中文Three Australian car-wrap specialists have earned places in the first Hexis PPF World Series Grand Final, a paint-protection film fitting competition being staged in France next week and billed as the most international line-up the discipline has ever assembled. Bo Grace of KB Wraps in Griffith, NSW; Matthew Jordan of Platinum Wraps in Mackay; and Mia Saker of Blurred in Melbourne have all travelled to Frontignan on the south coast of France, where Hexis makes its films, for the final — a notable showing for a country with a tight-knit wrapping community.
Hexis, the French manufacturer and distributor of adhesive films for visual communication and surface protection, is running the Grand Final under its Bodyfence brand. Thirty-six finalists from thirteen countries will compete for the world title and a prize fund of €10,000 for first place, €5,000 for second and €2,500 for third. The finalists qualified through national events in their own countries, so the three Australians reached France on merit earned at home — and they now face the widest field the sport has drawn.
Clément Mateau, CEO of Hexis, described fitting PPF as “a precision job, where everything comes down to the millimetre, and where success is measured by what you cannot see.” That is the crux of the craft: a clear film must be laid on a car’s bodywork without a single bubble, crease or ridge, following every curve of the vehicle. It is painstaking, physical work that rewards patience and a steady hand over spectacle — which is precisely why Hexis created the PPF World Series, to give the skill a stage and the fitters the recognition their work calls for.
The competition format reflects that seriousness. Over two days, a panel of expert judges assesses the finalists on technical tasks measuring precision, material handling, time management and quality of finish. It is a structured test of the things a paying customer cares about but rarely sees: a flawless edge, an invisible seam, a surface with no trapped air. By codifying those criteria, Hexis is doing for PPF what other trades have done for their craft — turning tacit skill into a judged, repeatable standard that raises the whole trade’s level.
Hexis says Bodyfence, developed by its R&D lab, shields a vehicle’s original paint from stone chips, scratches, abrasion, insects and UV rays without changing its look, and its self-healing properties let fine scratches disappear with heat. That product story is the commercial backdrop to the event: a global competition is also a showcase for the film the finalists are proving their mastery on, linking brand, product and practitioner in one narrative. The Grand Final being held where the films are made adds a symbolic loop — the fitters compete on the home turf of the material they champion.
Accessibility is part of the plan. The entire Grand Final will be streamed live, free and without sign-up, on the Hexis Graphics YouTube channel, so professionals, distributors and enthusiasts worldwide can follow it as it happens. For a craft often performed behind closed workshop doors, that visibility is a deliberate move to build audience and aspiration — and to help customers understand why a good wrap is worth paying for.
For the Australian wrapping scene, three finalists in a thirteen-country field is a strong result and a signal that local skill travels. Car wrapping and PPF have grown from niche customization into a recognized, standards-driven trade, and international competition is how a national community measures itself against the world. As the finalists prepare in Frontignan, the story is less about prize money than about putting Australian fitting talent on a global stage — and about a French film brand betting that the future of the trade lies in celebrating the people who make invisible work look effortless.
Information source: Print21 (https://print21.com.au/three-aussies-compete-in-hexis-global-final/).
This development arrives as the global printing and packaging industry navigates a period of simultaneous consolidation and specialization, where the ability to add a credible new capability — whether a sustainable substrate, a productivity tool or a diversified technology — increasingly separates the shops and suppliers that grow from those that merely hold market share. The companies and associations moving decisively now are positioning themselves to capture demand that will only intensify as regulations tighten and customers professionalize their own supply chains.
Looking ahead, the practical implication for print service providers and converters is that incremental improvement is no longer sufficient; the market rewards those who treat capability, sustainability and workflow as connected investments rather than separate line items. Whether the trigger is a new material, a new press or a new software layer, the winners tend to be the organizations that integrate the change into how they sell, produce and account for work.
