36 Issue 251 - February / March 2024 www.signlink.co.uk “The actual process has been known about for a number of years but it's only recently been launched as a viable option that we can offer from an in-house point of view,” McKenzie says, adding: “I think we’re going to see more and more companies wanting to take a stance on improving air quality. It’s all well and good wanting to reduce PVC and plastics are all something we see but nobody thinks about the air quality because it’s not something we see.” Big Names, Big Projects As previously mentioned, Hollywood Monster isn’t shy of producing big and wonderful work with its list of customers ranging from Mcdonald's, Adidas, Aston Villa, Sainsbury’s, Mullberry, Cineworld, the list goes on! When quizzing McKenzie on what his most memorable job has been over the years, the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games was high on the list. So, what goes into producing such a huge project like that? “A lot!” he replies. “It was really great to be involved with CSM Live and the Commonwealth Games. Being a Birmingham company at heart, it was great to play a part in that and see what it did for the city. But it was also great to see what it did from a legacy point of view as 12 months on we did the Birmingham Festival again with CSM Live at the forefront of that.” For the Commonwealth Games, Hollywood Monster produced a lot of different graphics and McKenzie explains that the ones that were very labour and time-intensive were the building wraps. “Again, talking about the plant and finishing, we print the building wraps pretty quickly in comparison but actually finishing them and welding them together and doing all the reinforced webbing and edges and doing all the special finishes that’s required for the install guys on-site, it's time-consuming and it takes up space as well. It was challenging but it was good and great to see it installed in the final instance.” With the whole project starting eight to ten weeks before the event with work really ramping up in the final four weeks, one thing McKenzie is keen to highlight is the expertise of the team at Hollywood Monster. “It was a lot of man hours but the great thing is, and I can’t say it enough, we’ve got a great team of people here. “A lot of our staff have been here a long time and are used to the fact that we’ve got to ramp things up and the hours are longer than normal and there’s overtime, but it’s a great team effort all round.” The end of 2023 saw the company busy investing in kit and finishing and when asked what we can expect to see from Hollywood Monster in 2024 and beyond, McKenzie answers: “More of the same!” “We’ve got a lot planned for this year and have some new things that are happening in terms of partnerships that we’re teaming up with which we’re excited about. But more of the same – working with good clients, good sectors, good people, and providing a good service and good products,” he concludes. ▲ [L to R] James Josephs, Faye Ganderton, Manjit Khala, Laura Huggins, and Simon McKenzie COMPANY SPOTLIGHT / HOLLYWOOD MONSTER We’re not afraid to invest in new opportunities, machinery, or plant, in fact in our industry you always have to keep up to speed with what’s coming out and what’s available ◄ The 2022 Commonwealth Games was a memorable project for director Andy McKenzie and was completed with CSM Live
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