Freedom Field, Columbus IN.

While the Sign Craft team strives to provide a quality experience and product for all clients, there are some projects, just by their nature, that command a higher sense of pride.

The building of the signage for Freedom Park in Columbus, Indiana was just one of those projects.

Freedom Park is a nine acre playground that is totally handicap accessible. The park was made possible through the generosity of individuals and corporations in the Columbus community. These donors understand the value of providing all children a safe place to be children. I do not purport to know the complete history of the park, but it's import to the community was strongly conveyed though the detailed and professional interactions our team had with the design selection team.

I would personally like to thank Randy Royer, of Browning Day Mullins and Dierdorf for recommending Sign Craft for this project and the selection committee for allowing us to participate. In addition, I would like to thank Ian Curry and Amanda Gates from Sign Craft for their dedication to this project

Sign Craft is honored to be associated with this project and appreciates the hard work and dedication of those that made this possible.

Trade Associations

Yes; Trade Associations. You know the meetings many of us attend and then return to our own businesses. With all that is going on in the world, why would I select Trade Associations? The answer is simple. I have attended two of these meetings in the past few weeks and came to some interesting conclusions. They are:

1. The meetings never come at a good time and it is never very hard to convince myself that there are more pressing issues in my schedule than attending the meeting.

2. I am always pleased that I don’t “wimp” out and fall for my rationalizations and miss the meeting.

3. I always learn something new when I attend a meeting.

4. The interaction with other business owners and executive in the same Industry is invaluable.

5. Interaction with vendors allows us to keep abreast of changes and advances in the Industry.

6. Our Associations are made up of the best of the best in the Industry that are working hard for the betterment of the work environment we all compete in.
It’s just plain wrong to reap the benefits of these organizations without giving back.

My focus for the rest of this topic will be on the Midwest Sign Association (MSA). The MSA is the regional association affiliated with the International Sign Association (ISA). The coverage area is Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, West Virginia and Western Pennsylvania. However, most of the participating companies are from Ohio and Michigan. Note that I said “Participating”. It is my view that just paying your dues does not make you a participating member and I am always surprised at the lack of participation by prominent companies.

I understand the reasons for not participating. I just don’t buy them. The combination of the MSA and the ISA does so much for all companies in the industry regardless of membership and participation. Our industry, as most others, is going through a very rapid transformation. Major issues include the move from neon to LED’s, message centers and their regulation, mercury legislation, licensing, sign codes and many, many other topics. Participation in the MSA allows us to stay abreast of these topics and if necessary, band together for the benefit of our industry and our constituents.

Participating in a trade organization reminds me of a group project. There are those that do the work and those that ride the coat tails and reap the benefits. Companies must decide if they are going to lead or sneak a free ride. It is simple to write a check and put the logo on the web site. It is much more difficult to dedicate yourself and your company to these organizations that work so hard for all of us. The bottom line is that these organizations are only as strong as the membership participation allows them to be.

I would urge any company that is a member of MSA to attend the meetings. Sign Craft has been a member since 2001 and I have attended most of the meetings. In this time, I have benefited from the updates on the ISA committees regarding legislation, education, safety and many other topics. I have gained valuable insights from the educational seminars and most importantly, the interaction with other experts that participate in our industry. For those companies that do not belong, I would urge you to consider membership for the betterment of the industry. Finally, I would urge our customers to inquire about the Company’s involvement in trade associations when making a decision. Companies that participate in Trade Associations are committing to the industry with their time, money and expertise. In my view this is the definition of Professional.

Please find the link to the MSA web site below

MSA Website

Sign Craft on the Move

As noted in the July 7, 2009 IBJ Real Estate Weekly, Sign Craft Industries has secured a lease for 43,000 square feet in our current building. We are moving from the end cap location of 8920 Corporation Drive, to 8808 Corporation Drive. Our new home is located in the middle of the building.

We are currently anticipating the build-out and relocation to be completed by the beginning of October. Based on the plan developed by Phil Sheingold (COO) and the operations team, the move will not impact our ability to fabricate and meet customers’ expectations. Through the redundancy of equipment and proper planning, we will continue to work in the old space, as the new space is prepared and equipment moved.

