Achieving a Goal

Originally founded to service the leisure sector, Omega Signs now counts some of the country’s leading retailers and motor dealerships amongst its clients. Val Hirst visits the company at its Leeds-based headquarters to find out more.

Omega Signs operates out of a very swish purpose built factory unit, where the current Managing Director, Duncan Chapman, warmly welcomes me. The son of one of the original founders, the redoubtable industry veteran Mike Chapman, who first set up the company with Tony Timmermans in 1992, Duncan explains that Omega Signs was originally established to specialise in the provision of signage for the leisure sector. Now, sixteen years on, its client portfolio has considerably broadened to include both retailers and motor dealerships, thus propelling it to a turnover of £8.5 million, which, Duncan predicts, will rise to £10million during the coming year.

But the really interesting thing is that Omega Signs has achieved these dizzy heights by swimming firmly against the tide. At a time when many signmakers are claiming that the secret of their success is their ability to provide every conceivable facility in-house, Omega Signs believes that its strength lies in its project management capabilities. Thus, its in-house resources are regularly supplemented with a range of carefully outsourced specialist services, which, Duncan maintains, provides customers with the highest level of quality, coupled with a realistic price.

He says: “Our design engineering department provides very detailed drawings for each component part and whatever can’t be done in-house, because of cost, capacity or desire is sent to one of our tried and tested specialist partners, each of whom receive a very precise brief. We then co-ordinate the manufacture of all the different items and assemble everything in the factory here, prior to installation.”

This methodology of course, remains true to the original spirit of Omega, who initially planned to harness the abundance of traditional skills available in its local area to produce handsome pub signage. Duncan continues: “Leeds has always been the home of traditional signmaking and, following the closure of some of the big sign companies, there was a huge pool of talent to tap into. Now, we are following the same basic procedure, but with a more contemporary slant, by using a wider range of local craftsmen to provide exactly what we need at a price that is very competitive.”

He expands: “There has been a huge sea change regarding manufacturing over the past few years and you have to be astute enough to pick the right process for the job, whether it’s a high volume overseas roll-out or a local short turnaround project requiring specialist skills.” Duncan adds that in the past, the sign industry became something of a graveyard for companies who valiantly tried to keep everything in house, eventually suffering from the consequences of their own inflexibility. But by adopting a more micro approach, Omega is able to look at every sign individually and to select production methods and materials that meet both aesthetic and budgetary requirements.

When I ask whether the resulting level of co-ordination doesn’t lead to an organisational nightmare and whether it isn’t, to put it bluntly, just a hell of a lot of extra hassle, Duncan laughs and says that it is and it does, but that Omega Signs are very good at handling it. He says: “Every project, whether large or small, is serviced by a specific project management team, who oversee everything from the initial survey, to the final installation and this is the added value we can offer.”

He goes on: “We are finding that nowadays, clients are less concerned about how things are done - what they really want is someone who can take ownership of the project, iron out all of the wrinkles and complete the job according to their specification and timescale.”

Indeed, taking away the hassle is one of the objects of Omega Signs’ latest venture, Inn-Fresco, the company, which it set up a mere 18 months ago to provide all of the outdoor furniture and associated paraphernalia necessitated by last Summer’s smoking ban. “We realised some time ago that pubs, clubs and restaurants would need to make some provision for smokers once they were outlawed from public places,” muses Duncan, “and since most of them were already our customers, it was a perfect bolt on service”. Although there were some companies already active in this area, most of them were unable to provide either the volume of products required, or meet the inevitable tight deadlines.” The happy result for Omega Signs is a sister business, which is already turning over £2.25 million and provides its leisure sector clients with a useful adjunct to its signmaking service.

Also with a view to taking away the hassle, and in acknowledgement of the growing concern regarding environmental issues, Duncan is examining ways in which Omega Signs can produce more ecologically responsible signage. “Companies are now definitely getting greener, but they don’t always necessarily appreciate the complexity of the many different factors involved,” he says. “We try to get them to consider the lifetime cost of the sign, rather than simply specifying, say, a special recyclable material, which may be quite wrong for their particular application. Sometimes it is better to use a premium grade material that offers long term durability, coupled with an energy friendly light source, which can reduce both energy expenditure and maintenance visits, instead.”

