Lighting up the path to profit

Can you explain to me your own history in the sign industry?

I have been in the sign industry for just over ten years. In 2007, I was appointed sales and operations director for the sign and display division of Robert Horne (Paperlinx), before being promoted to divisional managing director. Here, I headed up a multi-disciplined team of 110 with full P and L responsibility in the UK and Northern Ireland.

In late 2013, I joined Zeta Specialist Lighting as sales and marketing director, and shortly afterwards we entered the signage sector with the Zeta Solar Totem solution. Since then, we have continued to evolve our range of LED and solar signage solutions and the business has gone from strength-to-strength. I began my current role as managing director in April 2015.

You revealed a fantastic start to the year with significant interest in the Smart Scape range. How has the response been from customers since?

We began 2017 on a high; in January, we achieved the highest ever monthly sales figure in the 28 years since Zeta was first established and the ensuing six months have also been fantastic.

Undoubtedly, much of the growth has come from the Smart Scape range of LED, and solar-powered street and area lighting solutions. Sales of both the Smart Scape Heritage LED retro-fit solution for heritage lanterns and Smart Scape Nano LED streetlight have exceeded all expectations.

 
We are also gaining real traction, particularly within the signage sector, with new additions to the range. These include the Smart Scape Solar Bollard wayfinding and amenity lighting solution, which was the first solar-powered system in the Smart Scape range.

Last summer, we held a customer event at our Bicester headquarters where we showed a prototype ahead of the official launch. We were overwhelmed with interest from sign-makers that really saw this as a strong alternative to traditional wayfinding systems; the aesthetic appeal, ease, and low cost of installation, combined with zero running costs ticked a lot of boxes.

You also said at the start of the year you increased your production capability and team, can you tell me about this expansion?

In our 25th anniversary year we invested £3.5m in the business. Part of the upgrade to our head office saw us build a brand new production facility, increase our light guide panel production capability, and create a dedicated research and development centre. We did this so we could establish a stronger UK manufacturing base, bringing much of the production carried out in the Far East back to the UK.



This investment significantly helped us to speed up production and bring new products to market faster, which, as a result, has expanded our offering. With sustained growth and demand—particularly for the Smart Scape range—exceeding our expectations, towards the end of 2016, we needed to further increase our production capability and double the size of the production team.
 
What are the key benefits of LED and solar lighting technology?

Sign-makers are looking for lighting solutions that are easy to install, have low maintenance requirements and, above all, are reliable. LEDs provide a cost-effective, easy-to-install opportunity to add impact to signs by including illumination.


LEDs provide superior illumination and improved colour rendering, the light is directional and spread can be controlled, thus making it easy for sign-makers to ensure illuminated signage conforms. Compliance with legislation around light pollution is also key.

However, the real value-add is when LEDs are combined with solar-powered systems. The two technologies enable sign-makers to make signage applications more attractive and useful, which then opens up additional revenue opportunities. With solar, there is no requirement to dig trenches or run cabling, running costs are zero, and the systems are virtually maintenance-free.



Solar-powered solutions such as the Ecolux Solar trough lighting system enable sign-makers to add value, and offer clients a quick and easy, low-cost way to illuminate billboards and signs. The Zeta Bespoke Solar Signage Kit is ideal for illuminating totems and monoliths in areas where there is no easy to access mains power, and where laying cabling is cost-prohibitive.

What products are you particularly excited about right now?

All of them. I think one of the key things for us is that we recognise that one of the biggest bugbears for sign-makers is that one size does not fit all. Zeta designs, develops, and manufactures in-house, which gives us the flexibility to offer bespoke solutions for our clients; we see this as a huge value-add.
 
For example, Zeta’s Light Guide Panel provides a flexible, energy-efficient solution to deliver optimum illumination across a variety of applications such as wayfinding, advertising poster cases, totems, and monoliths. This is available in single- and double-sided options, bespoke sizes, and shapes.

I think the best thing about Zeta’s offer is our solar-powered systems, which are really innovative. Products such as the Zeta Solar Shelter Lighting Kit, Solar Signage Kit, a bespoke solution for lighting outdoor monoliths and totems, and Solar Poster Case Kit, all of which can be used in new signage or to retro-illuminate legacy signage, fly out the door.

You have signed up to exhibit at Signlink Live. What are you hoping to achieve from the event?

We are really excited about coming to the show. The opportunity to showcase our offer both on stand and within Green Horizons, at an event that has been custom-designed to provide manufacturers and sign-makers with the perfect opportunity to come together under one roof, is too good to miss.

What can we expect to see from Zeta in the future?

We are very proud of our roots as a designer and developer of LED and solar-powered solutions. We invest heavily in R and D and will continue to build on our heritage by bringing more new innovative products to market. There are a number of new launches in the pipeline—watch this space.


Key Stats

• Dennis has been in the sign industry for over 10 years
• Zeta achieved its highest ever monthly sales figure in 2017
• In 2015, Dennis became managing director of Zeta
• £3.5m invested in the business in 2014

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