While this is a strange time to be adding space, we believe it was necessary to assure Sign Craft’s continued growth and our ability to provide our customers the service they deserve. Sign Craft experienced a 54% increase in revenue for the first quarter of 2009. While the integration of the Sign Studio and Atlas acquisitions were contributory, the growth was primarily generated internally. This internal growth was a nice blend of successful large bids such as the Old National Bank conversion of Charter One branches and the rebranding of Vincennes University and the smaller single sign projects.

While we cannot forecast that this growth will continue, we believe that the new space will put us in a great position to take full advantage of our superior fabrication abilities when this economy turns around. Please stay tuned for further updates on this move and Sign Craft in general.

Short and to the Point. I am humbled by the actions of the Guardians of Sign Craft Industries.

This past weekend, through our partnership with Hokanson Companies, Inc, we completed the exterior conversion of 65 Charter One branches to Old National Bank (ONB). This task was completed in just over 40 days. This entailed designing, permitting, fabricating and installing 77 sets of ONB channel letters within this time frame and still service our numerous other customers.

This feat necessitated the unselfish dedication of each and every Guardian in our organization. Our channel letter department was amazing in their ability to uphold our high standards for quality while at the same time turning up the volume on quantity. In addition, the custom fabricators stepped up and assisted in the fabrication of the numerous wireways. On the design and project management fronts, our staff worked diligently to get the renderings and permits through the system and finally, I can not say enough about our installation teams who worked third shift to get the signage installed.

The crescendo was this past weekend when 9 interior and 8 exterior teams touched each and every one of the 65 branches and removed banners over the newly installed exterior ONB signs and installed over 100 ONB interior banners.

It is absolutely amazing what we can accomplish together. I can not possibly thank our staff

enough for the long hours and dedication. It was truly appreciated. I am confident that we pulled off what others only dream of.

The Battle between Ascetics and Effective Advertising

In these tough economic times, how is the desire of communities to improve their ascetics reconciled with the benefits businesses and communities derive from signs. This question resonated when I read an article in USA Today titled "Cities ease signage rules to boost business". The link to this article is attached to the bottom of this entry.

Over the past few years, many municipalities have reviewed their sign ordinances with an eye on improving ascetics by enacting stringent sign codes. These codes normally reduce the size and brightness of on-premise signage. This discussion does not include billboards and I will not venture an opinion on that topic. My interest lies with on-premise signage businesses use to attract and guide potential customers into their place of commerce.

Like so many other discussions, the topic heated up because of abuse and lack of proper regulation. That's right, I am calling for some legislation. However, there has to be a balance between controlling sign clutter and effective advertising.

We have found that the most stringent signage regulations were normally enacted in communities where growth was rampant and businesses were willing to tolerate the code just to open a business in that community. These regulations limited the size of letters, the color of signs, the number of signs, the type of sign to be used, the illumination of the sign, and the use of temporary signage such as banners. With regards to free standing businesses and muti-tenant buildings, these codes also restrict the number of large sign within a certain proximity to each other, the height of the sign and the illumination.

When a business opens, there is a very good reason they look to install a sign. An on-premise sign allows a business to brand itself. Many times our first impression of a business is our reaction to their sign. But the sign does much more than that. A recent survey of customers leaving new businesses that had a sign installed in the prior 30 days found that 50% of the respondents indicated the sign was the primary reason they stopped in the store. The Small Business Administration's (SBA) publication "Why use signage", notes that "in an impulse oriented business, good signage can be the difference between success and failure. Good signage can increase a business's opportunity for success."

Signs represent the most effective and least expensive form of advertising. They are on the job 24 hours, 365 days a year. According to the SBA, "the primary criteria in selecting a successful location for a business are visibility, accessibility and parking. An effective on-premise sign is a critical component of visibility, and without a properly designed and placed on-premise business sign, a commercial site cannot function at its full economic potential."

Signs also play a roll in public safety. One of the primary reasons for on-premise signage is to direct potential customers to the place of commerce. Three factors should go into the determination of the adequacy of the signage for this purpose. They are the height of the sign itself, the size/legibility of the copy and the illumination. A deficiency in any of these three factors can result in significant traffic issues. For drivers looking for a specific business, an inadequate sign will result in their paying more attention to finding the business than on the road and for impulse buyers, a late identification of the business results in driving acrobatics we have all witnessed (it's always the other driver.)

