Jonas Sjostrom from Sweden has been announced the winner of FESPA’s World Wrap Masters Series at FESPA 2017 in Hamburg, Germany.
Second and third prize went to Martynas Bertulis from Ireland and Ruan Greef from South Africa respectively. All three winners received cash prizes.
The FESPA World Wrap Masters Series comprises regional qualifying competitions around the world, culminating in the series final (at FESPA 2017, Hamburg) where the regional winners compete for the title of World Wrap Master. The Wrap Masters events in Hamburg began on Monday 8th May with the European Wrap Masters qualifying event, where 24 contestants battled it out to become European Wrap Master, finishing with Chris Hooper from the UK taking the title.
On Wednesday 10th and Thursday 11th May, the World Wrap Masters Series Final took place, where the finalists from the European Wrap Masters were joined by national winners from previous Wrap Masters events in Africa, Asia, Brazil, Turkey and Mexico. Over the final two days contestants were challenged with wrapping a Formula 4 race car and one side of a speedboat in 60 minutes. This resulted in Jonas taking first place to become World Series Champion.
Jonas Sjostrom commented on winning the competition: “This makes me feel very proud, I did not expect to win when I first got on the plane to Hamburg. I entered this competition with the main goal of meeting new people in the industry and sharing thoughts, techniques and perhaps business opportunities. I’ve made friends in all parts of the world, which will hopefully result in some trips in the future, while I also received confirmation that my work is of a high standard.”
Head Judge Ole Solskin, from Denmark commented on the quality of the installers involved in the final: “The guys are on a level that we’ve never seen before, they really deserved to be here. They’ve done an outstanding job.”
Duncan MacOwan, Head of Events, FESPA comments: “This year’s contestants were really put to the test in the Wrap Masters. Over the four-days they were tasked with wrapping a variety of objects including Kia cars, race helmets, a Formula 4 race car and a world powerboat Formula 4 raceboat from Team Haugaard, using materials provided by sponsor Hexis and printed by Mimaki. The judges found it extremely difficult to judge this year as the quality of the wrapped objects was so high.”
Highlights of the competition can be viewed online here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=j77v8kSFy2o&feature=youtu.be