FuturePrint Podcast
FuturePrint is dedicated to and passionate about the power of print technology to enable new opportunities and create new value. This pod features deep-dive discussions with the people behind the tech as well as market analysis, trends, marketing and storytelling!
FuturePrint Podcast
#288 - Kavalan and Leading the Transformation to PVC-Free Wide Format
In this episode of the FuturePrint Podcast, Marcus Timson talks to Rob Karpenko, Director of Sales, Europe at Kavalan – the PVC-free banner brand that has become synonymous with measurable sustainability in wide format.
Rob shares his journey as a long-time materials specialist and explains how Kavalan’s strategy has remained consistent: reduce water and energy use, tighten manufacturing efficiency and back every claim with independently audited data. He lifts the lid on the Kavalan Eco-Calculator, showing how printers and brands use it not only for ESG reporting but also as a powerful sales and marketing tool to quantify CO2, water and resource savings for every campaign.
The conversation explores how legislation and culture are reshaping substrate choice, from Tallinn’s decision to mandate PVC-free external advertising from 2026 to rising demand in Asian markets. Rob is frank about where the US and parts of Europe still lag – and why printers themselves, rather than end consumers, are often the ones driving the switch.
We discuss the crucial point that PVC-free no longer has to be a compromise. Rob shares case studies where Kavalan has been chosen primarily for performance – anti-curl behaviour, higher strength-to-weight ratios and better load performance – with the environmental benefits as an added bonus.
You will also hear the story behind the first Kavalan Green Awards, spotlighting standout projects from Blue Rhine, Embrace and Format Graphique, including IKEA’s flagship Oxford Circus installation. These projects demonstrate that large-scale, complex and highly creative campaigns can be delivered without defaulting to traditional PVC.
Finally, Rob talks about new products, expanding distribution, and his personal motivation for driving change – and offers a grounded, commercially realistic view of how the industry can move from “nice to have” to sustainability as standard.
If you are a wide format printer, brand, retailer or event organiser looking to cut carbon without cutting quality, this is an essential listen.
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FuturePrint TECH: Industrial Print: 21-22 January '26, Munich, Germany
Welcome to the Future Print Podcast, celebrating print technology and the people behind it.
SPEAKER_01:Welcome to the latest episode of the Future Print Podcast. Really happy to have with me Rob Karpenko, Director of Sales Europe for Cavalan. Cavalan has been one of our future print partners for many years now, a leader in sustainability, and we're going to discover in what way as we go through the course of this conversation. But first off, welcome to the podcast, Rob. Thanks. I am happy to be here. Thanks for watching. Yeah, good to have you. And um as is customary, it's always um useful to get a bit of a backstory and introduction and um uh a little bit about yourself, how you were involved or got involved more in that wide format digital space and what and what it is you do for um Cavalan.
SPEAKER_02:Sure. Okay, so I think I'm termed as what they would call a lifer in this industry. So um I started straight out of university back in '99, not much grey hair then. Um, and I've worked my way through. So I started with Robert Horn in the UK. Uh, work for various companies in between, um, mainly distribution companies, um, paperlinks and spandex. And I joined Cavaline almost four years ago now. So a lot of experience across wide format and also narrow format and also paper. So a lot of experience in the industry.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, so your your background's been very much around materials.
SPEAKER_02:Mainly materials, yeah. It's it's materials and and talking with distribution networks, finding the right materials for the right applications. So, yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Brilliant. And obviously, Kavilan has become a leading brand over the years, um, synonymous with PVC-free materials and also measurable carbon reduction. How in has sustainability strategy evolved over the years, uh, really, with Cavlan? And what what kind of milestones do you feel most proud of?
