A FastSigns International franchise in Vancouver has invested in an Esko Kongsberg V digital finishing table to bring previously subcontracted sign-substrate cutting and routing services in-house.
“One of our best customers was ordering more and more items that needed cut substrates,” explains franchisee Paul LeBlanc (pictured). “Subcontracting created time pressures. We would print the project, ship it across town and wait for it to be cut and shipped back. It took too much time.”
When LeBlanc opened his shop in 1996, it was only the second FastSigns location in Canada. His business grew substantially in the early 2000s, serving a mix of retailers, art galleries, non-profit organizations and the real estate industry, among other clients. In 2008, the franchise expanded from its original 167-m2 (1,800-sf) shop to its current 502-m2 (5,400-sf) facility, where 10 employees operate two roll-to-roll printers, a flatbed printer and a thermal transfer printer.
As his finishing needs grew, LeBlanc learned many of his fellow FastSigns franchisees were reaping production efficiencies with cutting tables. He visited one in Burlington, Ont., to see a Kongsberg V in action before buying his own.
“In the history of our business, success has come through technology,” he says. “I see flatbed cutting as a way of staying ahead of our competition, by providing services unavailable from other local businesses.”
