The culmination of the PVC Information Council’s design project in 2006 has been the exhibition “PVC – a Creative World”, that was created in co-operation with the young Italian designer Riccardo Giovanetti. When the exhibition was shown for the first time, which took place at the ID-Forum’s showroom in Horsens, it was the lord mayor, Vagn Rye Nielsen (social democrat), who performed the opening ceremony. Vagn Rye Nielsen expressed at the time his pleasure of the fact that the province town of Horsens became the place, where the internationally renown exhibition designer Riccardo Giovanetti had the opening of his big exhibition. The exhibition caused so much enthusiasm among the spectators and so big interest by the media that the PVC Information Council Denmark has now decided that also the people of Copenhagen shall get the opportunity to see the exhibition. It is taking place from 22 September to 22 October, where Totax Plastic’s showroom in Vedbæk is the frame of the colourful exhibition.
 
The exhibition is the world’s biggest collection of modern design objects made of PVC until now. Designers from all over the globe are constantly experimenting with new ways of using this material, in numerous different fields. Among the about fifty exhibited objects are both classic designs as Frattini’s Boalum lamp, De Pas’ Blow chair and Enzo Maris’ Bamboo vases, that were all designed in the sixties and seventies. But also quite new and barrier-breaking design objects are shown. Among others Ron Arad’s book shelves, Michael Sodeau’s inflatable egg cups and Julia Dozsas flourishing designs. The Brasilian Campana brothers’ now world famous furniture, where PVC is making a remarkable element, can also be seen at the exhibition. Also Danish PVC designs are represented. Among others Holger Strøm’s IQ lamp and a Le Klint’s latest design are shown. The objects are selected by Riccardo Giovanetti and lent of the world’s leading design houses as Kartell, Edra, Zanotta, Artemide, Magis and Danese.
 
The aim of showing all these very spectacular, colourful and ultra modern designs is among other things to inspire Danish designers to work with PVC, which can be called one of the most versatile materials in the world today. At the exhibition PVC appears in all possible shapes, colours, hardness and combinations, in order that most of the material’s many properties are being exposed to the visitor. Besides telling the design world about the material, the PVC Information Council Denmark wishes also to achieve a better image for PVC, which still causes negative associations in many circles.
 
The exhibition at Totax Plastic opened 22 September and will last a month. During the opening ceremony it was Executive Director of ECVM, Jean-Pierre De Grève, who made the opening speach. Jean-Pierre De Grève is representing the European raw material manufacturers, who set a record by producing not less than 6 million tonnes of PVC last year. Thus PVC is the second most used plastic material in the world.

Before he cut a red PVC ribbon to mark the opening, he gave the audience a status of some of the hightlights of the big environmental program, Vinyl 2010, which the European PVC industry is carrying through these years. "The environmental impact of PVC manufacturing has been reduced and continues to be reduced further and Vinyl 2010 is committed to the responsible use of chemicals" he said. On waste management he said that the "commitments on waste management are currently being operated through more than 20 projects covering technology, research, organisation of recycling schemes and communication". On mechanical recycling he said, that the PVC industry are keeping their promises "for example we achieved our target of recycling 25% in 2003 and 50% in 2005 of collectable, available PVC post-consumer waste from pipes and windows profiles" he said.

Jean-Pierre De Grève took also the opportunity to promote pipe systems in PVC. He based this on the exhibition design, which Riccardo Giovanetti had come up with, and the pipe manufacturer Nordisk Wavin had granted the exhibition. The exhibition design itself is in fact a discrete tribute to the material, which the exhibition is telling about. A number of PVC pipes, that are normally used for water supply, are building a hallway of columns, that are framing a number of circular environments, where the many design objects are shown. Jean-Pierre De Grève said “one of the most interesting and exciting elements of this exhibition is that all of the items and indeed the pipes used in the stands themselves are completely recyclable. PVC is the most readily recyclable plastic and its properties can be maintained through many lifetimes. In fact if we look at the pipes in the structures around us, in normal usage their lifespan would be 30 years, but then could be collected and mechanically recycled to produce new pipes that could be used for another 30 years. This process can be repeated several times with no loss of performance or quality which shows that PVC really is part of a sustainable society".

De Grève ended his opening speach by emphasising that he hoped that the exiting design objects exhibited would make the visitors finding PVC not only a material of today, but very much also a material of tomorrow.
 
The exhibition “ PVC – a Creative World” will be open to the public all weekdays between 9 and 16 at Totax Plastic, Staktoften 22, Trørød, 2950 Vedbæk. Denmark