalan Spiderweb 300 Mesh PVC-free banner material have both just received secondary BS3424 Pt 4.6 Tensile Strength certification.

This accreditation is required by on-site engineers before building wraps are installed to check wind loads and ensure safety requirements.

CMYUK also recently revealed it has partnered with recycling firm Howe To Recycle to ensure that Kavalan ends up as a 100% recycled product, avoiding the possibility of it being dumped into landfill.

“We feel that the end-of-life guarantee from CMYUK is the final piece of the jigsaw. There’s nothing worse in making the commitment to green materials to find out that behind the scenes the waste disposal element is not what you thought,” said McKenzie.

He added that as Kavalan was developed as a waste-to-energy material, it can be incinerated safely and without harm to be transformed into clean energy for the National Grid.