SPEAKER_02:I think our sustainability strategy has remained constant throughout all of the years. Um, so we're we're very heavily targeted on reducing our water consumption, reduced electricity, reduced power consumption, which in the end gives us a lower carbon footprint for the products which which we're supplying. So that's remained constant. What we have seen is sort of tweaks and things to our strategy. So we've we've really embraced the sort of, I would say, the data-driven approach towards the data which we can provide and the information and support we can provide to our partners, not just our printing partners, but also the specifiers, the retailers, the sports events organizers. And one of our primary aims is to save time. So we know that it takes a lot of time to source data around your products or the sustainability sort of achievements of those products. And invariably, a lot of that time is wasted because you're not sure of the validity of that data. So we've continued our partnerships with the best auditing houses in the world. Uh, they come in and do independent audits and we track everything and we keep data points of everything. We have people in our organization that are constantly reviewing, updating our information points. And we're very happy to share that with our customers and those specifiers. Um, so I think this is really one of the tweaks to our strategy where we really, really want to support our customers to get the Kavala message over there and the carbon as an as a as an example, the carbon reduction or the water reduction that they can achieve through specifying and using our products. Um, in terms of the milestones, I think for me personally, um the milestones are I would I will put them as the bigger projects which we're winning. So if we look back to last year, we won all of the fanzone uh material wrapping for the games in Germany at the Euros. It's fantastic to see our product across 10 big cities in Germany. We've also won various retail contracts, um, various sports events, a lot which we're not allowed to talk about, interestingly, as well. But um, we've been featured in a lot of places where the audience will have been watching the TV and seen our product and not known. So it's it's really something we're all of the team are proud of, me personally as well, because I've been involved in some of these projects in getting through specification to getting that material delivered.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, and and I guess that over time starts to become the go-to material for uh any event or um campaign that is concerned with sustainability and and being able to prove and so on. So that's exciting, isn't it? Um obviously your focus is Europe and across the world sustainability as a topic area or uh uh a concern sometimes rises and falls depending on lots of different factors. So clearly different regions have their own environmental regulations and perhaps even customer demand. How does government policy and perhaps cultural attitudes impact sustainability across Europe, UK, and Asia from Cavalan's perspective? Do you see differences? Are there are you know is Europe further ahead or further behind or what? Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:So let me touch upon the governmental influence first. Um so this is something which we've seen this year, 2025. Uh there's a couple of countries at the forefront at the moment in terms of government approval required to go forward with sustainable products. If we take the case of Estonia or case in point, Tallinn, um, they have a directive from January 2026 that any new advertising which will be placed within that city has to be PVC free. So that's external advertising. So we've been working alongside a new partner in Estonia, a new printers to the brand, um, and also with governmental contacts. There's another one within Europe uh which we've been working with for a couple of years, and they're really driving sustainable choices uh for their for their countries, I would say. So we've not seen, or at least these governments haven't come to us the likes of France or the Netherlands or Germany, but we do see an increasing wave of interest in moving to PVC-free solutions. Now, the Estonian case is is fantastic. We believe it's the first in the world where Tallinn, uh the city council's going completely PVC free. It's coming. You know, we we're having conversations, uh, we're seeing change. We see that with our volume as well. Interestingly enough, we see Asia also developing very strongly. So whereas a couple of years ago, you wouldn't, if I'm honest, you wouldn't have thought about placing Kavlam into too many markets in Asia because of the historic sort of view on or the demand patterns, but it's changing. You see, we've we've launched in Thailand, Malaysia, uh, Japan, and these markets are growing strongly as well. And that's customer-led. So it's it's customer demand which is driving this. Um, the US, I think, still has a way to go. I'd I'd I'd place that as an opportunity. Um, and we're getting there in Europe. Um, but back to the first point, the government is is driving a lot of growth at the moment or potential growth uh that we'll see through to 2026.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, yeah. And you meant you mentioned obviously that's one regulation, government um law and legislation is a key driver for adoption for sustainability. But you did mention the customers. Are customers adopting this because their customers are asking for it, or are you you are you seeing changes in customer mindsets? It's an interesting one.
