Business - Applications

Birmingham’s biggest graphics solutions business is going for gold by producing the UK’s "largest  ever banner display" which is about to be installed next to the Olympic stadium in London.

Hollywood Monster has been awarded the huge Olympic site contract by Westfield, the latest in a string of high-profile projects it has completed for the retail giant. The £1.45 billion Westfield Stratford City - Europe's largest urban shopping mall with over 300 High Street names and 50 restaurants - will be officially launched by Nicole Scherzinger on Tuesday, September 13th.

Hollywood Monster employs around 65 people and works with major companies including Next, Virgin Media, LilyWhites, Debenhams, Ann Summers, Coach, Whistles, HMV, Westfield, Carillion, Morgan Sindall, Lovell Homes, Redrow and Bovis Homes.  Sectors it is active in include commercial and residential property, construction, retail, corporate, exhibition, outdoor media, event, stadium, museum and theatrical.

Director Simon McKenzie said: “We’re used to tackling huge projects, working as we do with various sports stadia and major construction clients, but this is the largest banner display we’ve ever undertaken. In fact, we believe it’s the largest ever produced in the UK.”

Measuring a vast 350 metres by 14 metres the banner display, which has images with a retail theme, is being installed this week at the new Westfield Stratford site, directly opposite the new Olympic stadium.

Simon said: “It’s a huge coup for us because Westfield Stratford is the retail development of the moment – it’s part of the UK’s most ambitious regeneration project in the run up to the 2012 Olympic Games and of course it’s one that we’re really excited to be involved in.”

Over the next few months, 2,800 new homes are set to be built near the Westfield centre and the Olympic stadium, along with the transformation of a former landfill site into the largest park created in Europe for 150 years.

“In addition to the record-breaking banner, we’re also producing 85 hoardings for the site; 40 vinyl glass wraps and 45 fabric hoardings,” added Simon.

A creative team has been producing the banner over the past 20 days at Hollywood Monster’s Tyseley HQ, and its rope access installation team of 20 will be positioning it at Westfield between September 1st and 12th, ahead of the centre’s grand opening on September 13th.  The banner display was printed on a HP Revolution five-metre wide press on 400g per sq/m mesh fabric.

Hollywood Monster has a proven track record of working with Westfield. Earlier this year the business was responsible for creating and producing the circus-ring themed set for the UK premiere of Robert Pattinson and Reece Witherspoon’s movie Water For Elephants, which took place at Westfield London. The set included a 27metre broadcast wall and coverings for the circular stage and podiums for the stars to greet their public from.

Simon said: “The calibre of contracts we’re awarded from Westfield is very high – there’s lots of scope for creativity and flair, something our team prides itself on. We can’t wait to see the full effect of the Stratford banner – it’s going to have a massive impact.”

Hollywood Monster has invested heavily in state-of-the-art printing technology enabling it to produce enormous banners and advertising hoardings at high-profile sites including sports stadiums, festivals, rock and pop concerts, shopping centres and property developments.

For more information, please contact Tim Andrews on 07774 100013 or visit www.hollywoodmonster.co.uk

 

Stylo’s graphics are literally travelling worldwide.  From Sydney Australia to Tanzania we can create graphics for any occasion.  We faced yet another challenge when we were asked to produce a lightweight, waterproof banner that required extreme durability for the Equinix team climbing Mount Kilimanjaro last month.

Kilimanjaro, with its three volcanic cones, Kibo, Mawenzi, and Shira, is a dormant volcano in Tanzania and the highest mountain in Africa at 5,895 metres or 19,341 feet above sea level.  Due to the conditions throughout the climb it was important that carrying anything other than survival equipment did not hinder their experience.  Ok, so maybe we didn’t have the hardest task but it was important that they had something to represent their team after the gruelling 5 day expedition.  The obvious choice of fabric for us was Ripstop.  A nylon fabric with interwoven ripstop reinforcement threads in a crosshatch pattern.  Ripstop nylon is water resistant, fire resistant, and has zero porosity (will not allow air or water through).

Thanks to the Equinix team, after 5 days of climbing the banner made the 19,341 feet.

About Stylo
With a staff of 50 based in a purpose designed building (with on site print facility operating day and night) there’s not a lot they cant do. Find out more at www.stylographics.co.uk

Continuing their long established working partnership with marketing company Happy Apple, Signs Express (Warwick) added a splash of colour to the walls of a local children’s centre.

The expert Signs Express (Warwick) fitting team covered the interior walls of the centre with bespoke designed and printed Phototex wallpaper, creating an exciting fairy-tale-esque environment for the children to enjoy.

