The boards, which are recyclable, are available in a range of surfaces, strengths and thicknesses that the company claims offer a more environmentally friendly alternative to foamboards and a more cost-effective product than rival paper-based boards such as Xanita and Reboard. Pricing is in the range of €5-€7/m2.

"We discovered there is a big demand in graphics for green products," said European category manager Antoinette Woldring.

"Retailers want to take plastics out of their graphics and to make them recyclable, this answers a lot of their questions," said account manager Ron Lewis.

The Falconboard range includes three products, Print, Build and Mount. Print and Build are both suitable for printing onto using flatbed printers. Print is available in 6mm and 10mm thick sheets while Build is 18mm thick and includes a polyethylene (PE) coating, which is corona treated. Standard sheet sizes are 1.2x2.4m, 1.22x2.44m and 1.4x3.5m.

Custom sizes can between 6 and 120mm thick can be prepared in 10 working days, provided it meets the firm's minimum quantity requirements.

Falconboard is sold in the UK, Italy, Spain, Denmark, Croatia, Slovenia Estonia, Latvia Lithuania, Finland, Netherlands, Belgium and Germany via a dealer network the firm has been building up since last summer.

"We've been surprised by the positive response from the dealers," said Worldring.

The firm plans to exhibit at Fespa Munich and is looking at adding further products to the range later this year.

"We're developing a total range of materials including fire-rated boards for exhibitions and retail," said Lewis.

Hexacomb Besin was formed in 2006 when Hexacomb's parent company Pregis acquired Netherlands-based Besin. Falconboard was developed as a result of the merger. The firm has 11 factories in the US and three in Europe in Netherlands, France and Spain. US manufactured products have Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) accreditation and the firm is aiming to get FSC chain-of-custody for its European made products this year.

Falconboard dealers

Country (ies)                            Company (ies)

UK                                             Amari Plastics,

                                                 Robert Horne

Italy                                          Unistik

Spain                                        Bedigital

Denmark                                  CC & Co

Croatia & Slovenia                   Pako

Sweden                                    Sericomex Sweden

Estonia, Latvia & Lithuania       Sesoma

Finland                                     Sesoma Oy

Netherlands & Belgium             Moorman Karton

Germany                                  Kohlschein