SPEAKER_02:So one would like to think and promote that the customer's customer is demanding this. I think the reality is the customers making that choice for the good of their business and driving the sustainable message to their customer base. So we've recently picked up a couple of very large printers in print service providers in Europe, um, which are carrying the Kavalan brand and driving that message to their customer base. And I think it's because they realize the customer might not necessarily be aware there are alternatives available. Um, so uh the customers, in my view, are driving this. They really, it's like that they've changed their hats in the last year, and um, we we see a lot more traction, we see a lot more conversations which are actually following through to really cool projects rather than having conversations and another conversation. It's the the tide is turning, I would say.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, yeah, yeah. And obviously, Kavalan's got you know, you've got invested a lot in sort of measurement and data and a wealth of data around sustainability and carbon reduction. Um, how do customers use the data in practice or the tools that you've carbon calculated in stone? But do they use that to sort of educate their customers, or is it more a reporting mechanism that they have to have after the job's done or before they're quoting the job?
SPEAKER_02:It's both, if we're honest. Um so if we look at how we can deliver our data to customers, we have uh an online platform which is uh called the eco-calculator. And we talked about milestones earlier in the call. Um, I'd say that's one of our key milestones. You know, when we launched the eco-calculator version one, we only captured the CO2 savings. So that was in terms of what we like to call flight shaming. So you can look at a Kavalam project, uh, see how big it is, and then you can see the carbon savings uh equivalent to the amount of economy seats that would have generated the similar type of carbon between two set points, so say London, Heathrow and Amsterdam, which is cool. It's really cool. We realize that that's great for our customers, but they were demanding more, um, both because they needed it internally and they wanted to promote externally the benefits of switching to a product such as Kavalan. So with the eco-calculator, we can now display very quickly and illustrate the savings, not just on CO2, but oil, um, water. Uh, we can look at the top five LCA, so the lifecycle assessment impacts and various other things, things which you might not ever even need to know, but it's all there and the data's all independently verified. So we have some really great tools to deliver that data. Now, question was, how is it being used? You know, there's there is a certain element of tick in the box for some customers. It's moving away from that now. So they're using it internally to promote why they should move to Cavalan, the benefits it delivers. Um, it can go along with their eco or sustainability targets as a company as well. We can help them reduce their carbon footprints. What we see now in the past, I would say, 12 to 18 months, is that those data points being used at customer level as well. So we have a brilliant graphic designer in-house. She produces infographics. We can produce really nice illustrations of how savings can be achieved by switching to Kavalan. And we see it with larger printers in certain countries are using this on their social media, they're using it to win new business as well. If we look at how much material they've used in the past year, we can quantify that. They can use that to promote it, and they can use that to go and win new business. So we see it more and more. And it's it's great because, as you say, we've invested a lot in this, and it's it's a heavy investment, and we're starting to see real traction uh in terms of all of these different tools that we have and then being used and utilized.
SPEAKER_01:So it's it's like you say, it's momentum, isn't it? It feels like you're really generating a lot of momentum here. And you have to keep banging the drum as well.
SPEAKER_02:So we're we're constant. And if you look at my social media or or Cavalian, we're constant. There's a constant drumbeat. So we might go silent for a couple of weeks because we realise we're we're too constant, but we're back again with new stories, new ideas. Uh and I think that's key as well because you know, we get the confidence of our customers because they see that we're just not saying one message, and it's it's a continual progressive sort of theme or message that we're delivering.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, absolutely. And look, yeah, obviously uh you sort of looking looking back at the uh I would say growth of sustainability uh as a strategic imperative, perhaps at times that's been seen, you know, not not anti-commercial to the extent of that, but often it's seen maybe as a bit more expensive, or maybe or maybe even the quality of the product is compromised if it needs to have certain materials and so on. But are you seeing that you know perhaps certain customers are choosing Kavanaugh not just for the credentials, but actually because it's a fantastic material in its own right that does everything, if not even better, than the the old um PVC type substrate. Um, do you see this happening? Because creativity is a key thing within the industry we're in, and actually this material enhances that, doesn't it?
unknown:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Rather than compromising.
