W.J. Strickler Signs

I’m sure Tesla didn’t put much thought into the lyrics of their 80’s hit song “Signs” when they performed it! But if you think about it signs are everywhere. Signs, like any thing else mechanical cars, appliances, machines etc., eventually need some tender loving care to keep them in working order. Whether it’s a fluorescent lamp sign, channel letter sign with LED’S or neon or an electronic EMC sign, maintenance is important. That’s why sign service techs are so important to the sign industry.
Here at Strickler signs I feel we have some of best service tech’s in the in the business. Ron Phillips and Brian Driesbach our top service tech’s have been trouble shooting, repairing and servicing signs for over 30 years combined and I never seen a sign either one of them could not get working like a new sign. All of are install guys here at Strickler Signs are also top notch service guys, so do this (call on Strickler Signs for your service needs) don’t do that! (contact the other guy) can’t you read the signs!

Use this truck to advertise your charitable event!

Strickler Signs utilizes a specially built LED message center truck for sales demonstrations, but we also help charities advertise their events by letting them park the truck at the event. We enjoy supporting good causes so we are more than happy to work with charities. We ask the event coordinator for sign content. After receiving the content, Derek programs the message center truck. The truck is delivered to the site, set up and the message center begins to advertise with the bright lights.

Some times we might not be able to meet a group’s schedule if the truck is being used by the sales staff, but other than that, we are happy to accommodate.  There are some other restrictions or considerations that may apply as well.

Bank monument sign with EMC

Electric highway sign with LED message center

On premise pylon sign with electronic message center

I will finish with a quote from a bank that utilizes message centers at all of their branches where local zoning allows. “It’s amazing to see how the offices with the LED signs tend to open more accounts than the offices without the sign, especially when we are advertising rate driven products on the message centers.

No doubt, the present may be the most economically tying time  most of us will experience in our lifetimes. It is imperative business owners and managers take care of themselves as well as the people they lead. What are you doing to stay positive and how are you helping those in your sphere of influence?

Keeping a positive mental outlook has been trying for me Our industry has been negatively impacted since November of 2007, and that is a long time to be in the ”trenches” battling to remain profitable. One can sometimes feel like a lab rat trapped in a maze and every attempt to exit the maze results in hitting a wall sooner or later.  I have had to make some tough decisions in reaction to reduced revenue, whereas these decisions take a toll on a compassionate individual, they also help to make us more business savvy. This new found acuity will serve as well as we move into the recovery phase. Our sharpened skills will improve our profitability in the future. This is one of my coping mechanisms helping me to rationalize our difficulties.

If you are abusiness leader, how are you coping? Are you sharing your thoughts with those close to you? Even though your compenstation has decresased, are you taking vacations? Are you connecting with your spouse and sharing your frustrations with them? Are you being proactive by creating plans to grow your business as the recovery continues? Are you doing something I have not mentioned?

Please don’t forget about your people. Maybe business leaders have more overall challenges than the rank and file during this time but the average employee is probably frustrated and a little scared right now. Those who have lost their jobs or had their income cut enough to produce financial hardship may have bigger problems than some CEOs and Presidents. What are doing to take care of your people? I have concentrated on being as translucent as prudent. We conduct quarterly State of the Union Addresses where I explain: where we have been, where we are now, and where we are heading. These meetings are very informal and much data and feelings are exchanged. It is critical to be open with your people and tell them the scary stuff as well as the hope for the future. If they do not know the state of the business it is very easy for their imaginations to fill in the blanks with very negative notions. It is your job to let them know as much as you can and in the process reduce their stress levels. Your employees can not function properly or provide proper customer care if they are working in a high level of anxiety, and besides, caring about them should always be your concern.

“However good or bad a situation is, it will change!”

In the second year of the Strickler Signs Fantasy football league, the league crown’s Jeff Kauffman (Estimator) 2010 league champion after he defeated Ron Phillips ( sign service tech) 107 to 102 in the leagues Superbowl.
Scott Kosack (routing & graphics) defeated Tim Wagner (installition & service) 87 to 61 to finish 3rd in league, while 2009 champion Bryan Strickler (company president) finished 5th by defeating your’s truly (shop manager/league commisssioner).
Here at Strickler Signs fantasy football is one way that we interact with each other as a family & group of friends to let off some steam and enjoy some friendly competition after working hours.
Other team owners in the Strickler Sign family league are Teresa Hall (office manager), Bill Hynosky(installation manager/estimator),Derek Gebhart (graphic design/EMC.tech),and Tammy Duff (office/billing).
In the fall and winter months of the year at Strickler Signs it’s game on. The spirit that flow’s thru the shop and office in the football season is unlike any other time of the year then again I love football and my spirit is always up in football season the fantasy league is just the icing on the cake.

Hey, are you aware of an exciting new business opportunity? The opportunity is a bright shiny new LED message center in your own front yard. Please click on the link to see what “Willie Days” has to say.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsaZ4RVrnpY

Willie knows that the power of and LED sign: WILL increase foot traffic, WILL increase revenue and WILL increase profit for your business! Remember, it’s fast, it’s easy! In all seriousness we have greatly increased our customer’s business in the past with message centers and we plan to keep on doing it. Here is a sampling of excerpts from actual customer testimonials; “I feel it is the best advertising dollars I ever spent”, “Our business increased about 25%”, and ” I personally was not sure we would notice a big difference, although we have!!!”.

