CBS Outdoor rents outdoor space on famous London buses, the London Underground, Docklands Light Railway and the Tram.
Of the three global companies shortlisted, Xanita won with its Mondi Xtreme being the only product approved for its state-of-the-art, repulpable and biodegradable properties. Mondi Xtreme consists of a bleached white paper liner and post consumer kraft waste inner base. The product has high moisture hold out capabilities, thanks to specialised coatings and internal fibre properties that ensure optimum outdoor performance, making it effective for use in harsh European climatic conditions. Due to its water and UV hold-out capabilities, Mondi Xtreme has an outdoor life of up to six months.
No wax or polyethylene is used in the manufacturing process, resulting in a completely eco-friendly product that's an excellent replacement for styrene. In the global market the pressure to remove PVC, wax and PE barriers is constantly increasing. It is alleged that the EU Commission will soon put tax on PVC and the use of wax is already banned in Europe. It is also common knowledge that PE-coated products are problematic to recycle.
“We are therefore confident that this is the way of the future,” says TB Levin, Xanita's director of sales and marketing Europe (based in Sweden), who has driven the concept from the beginning and is actively involved in the collaboration with Mondi, as well as being an important link in the Xanita/CBS agreement.
Graphics, colour photo applications and advertising copy are printed to the board using digital flatbed, silk-screen and litho printers, adding further value. Xanita CEO James Beattie says, “To further increase our bio-friendly footprint, we encourage converters to follow our example of ‘green consciousness' and favour the use of eco-friendly inks. We feel that we have made a significant contribution to the well-being of future generations by removing one more product line from landfills via our ecological approach.”
Apart from bus and bus shelter advertising, other applications include real estate boards, promotional posters in filling station forecourts and street pole advertising. Mondi Xtreme is also ideal for indoor wall mounted or hanging POP displays and is currently being used by Woolworths SA
Xanita is headquartered in Cape Town, with representation in Gauteng and KwaZulu/Natal, Brisbane (Australia), Atlanta (US), London (UK), Stockholm (Sweden), Toronto (Canada), Thailand and Mexico.
Xanita will be present at the Sign and Graphic exhibition at the Dubai World Trade Centre, 17 – 19 February 2008.