SPEAKER_02:I I'd say so. And actually, we've got a couple of case studies coming out in the in the next couple of months talking about this case and point where Kavlan has been specified not purely due to its eco-prudentials, but because of its anti-curling properties on a butterfly product, so our blockout product, or an anti-curling on a Tai Chi, uh, or the 30% more strength on our mesh product, and it's lighter than the alternative. So the load bearing on a scaffolding is is much better from an architectural point of view. We see this more and more. Um, and it's it's interesting how it's combined with the eco story and the quality side of the product. We we are leading some conversations not with the eco story, if I'm honest, because we we look at some of the larger, well, everything's case by case. And of course, if you're doing a large project, you don't want that product to fail and you want it to perform the best. So you have to discount the initial eco sort of drumbeat, which we're talking about, and you talk about actually this this product will do the job, and it will do the job better than that PVC alternative. Oh, and you've got all of these benefits in terms of eco savings, and I've just quantified it for you here. So it's it's interesting shift because when I started four years ago, all I was leading with was the eco message because we were a voice in a very loud room of a lot of crap, basically. It's and some of those have gone by the wayside, you know, that and but the competitors are constant as well, they're developing their products. But it's really interesting how our conversation and how our voice is changing as well over and developing over time.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, it's interesting, isn't it? And obviously, over that time you've introduced several innovative PVC rebanner materials, as we already said. Any sort of new developments to share a bit more about Lacey's developments and how these are being.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, we've we've we've got a we've got a couple of brilliant products um actually landing on Friday into Belgium, which is our European warehouse. Um, we have a floor graphic product completely PVC free uh with the the applicable R ratings. A lot of interest in this already. So we'll be putting that into the market over the next few months. We also have an outdoor blockout product where previously our butterfly series was for indoor use, so much higher opacity, much better in tough weather conditions. These are just two of the new products. Uh, we are working on recyclable products as well, so fully recyclable in one pass. Um, I would say the products we bring to market are the best they can be. It also means we're a little bit slow sometimes to bring the product to market because we want it to be the best. We we want to launch with an A1 product, so we test the hell out of it, and then we test it again, and then we test it again, and then we bring it to market. So we're bringing a couple of new ones right now. As I say, they're landing on Friday. Uh early next year, there'll be another tranche of products. Um, and it's really exciting. And the the enthusiasm from our distributor partners, our printer partners, it's it's great to see. Um, and it's yeah, it's gonna be a fun few months, actually.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, sounds cool. Um I had the pleasure of actually speaking with three of your um award winners because this year you did um Cavallan Green um awards that that really recognized printers that and um your customers who are really sort of pushing the boundaries with some of their projects. Uh really amazing work done by Blue Ryan, Embrace, and Format Graphique. They were the three I I um interviewed. They're brilliant, aren't they? Yeah, project they they they did well. I I think they were standout in terms of how creative and impactful they were, and but and that and also the concern that each of them had for sustainability. Um these recognitions say a lot about the strength of your network, really, because I mean, Embrace the UK, Blue Ryan, um service, the Gulf area, I believe, and Format Graphique in in um in France. So so so that really says a lot about the reach of Cavlan, doesn't it? And um is there anything you might want to share about these campaigns?
