Standing the test of time

Due to the competitive nature of the sign industry, capturing the right type of work can sometimes prove to be problematic for some companies. Some opt to go down the route of cutting prices, which, in cases, can lead to a drop in the actual quality of the final product, thus probably doing more harm than good.

However, others decide to tackle the competitiveness head on with an increased focus on quality, thus bolstering the final product they produce for customers. Hull-based Sovereign Signs is one such company that firmly believes in this approach to work and has been reaping the benefits of working under this sort of strategy.

Having begun life in 1988, the company celebrated its 25th anniversary as a sign firm last year. Ian Jones, managing director, has been at the company for 18-and-a-half years and has witnessed plenty of change during his time. However, he explains that no matter how much transformation the industry has gone through, Sovereign Signs has retained its focus on quality—something that has stood the firm in good stead.

He continues: “We always put the customers first and I’m not interested in making anything that isn’t the best sign we can make. Quality is first and foremost, and looking after the customer comes right behind that. This entails a lot of hard work in the background ensuring we can achieve all those things within specified budgets, but that is what we strive to do.

“I have no interest in trying to be the budget sign-maker because that’s not what we’re about. I’m more interested in making decent quality signs that stand the test of time and do the job they are there to do. If you buy a decent project, it might cost a few more pounds and pennies to start with, but in the long run it’s the most economic way of going forward.”

Sharing resources

Although an established company within the sign sector, Sovereign Signs is also linked to the shop fitting and engineering due to its incorporation within Strata Holdings, which was established as an umbrella group for the company alongside Arcshop Fitters and Pearlgreen Engineering. Jones explains that this relationship with the other two companies works in its advantage as it allows all three to share contacts and information to help boost business.

He explains: “With Strata Holdings, it means we have our foot in the camps of the sign industry, as well as shop fitting and engineering. It allows us to inter-trade with one another, and share contacts for various jobs and projects. We are all based at the same premises, which we moved to in 2000, so we can all easily discuss jobs.”

Backed up by this inter-trading advantage, Jones says Sovereign Signs has been able to progress in various areas of the market over the years. He explains that when he first started at the company, flex-faced signs were a big part of production. Now, although it still makes plenty of these products, it is now able to use its expertise to offer services in other areas.

He continues: “Other things have come into vogue such as LED illumination. Here, we have an unwritten policy where for the majority of illuminate signs we make, we try to put LED in rather than fluorescent. It’s a better quality product and result.

“Also, because of the way we are geared up as a company and a sister company in engineering, we are involved in heavier end of market place in the sign industry. We are happy to look at the heavier jobs, such as totems that measure up to 14m in height, while others are closer to the graphic and print side of the market. That’s not really us; we can do all that, but we are able to look at the more heavy engineering elements as well.”

Staying strong

Jones goes on to say while this approach has proved to be effective, the company was forced to take a look at operations during the uncertain economic period. He explains that a simple, hand-on approach to running the business helped the firm through this time and, in turn, saw it come out even stronger the other side.

He explains: “At the start of the economic problems, it forced us to look inwardly at the business and see if we could resolve any issues. One of those issues was matching the resources we had with the amount of work out there. As we found managed ways to contract the business slightly, it became a simpler model and easier business to run—wee try and stick to this now.

“As managing director, I don’t just sit and look at the business, and its commercial elements and detach myself, it’s quite the opposite. I run the business by being involved every day with production, project management and sales. I like to see how it operates as I’m part of the machine that makes it work.”

With this in mind, Jones casts an eye towards the future and readily admits that it is difficult to predict what the next few years may hold for the industry. However, he has highlighted a number of areas that could be set for growth and has pinpointed markets in which Sovereign Signs could be active over the next few years.

He continues: “Having been at this for some years now, it’s very difficult to second-guess what is going to come along. Neither I nor many people would have forecast what would happen when flex face came along, and where it would get to.

“When these kind of things start, I think the industry views them with a little bit of scepticism and it takes a while for them to get to the point where the product is robust enough that manufacturers to feel it is the time to integrate it into their product mix. I think LEDs will be a big part of what we do moving forward, and that the technology will change and uplift itself over time. What we look at in ten years’ time will probably look completely different to what we see now.”