The following chart which is based on research conducted by Richard Schwab entitled "Design Considerations for On-Premise Commercial Signs," shows the distance a car travels from the time a driver first sees the sign until the car can come to a safe stop

Speed With Lane Change Without Lane Change

(In Feet) (In Feet)

25-30 410 155

35-40 550 185

45-50 680 220

55-60 720 265

>65 720 280

Now assuming the sign can be seen from the distance listed above, it must be legible. Experts recommend that the letters be a minimum of one inch tall for every 25 feet of distance. This means that the smallest sign for a 30 mile an hour speed limit would be 16.5 inches tall.
For road side signage, it is important that the sign is not concealed by landscaping, or vehicles and that it is mounted within 5 - 10 feet of the nearest edge of the public right of way.

The following table shows the suggested height to the top of the sign face based on speed. It also assumes that the bottom of the sign face will be at least 7 feet from grade to eliminate the issue with ground clutter.

Speed Lanes Height

25 2 12 ft

25 4 12 ft
35 2 20 ft
35 4 20 ft

45 2 35 ft

45 4 35 ft

55 2 50 ft

55 4 50 ft

Freeway NA 75 ft

The illumination of a sign assures readability day and night. This makes the sign a 24 hour sales person for the business. In addition, it is another factor in assisting consumers to their destination.

The newspapers and other news media bombard us with notices of layoffs and closings. However, these are just the tip of the iceberg. These normally do not report the impact on small businesses and their employee's. From the battleground, I can personally vouch that times are tough and most small businesses are feeling the pressures of this economy. As discussed in the article mentioned above, some communities are recognizing the value of signage and easing stringent sign codes. However, other communities such as Los Angeles are attempting to radically reduce the benefits of on-premise signage. Businesses need all the assistance they can get. In tough times, it is important to grab the consumers attention and nothing does that better than a well designed sign.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-01-05-signs_n.htm?loc=interstitialskip

The Lessons of ImagePoint

It is 1944 and a manufacturer of plastic products opens for business in Knoxville TN. Do you think those founding members knew the impact they would have on so many lives in 2009?
Could they have ever envisioned the extreme highs their offspring would experience over its 65 year life? Conversely, did they fear the evil virus that would eventually infect and render it defunct.


My research of this company is limited to information gleaned from their website, but it appears that the founding members were true entrepreneurs. With their eyes and ears finely tuned to customer pains, they recognized a simple request from the Pet Milk Company as their chance to break from the pack . In 1947, they were asked to produce an illuminated sign made of Plexiglas. They could have looked at this as a request, but they recognized it for what it was; on opportunity to offer the market a new product that would catapult the H. G. Brooks Company to the leadership roll of the sign industry for decades to come.


The H.G Brooks Company changed their name in 1947 to Plasi-line and in 1950 they landed the contract for Coca-Cola. In 1960 they were awarded their first corporate re-imaging program for American Oil and developed the erector network to assure success. This "erector network" hired and managed local sign companies to install the signage that Plasti-line produced. This network allowed Plasti-line to expand its market share and in 1965 build a new 300,000 square foot facility in Knoxville. In that same year the founder of the company sold it to Dart Industries whom subsequently sold it to A&E Plasti-Pac in 1975.


The relevance of the A&E transaction is the leadership change to James Martin. According to their history, Mr. Martin "grew the company to the major multi-million dollar leader it is today." 1975 was also the year that Plasit-line was awarded the GM account which remained their largest account up to 2009. In 1980, Mr. Martin and two others acquired the company. In 1986 the company went public and acquired American Sign and marketing. This acquisition give them the opportunity to offer POP and indoor signage to their customers. In 2003, they changed their name to ImagePoint, to "better reflect the work we do for leading U.S. companies" and they moved into class A office space in downtown Knoxville. The ImagePoint web page states that today, "ImagePoint provides fully integrated branding solutions for the world's greatest businesses. We are an experienced partner you can trust for all your needs, from concept design to delivering a broad spectrum of facility branding solutions that meet your specific needs; project management expertise to provide complete turnkey services to navigate through the complexities of local permitting and surveying, on through to installation with the largest network of pre-qualified installers; and a nationwide preventive and on-call maintenance service program to keep your brand image consistently clean and bright."


Not exactly. On January 9, 2009, ImagePoint announced "it is shutting down, and 450 people are out of a job, the layoffs affect 270 people in Knoxville and another 180 in Florence, Ky." How could such a power house in its industry fall from grace so fast. According to Mr Martin, it resulted from the financial woes of its primary customers in the automotive and restaurant industries. According to the Company press release, they had been attempting for months to secure additional capital without success. In fact, the company claims it happened so fast that they did not have the opportunity to give their own employees the mandated 60 day notice of closure required by the WARN act.