SPEAKER_02:I mean, if we look at the the one in uh the UAE, that was for me, that was great to see because they're a new partner for us, and they won they won this very prestigious um project quickly as well. So the guys there got it straight away and that they ran with the product, they ran with the messaging. Um and it's great to see these high-profile projects. Embrace in the UK, that's my that's my favorite of all time. You know, it's it's it's brilliant. And I I actually posted last week on LinkedIn um about the award winners, and we we featured we featured the IKEA project um in Oxford Circus, and that's one of my best performing posts, if I look if I look at it from a personal perspective, because there's a lot of interest in it, you know, and on the French one as well, it it's brilliant to see. Um, so these three are real standouts for us. You know, next year when we run the the awards, there'll there'll be more. This was our first year, and you know, a couple of distributors missed the deadline by uh a few days, and we had to be strict as well, and we had to be fair to those guys entering. So, congratulations to them. It's uh I mean it's testament also, like you say, to to the the network we've got, the coverage we've got. So I'm looking forward to to what we're gonna see in 2026 um in terms of submissions and and entries.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, and I think that's really important that the rest of the market sees a success and b, it's not just success, it's like high levels of creativity and impact and complexity and really sort of like um grab attention campaigns. And I think that inspires others to to do the same or to to look at at how they can perhaps push the boundaries and so on.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I think you're you you're spot on with the complexity side of this because we need to illustrate how partners can work with very complex projects and how the material performs. And it's one of the concerns for new printers working with our product, it's no secret that you know people are scared sometimes, or they've not worked with a PVC free product before. We've been working 20 years with the same type of PVC coating. So how if we can illustrate more about the complexity of these projects, they're high profile, they're up there for a long time, the better, because it installs confidence in current users and new users as well. So um it's it's great.
SPEAKER_01:And that's obviously a way of pointing to success and and inspiring others to do similar things and to embrace that opportunity. Is there anything else you talk kind of do? Um I mean, could be because you are a leader in this in this field, so I imagine it's quite a lot of work you need to do to educate people, customers.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, so we are we're fortunate that we have a brilliant team with with Cavalan. And you know, I've said at the beginning of the call, I've been in the industry since 99. It's difficult to find a team so good as we've got. And we make no secret where the product's produced. It's produced in in China, you know, and it's we're we're fully audited. We're lucky that all of our teams speak very, very good English and some are bilingual at that level. So we engage with our customers as much as we can in terms of educational trainings, um, on-site visits. So we do the trainings via MS Teams calls, on-site visits, updates. Uh, I also get out to specifiers or whoever needs me uh to present to them as a native English speaker based in Europe. So we're we're we're sort of say approaching our customer base in lots of different ways at different angles, uh, all in partnership with um with our distributors as well. So we're really trying to add as much value as we can um at every stage of that discussion or that relationship or that purchasing decision. Um and it's work, it's working, you know, and we we continue to develop it.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, and that's sort of um understanding the commercial as well as the environmental value of switching to BVC free, isn't it? It's kind of like it is a process of change and that actually it's an upgrade, and and there's value that isn't about environment, it's about commercial, yeah.
SPEAKER_02:And we're not going into meetings all dressed in green, singing songs about how eco-friendly it is. We understand the commercial aspects of things, we understand that people need to make margins, and you know, so it's a balance as well. And um, I believe we we have those correct conversations with um and we engage in the right way.
SPEAKER_01:So as we near the end of 25 and perhaps look back over the year, any any sort of uh stand-up moments either from the market, from your customers, or or or yourselves as a business, really, or Cavalan as a business?
SPEAKER_02:So one I think I found one quite surprising moment. We we talked earlier in the our discussion about how governments are are moving towards specifying PVC free materials. We had an example of one government coming to us very directly and requesting um proof of our independent accreditation. So we work with SGS, they're the Swiss auditor, the best. We sent them all of the documentation to do with SGS auditing us independently. Uh, we have license cycle assessments for each of our products and so on. But came back within 20 minutes saying, no, no, no. This we we know that SGS audit you. Who audits SGS? And it's like, wow, okay, we've not been asked that question before, sort of scratching our heads within I think three hours because they caught us in the morning. We had the the certification for the auditor of SGS. So even in this, you know, we get blindsided sometimes um by questions which are completely left sided, you know, that we just don't expect it. Um, but it's testament to the team as well. They can get the job done and they can they can respond quickly, um, and our partners as well. So I think it's a bit of a funny one. Call it a standout mode. It's just a I think it might be interesting for the listeners that to hear how we're we're facing some really interesting demands.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:And and and it's also evidence that the you know that the system works, doesn't it? That you're you're held accountable, but then so just your auditors also held accountable.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, and you know, it's cool because my message to partners and princes, you ask us whatever you need to ask us, and we will answer you honestly. And it's the same message track from the very start, and every time we can answer them. And it's it's it's it's great, but this one really threw me because it's like bloody hell, you know, you work with a Swiss company, and anyway, it's it's great because we we got we sorted it.
