Boris Kaminsky (BK): The business also changed in the aspect it’s more detailed in regard to project management, co-ordination, and engineering. There was always co-ordination and project management, but now it’s more emphasized by our clientele, especially the construction companies we have on-site, along with project managers and co-ordinators.
TH: The projects became larger, so where we were maybe supplying half a dozen signs on a building, when you do interior and exterior for a hospital or a university, you might have a couple of thousand signs for that project. More recently, we were doing signage for the Eglinton Crosstown, and there were many different types of signs and many sites, because there’s a dozen or more stations. It took a lot of project management that simpler contracts earlier on didn’t require.
SMC: What makes the company unique?
TH: The company’s always been non-union, which was unique in the ‘50s and ‘60s. Most of the large sign companies were unionized. We were also always owner operated, and that’s still the same. Where my father was embracing technology by introducing aluminum extrusions and different things to sign manufacturing, we, in turn, do the same. We were probably the first sign company—certainly in Canada, but maybe North America—to have lasers that cut both metal and plastic. We’re still embracing technology to improve our productivity, and maybe our capabilities as well, because sometimes the new technology enables you to make signs you couldn’t before. Plus, you still have to give good customer service, and that hasn’t changed. We’ve always manufactured in Toronto, shipped our products across Canada, and had agents install the signs for us. We’ve never had multiple plants. We still do it the same way we always did.
BK: We also still do vacuum forming in-house. The plastic gets heated up and sticks out, and it’s three-dimensional. For example, Tim Hortons drive-thru signs. They’re not flat. I believe that process started during Tom’s dad’s time.
TH: Yes, they did moulding back then. We also have a powder coat paint system. Most sign companies use a subcontractor and have them powder coat, so that’s something we have that most people don’t.
BK: For anything local, the majority of the time, if our staff aren’t busy, we have our own installation crews. We have our own crane trucks and bucket trucks.
Then, one of the biggest things a lot of people don’t have is archives. We have shop drawings that go back in time, and we can always work off those. We have people who have been here for more than 40 years, and they can still build things without the technology. We have craftsmen still in the industry working here, whereas a lot of sign companies don’t have history they can pass on.
TH: Our average length of employment is more than 15 years. Usually, people come to work here and stay here.
SMC: How large is your facility?
TH: We’re using 8,640 m2 (93,000 sf). The building is 12,263 m2 (132,000 sf), but we rent part of it out and use the biggest portion.