The closure of ImagePoint is a very sad ending to a company with a grand history. However, it was not a surprise to many in and out of the industry. There were clues that the foundation of the Company was not as sound as was projected to the public.


Since its inception in 1960, the erector network fueled the growth of several small sign companies. Up until recently, getting projects from ImagePoint was good work. You were treated fairly and paid in a reasonable time frame. In my first few years at Sign Craft, we did a major project through ImagePoint for McDonalds in addition to several smaller projects. However, the last project we completed was the Bank One to Chase Bank changeover and it was quite different. The project management ImagePoint provided was top notch as always, however, when it came to getting paid, there was always something else they needed. Once that was provided (sometimes for the third for forth time) the story changed to it has been turned in, and it is accounting's responsibility. It got so bad, that we took a trip to Knoxville. There, we were told that all of the payments were processed and checks had been cut. When pressed, it was disclosed that check were cut and held for at least 90 days. That was the day we decided that ImagePoint was not our type of customer. It was not so much the delay in payment as it was the deception and/or condescending attitude of the company in letting us know that payment would be delayed. These delays came well before the economic downturn and they blamed it at that time on the slow payments of their automotive customers.


From the day they signed the GM contract until the day they closed their doors, ImagePoint was highly leveraged in the automotive industry. From the outside in, it appeared that ImagePoint did little to nothing to adjust the payment terms or limit their exposure to this distressed industry. This economic downturn has been catastrophic to the auto industry and orders of signs have probably come to a complete halt, but this was not unforeseen.


Reports are that the credit crunch was the final culprit that brought the company to its knees. Wachovia refused to extend more credit and demanded the liquidation of the Company. There was a report by Larry Mock, managing partner of Navigation Capital Partners, an Atlanta private equity firm that Navigation and others offered to put in $10 million of equity and $3 million in a standby debt facility, to support a Wachovia loan of about $11 million. He wrote that after a 45-minute meeting with Wachovia in December, the bank "never contacted Navigation again" That may be accurate and Wachovia may in fact be culpable for not working with the company, but this is not normal for a bank unless they do not have confidence in the company and the actions they are implementing to correct the situation.


All Companies have a fiduciary responsibility to their customers, vendors and employees and the impact of the ImagePoint closure will have a dramatic impact on all parties.
The impact on the employees is obvious, however, it is surprising that they did not see this coming. Sign Craft quit doing business with ImagePoint because of a lack of confidence arising from responses to direct questions to ImagePoint employees. It was common knowledge that the company was delaying payments to erectors and not being truthful. It was common knowledge two years ago that the Company had cash flow issues.


The impact on the customers will vary based on the level of work that was with ImagePoint. ImagePoint made it very clear to erectors that their customers did not provide deposits. If this is accurate, the impact on customers is the work in process that will now have to be recontracted with another Company and delays in installation. Incredibly, the customers are probably the least affected.


The vendors will be the big losers in this closure. Based on several conversations, many read the tea leaves and either had ImagePoint on COD or had quit working with them. However, since ImagePoint outsourced much of their work, there is a discomfort that wholesalers have been contracted by the outsource company and are not aware yet of their true exposure. There were obviously a significant number of erectors that were still doing work for ImagePoint. Many of these will not make it. This will result in more closures and employees without jobs. In the normal trickle down process, the vendors of these erectors will also incur losses.


There are many lessons to be learned from this story and while they cannot assure a company can make it through difficult times, learning these lessons can greatly improve the odds.

1. Know your stakeholders and treat them with honesty and with respect. This includes employees, vendors, and customers. In hard times, people will work with those they trust and can rely on.



2. Constantly review the inherent risk in business relationships. It was apparent several years ago that ImagePoint was over reliant on the automotive industry.



3. Do what is necessary to secure the survival of the company. Sometimes this means reducing the level of business with a customer or in the worst case firing the customer.



4. Aggressively protect cash. This includes collection and payment procedures.



5. Do not let your pride get in the way of good business decisions. In 2003, ImagePoint moved to class A office space in downtown Knoxville. While this may have made the employees feel better, it is hard to imagine how it added to the bottom line. All business decisions should have a focus on profitability and cash flow.