SPEAKER_01:Well, and also and also the you know the point being that it it's accountability's key, isn't it? And for for a variety of reasons, for customer confidence, for um understanding the you know the the life cycle of a product and everything else so that you've backed up and it you're yeah and we stand by everything we say.
SPEAKER_02:I'm personally accountable for all of my actions. Um so it's and it's we like it. We like being challenged because it makes us stronger as well.
SPEAKER_01:Absolutely. And so now, Rob, looking ahead to next year, any sort of um upcoming product launches you've hinted at or anything you might be able to share?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, we talked about the product launches. Um we also had some gaps in our markets. If I talk for Europe, um so if we look at the Baltics, uh, we look at the Czech Republic. Uh I've just brought on new distributor partners for these markets. Sweden's also a gap. Uh, we're working on that. So, you know, I'm almost four years in and we're still appointing new partners. Yeah. Um, and it's about appointing the right partners as well for the for the countries. Um, so lots of conversations. I think a lot of exciting stuff in terms of bringing the product to new markets, uh, talking to new customers, and these new products which we're bringing online and hopefully some really cool projects which we can share as well, which we're we're working through.
SPEAKER_01:So just just finally on a personal note, then so you know what continues really to motivate you in driving this shift to sustainable materials and any advice you might give others to the industry who want to make that kind of change, that measurable real change?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I mean it sounds a bit how would I put it? So I've got a a young boy, I've got a family, and my boy's nine. He's constantly asking me about what I do with Kavlan, and he he knows the projects which we've won in Switzerland when we go past them. He knows the projects which we've won in Europe. Talks about it at school as well, and they did they do projects on sustainability, and he mentions what I do. You know, this might sound a bit coy. It's really got to me, having a kid and thinking about the future and what we can do. And, you know, this is what's driving me. However small or impact I can make on making things a little bit cleaner, for me it's it's it's great, you know. And I'd also say that's reflected throughout all of our team. So what drives me with this job, it's also the team, because we've got the best, we've got the best people. And Vincent, our vice president, who's driving, he's I'd say he's visionary in the market because he he invented Cavalan. So we we I believe we we're unique in terms of how we view things, and I like that. I really, I really like it. And what I'd say to others, I think others in our industry are everyone's moving towards this, and it's it's moving from a nice to have to a business essential because it's been people. PVC free alternatives or eco substitutions have been available for years, but they've never really got traction. And now it's starting because the quality's there as well, and the price is in some cases, it's it's uh, you know, if you compare the quality and price mix, it's it's good. You know, it's very difficult to not make that business decision towards these types of products.
SPEAKER_01:Um there you go. So that's brilliant, brilliant, Rob, and um great place to to to end our chat, really. And um, you know, thanks to you and to Cavalan for being a partner, also supporting a manifesto for more sustainable print. As you say, the the movement is happening at different paces in different markets at different times, but the point is it's moving in the right direction and gathering pace. And I think what you Cavalan's a a great example of purposeful brand allied with purposeful product and commercial um you know acumen altogether, you're kind of driving change in the industry. So uh well done. Thank you. Thank you very much.
SPEAKER_00:Thank you for listening. If you enjoyed this episode, you can subscribe now for more great audio content coming up and visit futureprint.tech for the latest news, partner interviews, in depth industry research, and to catch up on content from future print events. We'll see you next time on the Futureprint Podcast.