 There you have it, a way to increase your business by making a one time capital investment that will bare fruit for many years to come.

The whole “green” movement focuses on recycling a great deal, but I’d like to speak toward the other points of the three pronged logo of arrows chasing each other. In my household, we eat on plates. We may eat in the living room with the TV shining away, but we always eat on real, non-disposable dishware, no matter how small the snack or meal may be. I’ve used disposable plates and cups in the past, and while they are very convenient, they do pile up over time and create a great deal of waste to be hauled away from your house.
It’s not so much the space that the plastic plates and cup will take up in a landfill, but more the fact that each individual piece of plastic refuse is weighing down the garbage truck just a tiny bit more, making the truck expend just a tiny bit more energy to haul it to where it needs to go. It’s a simple measure, giving up the use of disposable dishware, and the difference it would make is slight in any given household. When you add up the effect from millions of people turning away from the culture of disposable goods, the difference could be remarkable.
When the industrial age began, the order of the day was for a product that could last a generation. As the space age began, plastics offered people a way to have affordable, one-time use items. Even though we’ve gotten used to the disposable culture in which most of us came of age, there are still companies making solid, durable products that last as long, if not longer, than they rightfully should.
A durable sign from Strickler Signs will not only save the environment from taking in more scrap metal and plastic, but it will also save you, the business owner, from having to make that investment of a new sign so frequently. Other companies build 3-years signs that start to break down and need replaced quickly. With a sign from Strickler Signs, you get a product that lasts.
Stop making your business eat on paper plates. Visit our website and see how we can help.

Electronic LED signs have, and continue to increase our restaurant customer’s sales with double digit increase being the norm!

First off, let’s talk about what an on premise freestanding business sign really is, it’s “on site advertising”!  Please think about it, a sign is advertising to thousands of prospective customers every day. A properly designed sign is portraying who you are to twenty, thirty maybe forty thousand customers per day. These people have a lot of choices where to eat, using an eye catching sign increases your top of mind awareness. Adding an electronic LED message sign magnifies the affect. Stand out from the crowd, people need to eat at your restaurant, not your competitor’s.

An electronic LED message board gives you the capability to advertise your product and services on your own TV screen. You can say what you want, when you want to. For instance you can day-part. Imagine being able to advertise the food matching the time of day such as breakfast, lunch and dinner. You can advertise: specials, banquet capabilities, hours of operation, website address, awards and so on. By owning an electronic sign you control your own advertising destiny!

Here are some quotes from some of our customers. “One last note…we have seen a dramatic increase in our business since the sign was installed’,from John Stonik of The Corner Stable in Cockeysville MD. Frank Marciano owner of Genovas Restaurant said, ” Our business increased about 25% the year the pylon sign was installed, and we are confident the sign helped tremendously in that increase.” So there you have it, directly from real people.

The federal government even loves signs! Here is an excerpt from the SBA website “It is estimated that 35-50 percent of the consumer population today shops outside their local area. Legible, conspicuous on-premise signage will assist in attracting a large percentage of these non-local and newcomer consumers. Further, an effective on-premise sign provides 24-hour exposure of its message to a large pool of potential customers at a fraction of the cost (when depreciated over several years) of other media. The lower the cost to obtain customer memory or top-of-mind awareness, the higher the return on advertising dollars.” Please take the time to visit theSmall Business Administarion’s website for more facts about the value of signs

Freestanding business sign with full color LED message board

Business sign with LED electronic message board

Freestanding business sign with monochrome LED electronic message

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Have you noticed many businesses touting themselves as being green? I wonder how many really are.

 ”Being green” is the new cool thing, it can be a great way to attract web traffic to your site and add “curb appeal”.

I have noticed businesses in our industry, electric sign manufacturing, are using the green initiative to promote their business, when in reality they are merely using components common to our industry and projecting their actions as being cutting edge. Maybe you have experienced the same in your industry?

That’s enough about signs. Maybe some of the measures we have taken as a company could be used at your business?

My people have taken great satisfaction from planning through implementation of many earth friendly measures at Strickler Signs. We have a 12,000 square foot production area that was previously illuminated by fluorescent lamps powered by magnetic ballasts. We are saving about $175.00 of electric per month after converting the ballasts to energy efficient electronic ballasts. For years we have recycled our scrap aluminum, steel and copper. All of our waste cardboard and plastic sign faces are stored in bins with the contents being gathered periodically by the Adams County Rescue Mission, who then forward the material to the recyclers. Everybody also discards their plastic bottles and containers into a tub with the contents also going to the mission. Although it is time consuming, we collect all used mercury fluorescent lamps from our service department. When we have collected enough of these lamps we have them removed by a professional mercury recycling company. Now that’s how you do it! The everyday, humble, behind the scenes efforts make the most impact on saving our earth.

What are you doing? What could you be doing? I believe we all need to develop the proper mindset toward the environment. Environmental legislation helps, but real change must come from all of us being good stewards of the earth, and executing those little actions everyday that make a real impact from recycling to planting trees and much more.

Check out the following video to hear another expert opinion

Throw your bottles here for them to live again

Cardboard waiting to be used again

Plastic to be re-used instead of setting in a landfill for a thousand years!