Omega Signs is being assisted in this type of auditing exercise by Robert Horne Sign & Display, who supply many of its signmaking materials. “Robert Horne is continuously updating its product inventory to include greener alternatives, but perhaps more importantly, having already examined all of the various eco-options in depth, it is also able to provide us with all the information we need to help our clients make the best choices,” says Duncan. He adds that Dave Filer, who works at Robert Horne’s Leeds branch is always on hand to provide advice when needed and to help guide Omega and its clients through the not inconsiderable learning curve, saying, “Having access to this level of expert help certainly makes our job a lot easier and hopefully also guarantees a better end result for our clients, aesthetically, practically and environmentally.”

Half of Omega Sign’s business now emanates from retailers and motor dealerships, and although he concedes that this type of signage is not without its challenges, Duncan considers these projects to be relatively easy when compared to signing for the leisure sector.

He elaborates: “Pubs, clubs and restaurants require a completely different approach. For example, pubs have many different vantage points, in addition to the main fascia sign, all of which need to be appropriately flagged if they are to attract passing trade. In addition, you also have to factor in a degree of information signage too. Achieving the critical balance between too many signs and not enough is crucial to the overall success of the scheme.”

However, Omega Signs was recently able to put its hard-won expertise in this area to good use, when re-signing Aston Villa football Club. Following its acquisition by a new American owner, the club has undergone a £1million signage revamp. Describing this project as ‘a delight’, Duncan explains that the sprawling site, which comprises myriad different architectural styles, provided Omega with the perfect platform to demonstrate the wide variety of signing skills it has at its command.

Ian Wilson, Omega Signs’ Business Development Manager rates the project as one of the most enjoyable he has ever undertaken, although he confesses that initially, he approached it with some trepidation. “There was certainly no shortage of advice,” he laughs, explaining that Aston Villa’s loyal supporter base were eager to provide suggestions, whilst the club’s new owner also wanted to firmly establish its branding. Ian and his team made several visits to the club grounds and were also provided with a set of aerial photographs, so that they could study the different approach routes and fully appreciate how busy the complex becomes on match days. The project certainly tested Omega’s project management capabilities, particularly as the many different styles of signs comprised many different components made from a vast range of materials. The installation also required careful planning, with one sign being erected via scaffolding which straddled a busy main road! “This is where having a reliable supplier pays dividends,” says Ian, explaining that Robert Horne, who supplied the bulk of the substrates needed for the job, were able to supply everything required on a daily basis, as and when it was needed. He continues: “We were working to a very tight deadline, since the work had to be finished in readiness for the start of the football season, so it was vital that we could depend on everything arriving in time.”

Happily, the final result is a triumphant combination of traditional signage, such as the gold leafed glass and wrought iron fingerposts that are a feature of the famous Holt pub, together with the bolder and more contemporary signs which grace the main stadium. In addition, there are a selection of artfully placed totem signs, which as well as fulfilling a practical function, also provide fans with the perfect backdrop for photographic mementos. As part of the project, Omega also provided the bulk of the signage for Aston Villa’s brand new training ground.

Unsurprisingly, Duncan hopes that this signing will provide Omega with a blueprint that can be used again when other football clubs update their premises or move to a new location. Pronouncing himself happy with Omega’s progress to date, Duncan is cautious about growing at the same rate in the future, remarking that he is fully aware of how difficult a previous generation of mega sign companies found it to maintain their momentum. He says: “In order to stay ahead, signmakers need to remain both flexible and versatile and to use their resources to best effect for themselves and their clients.” Having already identified its project management prowess as the company’s unique selling point, Duncan is planning to offer this facet of the business as a stand alone service in order to ease the load of companies involved in resigning, regardless of whether they use the rest of Omega’s facilities or not. He concludes: “I think this might lead us into some exciting new areas and we can’t wait to get out teeth into them!”

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