Thinking inside the box

Exhibitions are pretty up there when it comes to wide-format print markets - but they’re pretty way down there when it comes to their eco credientials. So Imageco Visual Imaging is doing something about it as MD Nathan Swinson Bullough explains.

“Last year while lugging our latest cardboard creation through the halls of a trade show, the Imageco team and I started to think about all the waste that goes into exhibition stands. After a quick Google with my right hand while my left balanced a human-sized cardboard detergent bottle, I learnt that tradeshows are estimated to generate a whopping 600,000 tons of waste each year. Even if a venue has good compost and waste facilities, a mid-size trade show will still send an average of 41% of its rubbish straight to landfill. As someone who cares about the environment and has centred their business around sustainability, these figures didn’t sit right with me. Hence, the newest innovation at Imageco, ExhiBox, was born.

“ExhiBox is, essentially, an exhibition-stand-in-a-box. Importantly, it is 100% recyclable, made from Xanita Board, an ultra-lightweight sustainable fibre board with a repulpable inner core. We also use no adhesive in any of the designs, instead opting for magnets, meaning that ExhiBox is designed so that each wall can be reskinned with a new graphic whenever the client needs it and then recycled when it’s no longer being used.

“Flexibility was incredibly important to us while creating the ExhiBox design, as we had noticed a distinct change in our smaller-scale client’s budget over the past few years since the pandemic. After speaking to our customers, we knew we needed to provide a budget-friendly solution that would also produce less waste than traditional bespoke event stands.

“Featuring foldable walls that collapse to fit into a carry case, ExhiBox can easily fit into a medium-sized van and be assembled by one person. Once at the destination, that one person can use our easy-to-follow video tutorials to install the stand, giving smaller businesses the opportunity to attend trade shows at a time when getting their brand out in front of others is essential.

“On top of this, ExhiBox is rentable. One of the major unattainable aspects of attending tradeshows is the initial cost of buying a fully branded bespoke exhibition stand. This blocks many small businesses from accessing exhibition spaces as traditional options are out of their budget. At a time when SME’s are bringing insane innovations to many sectors across the UK, I didn’t think this barrier was fair. That’s why a rentable formula was always a key part of ExhiBox’s concept. Much like Lego bricks, ExhiBox’s core skeleton has been specially designed to be used as building blocks for our client’s exhibition vision.

“While we are incredibly proud of our solution, taking this concept from initial idea through to a fully-fledged service didn’t come without its trials. The creation of ExhiBox was definitely a labour of love. Many of our initial designs didn’t align with the concept. A particularly tricky area was the case, which we found was extremely difficult to reduce in size. But by using our experience and the expert knowledge of our skilled cardboard engineer, Dean Sharp, we were able to push the boundaries of structural design by increasing the scale of our formula to provide stands ranging from 2x2m all the way up to 6x6m.

“The creation of ExhiBox not only presents a new opportunity for smaller business to compete at larger trade shows, but it also represents a new service for Imageco. We’re always looking for ways to push the limits of what we think cardboard engineering can achieve, and the ExhiBox represents the skill perfectly. By not accepting that the traditional way is the only way, we’ve managed to reduce waste for both ourselves, and our clients create when exhibiting at events. Pushing our sustainability credentials further by not taking no for answer.”