Liselle Appleby from Happy Apple commented “I have had a great working relationship with Signs Express (Warwick) for several years now, producing signage for various local authority signage projects. This is the first time we have used digitally printed wallpaper for a project however, and I am very happy with the results. It has really brought my designs to life”

Commenting on the project, Andrew Slater, owner of Signs Express (Warwick) said “Liselle has given us many interesting signage projects over the years. For this particular job we suggested that the innovative wallpaper from Phototex, which we recently added to our product portfolio, would be suitable. In line with Liselle’s brief, this product has helped us create the desired impact whilst using a very durable product that doesn’t rip or wrinkle”

For your own signage happy ending; contact Signs Express (Warwick). Part of the UK and Ireland’s leading signs and graphics company providing a complete design, manufacture and installation service for all forms of signage including interior/exterior signs, vehicle graphics, exhibition and display products, window graphics and health and safety signage for businesses in surrounding areas.

The new signs being put up by Astra Signs at Manchester City's ground Etihad Airways Stadium

 

It's out with the old and in with the Blue at Manchester City – with the new name for the club’s stadium on display for the world to see, courtesy of Astra signs, who did the printing and the installation.

The ground, formerly known as the City of Manchester Stadium, was renamed the Etihad Stadium last month as part of a sponsorship deal with the Abu Dhabi-based airline worth hundreds of millions of pounds.

A giant cherry picker was yesterday installing sky-blue posters and signs bearing the Etihad name on the stands and entrances to the 47,800-capacity stadium.

The Blues kick off the Premier League season on Monday, with the visit of Welsh newcomers Swansea City. Work at the ground is going on around-the-clock as the kick-off draws closer.

As widely predicted, Etihad won the battle to sponsor the stadium – built for the 2002 Commonwealth Games – as well as the club’s shirts. The land around the ground has become the ‘Etihad Campus’ as part of the deal. The cash will help bankroll the transformation of the area over the coming years.

It will see City, who moved to the stadium from Maine Road in 2003, shift their training operation from Carrington.

Proposals currently out to consultation include a ‘world-beating’ complex of pitches and medical facilities, as well as a 7,000-seater stadium for the club’s youth teams. The club wants 80 per cent of the 250 expected jobs to go to local workers. No plans have yet been revealed for land immediately next to the stadium but it is understood proposals are being discussed.

The naming rights deal was seen as a big boost to the Blues, who will play in the Champions League for the first time this season. They need to comply with Uefa’s Financial Fair Play rules which stipulate clubs must not post aggregate losses of more than £40.5m over the next three years. The deal, which will see the airline sponsor the stadium for the next 10 years, is said to be the most expensive football sponsorship deal ever.

The club are also expected to feature in in-flight entertainment on Etihad flights.

Pictured at the hand-over of the van to Fermanagh Co. Chairman Peter Carty are: L to R: Fabian Burns, Co. Coach, Louise Curry, Signs Express, Patsy Tracey, Tracey Concrete, John Armitage, Monaghan Bros and Peter Carty

 

As a keen supporter of the local community, Signs Express (Derrylin) were delighted to assist the Fermanagh GAA with striking new signs in time for the forthcoming school summer break.

Vhi GAA Cúl Camps provide boys and girls – between the ages of 6 and 13 – with an action-packed and fun-filled week of activity during the summer holidays which revolves around maximising enjoyment and sustaining participant involvement in Gaelic Games.

The Fermanagh GAA received a massive boost for their programme of VHI Summer Cúl Camps in July with the hand-over of a van for transporting gear and equipment. Monaghan Bros, Lisnaskea, supplied the Ford Transit van, Tracey Concrete provided insurance cover and Signs Express, Derrylin, applied the impressive signage.

Signs Express provides a wide range of signs and graphics to businesses and organisations including interior and exterior signs, vehicle graphics, banners, shop signs, decals and health and safety signs. Signs Express covers areas in and around Enniskillen including Cavan including Omagh, Strabane, Magherafelt, Monaghan and Castleblayney.

 

Vehicle wrapping specialist, Creative FX, has wrapped 95 Volkswagen Crafters as part of the launch campaign for the new model.

The new VW Crafter, available in showrooms nationwide from August 1st, is set to cause a stir in the van market, as the German manufacturer has set new class standards for emissions and running costs.  The launch campaign, which plays on this, includes text written in a petrol hose and claims ‘our biggest van is more fuel efficient than ever before.’

The vinyl graphics, produced by Creative FX, were printed on to 3M vinyl, guaranteed to last five years, using a Grenadier printer and outdoor inks.  It took four specially trained Creative FX installers four days to apply the graphics to 95 Volkswagen Crafters - 59 in Grimsby and 36 in Sheerness.  The vans have now been distributed to Volkswagen dealers nationwide.

Creative FX is a long-standing partner of Volkswagen.  “We have helped the company to launch a number of new vehicles, including the Caddy Maxi and most recently the new Amarok pick-up truck,” says Creative FX director, Sean Davis.

The previous Crafter model achieved EEV (Enhanced Environmentally Friendly Vehicle) status, but Volkswagen has further improved the van’s environmental credentials with the introduction of a smaller diesel unit, already used in the VW Caddy, Transporter and Amarok pick-up truck. Average fuel economy in the new model is up to 38.7 mpg and emissions have been reduced by over 10 per cent to 199 g/km.