On Day 88 of Lockdown CMYUK delivered 18 pallets of floor graphics to Birmingham–based Hollywood Monster. Pre COVID-19, this scenario would have been unthinkable for both companies, but in this new world of social distancing, everyone has needed to adapt.

Traditionally, Hollywood Monster has a two divisional business focus. On one side it services construction, house building, and property, while on the other, it focuses on retail, events, and exhibitions.

Like everyone else, Hollywood Monster’s order book went through a landslide in the second half of March. “Events were getting cancelled every single day,” says Hollywood Monster managing director, Simon McKenzie. “Exhibitions were getting axed around Europe, which then filtered over to the UK pretty quickly.”

The arrival of Lockdown put pay to the rest of the company’s client base.

Hollywood Monster had no choice but to react quickly. It furloughed staff and turned its attention to the Health and Safety sector. Its floor graphics and supermarket sneeze screens fabricated from PETG have been in huge demand.

During this time, Hollywood Monster has pulled closely into its long-standing partnership with CMYUK.

“Utilising the investment in the latest technology that we made through CMYUK, we looked to see how we could use our plant list to diversify into markets that were still operational,” says Simon.

In the very early days of Lockdown, CMYUK worked with Hollywood Monster to advise on suitable floor graphics materials for both interior and exterior applications.

“We weren't too sure when the market would erupt but we were confident that there would be a big demand for floor vinyls,” says Simon.

With high demand comes the risk of materials shortages, so Hollywood Monster made the bold move to buy big from CMYUK ordering over 160,000 sq. m of floor graphics materials during this period.

Throughout Lockdown CMYUK has consistently met Hollywood Monster’s on-going demand for floor graphics materials due to plentiful stocks in the UK, its ability to meet stringent deadlines all underpinned by reliable supply chains in Europe and the US that prioritise the company.

“We've been fortunate enough to have supplies where others haven't,” says Simon. “New clients have come on board and perhaps if we hadn’t been as bold with our stock ordering and to have those orders efficiently fulfilled, that might not have been the case.”

In its continuing drive to service the new market demands, Hollywood Monster has also launched www.getsocialdistancing.co.uk that provides safeguarding products to the general public and small businesses.

The decision to invest in floor graphic materials and acrylics has allowed the company to bring back 50% of its workforce, a figure it hopes will continue to rise in the coming weeks.

Looking to the future, Hollywood Monster is working with CMYUK to bring innovative green and sustainable products to the market, which will not only provide viable substitutes to environmentally adverse materials but which will lend themselves to new markets and drive new applications.

“The world is changing and you need to be at the forefront of technology to diversify into new markets to protect the future of your company and the well-being of your staff,” says Simon. “The partnerships you have with your key suppliers are an extremely important part of the mix to help you achieve this.”