TEXTILES.ORG
By Abbie Yarger
The project. Diedrich Coffee needed to find the perfect trade show display for the 2010 National Automatic Merchandising Association (NAMA) Expo, an event serving the vending, coffee service and food service management industries, at McCormick Place in Chicago.
The company. Diedrich called Evo Exhibits, a full-service trade show exhibit company in West Chicago, Ill. Pleased with the selection, Diedrich asked Evo to design and fabricate the display, and also print the graphics.
The task. The display had to represent Diedrich’s Perks for the Planet program, which emphasizes giving back to the environment through corporate responsibility. The exhibit also needed to promote Diedrich’s eco-friendly cups and organic coffees.
The challenge. Meeting Diedrich’s request to craft the 10-foot by 20-foot display from sustainable materials that could be recycled after the expo. Diedrich wanted to make sure the graphics would pop. “Printing on sustainable materials needed to allow the visuals to come through as vividly as traditional non-green materials,” says Kevin Fett, principal for Evo Exhibits.
The solution. Evo Exhibits constructed the display using its Evo Elements product line, which is designed specifically for green trade show exhibits. Materials include Greencore, a natural, biodegradable substrate made from wood; recycled aluminum; LED lighting, which requires 15 percent less energy than halogen; eco glass made from recycled soda bottles; cabinetry made of bamboo; and Paradise Fabric, a tension fabric made from recycled soda bottles that is printed with water-based inks. Evo Exhibits even used wood shipping crates certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). Diedrich plans to reuse the graphics at the next NAMA Expo. The entire exhibit can be recycled using the Evo Element Reincarnation Exhibit Recycling Program.
The result. “Printing graphics with water-based inks on sustainable materials not only looked rich and vivid on the show floor,” Fett says, “but also was a smart sustainable choice that exceeded Diedrich Coffee’s challenge.” To view a video of the display, visit the Evo Exhibits YouTube channel.