When Signex was founded just outside Winnipeg in 1982, it was an offshoot of a family electrical contracting business, which already had experience working with lightboxes. Today, it is an award-winning, multifaceted company with the largest sign manufacturing facility in central Canada.
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As people around the world viewed the 2014 Winter Olympic Games broadcast from Sochi, Russia, many noticed the distinctive artwork on helmets worn by racers in the skeleton event.
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In recent years, there has been much industry talk about opportunities for commercial printing firms to achieve new revenue streams by adding wide-format inkjet presses to their production departments.
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FusionCast is a sign manufacturer that came about by fluke. One day in 2007, a sign dealer and his manufacturing partner, who had been mixing different combinations of polymers and metals in a warehouse in Mississauga, Ont., discovered a blend of high-density urethane (HDU) and bronze had solidified in the bottom of a bucket.
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In 2008, when a global recession caused many businesses in Canada to plummet, the hard times may not have seemed ideal for venturing into a new business in a well-established industry. John Thomasen, however, saw an emerging opportunity in Alberta for servicing and maintaining signs and lighting.
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When Dave Cunningham founded Landmark Sign in Victoria in 1997, it was a one-man operation based in an 83.6-m2 (900-sf) two-storey garage. Today, Landmark has become the largest illuminated sign manufacturer on Vancouver Island and a major contender in the Canadian sign industry.
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For more than 20 years, Heritage Sign Builders in Welland, Ont., has specialized in wooden and high-density urethane (HDU) signs and point-of-purchase (POP) displays. President Robert Bogdan describes himself as mostly self-taught in this discipline, though he got his start with his father, painting election signs in his youth.
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In business since 1988, Masterhand Signs & Design is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. Pat and Ruth Welter, a husband-and-wife team living just outside Unity, Sask., have found a niche by specializing in handcrafted signs, handpainted murals and other works with a personal touch.
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Last year, when Sarah Toupin decided to go into business for herself in Kingston, Ont., she wanted to find a niche opportunity that would let her use her existing skill set.
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In 1979, when Mike Halprin moved with his parents from Winnipeg to Canmore, Alta., the Bow Valley town had no sign shop to speak of. Halprin’s father, Josh, who had done some screenprinting in the past, quickly seized the opportunity to fill the niche.
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