Have you been to an exhibition recently? If you have, you probably couldn’t help but notice a big problem that’s hard to ignore – the staggering amount of waste at the end of these events. Tradeshows are estimated to generate huge amounts of waste each year with an enormous 600,000 tons of waste thrown into landfill every year. In fact, MeetGreen reports that even a mid-size corporate trade show, held at a venue with good recycling facilities and composting programmes, still sends a massive 41% of discarded items straight to landfill.
The nature of this industry, holding multiple events in various locations, with tight turnaround times, and contributions from exhibitors across the country, only worsens this issue. It’s time we tackle the waste problem head-on and explore the sustainable solutions available. That’s exactly why we came up with ExhiBox!
Traditionally, exhibition stands are designed to be giant and attention-grabbing, leaving a lasting impression on attendees. To achieve this, exhibitors use hard-to-recycle materials to create beautiful displays. However, when it comes to recycling these stands, things get tricky. Their intricate designs and the combination of different materials make them really difficult to recycle. And let’s not forget about the hassle of setting up and packing down these stands. With tight turnaround times between events, striking a balance between a speedy setup and ensuring sustainability of the stand is a priority becomes quite a challenge.
During the post-Covid period, our team started to design a sustainable exhibition stands to solve the problems discussed above. However, the road to creating ExhiBox wasn’t necessarily an easy one. Our initial designs didn’t align with the concept we had in mind. The development of our idea was paused for a short while until life got back to normal after Covid.
Fortunately, our luck changed when we brought Dean Sharp, a skilled cardboard engineer, into the Imageco team. Dean’s innovative thinking drove our ExhiBox project forward. We started pushing the boundaries of structural design in exhibitions, utilising Xanita as our primary material. Dean’s clever approach to using Xanita has contributed to national and international recognition through various awards for Imageco. Going back to our ExhiBox idea, Dean had developed collapsible Xanita walls that could be packed flat into a transportable box. In a conversation during the Antalis Sustainability Awards in Paris, Dean suggested developing a rental model for sustainable exhibition stands. The idea was to manufacture the walls and rent them out, with the capability to easily reassemble the stand and the main frame could be packed away for future reuse. Becca Kelly, our talented senior designer, created a logo for the project and after that, the ball was rolling.
The ExhiBox features foldable walls that effortlessly come together in only two pieces, ensuring seamless transportation and a quick setup. The sustainable stand is made from eco-friendly Xanita board, amplifying its sustainability credentials. This lightweight yet sturdy material enables a single person to efficiently assemble the ExhiBox within minutes. Not to mention, the size possibilities are endless! You can customise the box to be as big or as small as you need. Think of it as an eco-friendly Lego set where you can keep adding sections to fit your requirements.
Better still, the walls of the box are designed to be clad with stunning Xanita graphics to create eye-catching visuals that can adapt to any scenario! But wait, there’s more! The ExhiBox offers incredible flexibility, allowing you to incorporate bespoke elements that are bound to grab the attention of exhibition attendees. It’s all about making your brand stand out from the crowd! With its practicality, compactness, and captivating aesthetics, the ExhiBox raises the bar for environmentally conscious exhibition practices. It’s the perfect blend of convenience and style, designed to make your exhibition stand truly remarkable. The ExhiBox is an amazing way to add sustainability to events.
So, are you ready to take your sustainable exhibition stands to the next level with the ExhiBox? Get in touch with our expert team and let’s make it happen!
