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Article taken from Intergame Magazine April 2009
SIGNS 4U: WORKING
WITH BIG PLAYERS
‘You can find our signage in every European country’
BASED in the town of Ede, Netherlands, Signs 4U continues to produce some of the most visually striking indoor and outdoor signs for casinos.
Having been established by Martin Spies and his brother Jan in 2000, the company has built up an impressive list of clients that includes a host of internationally-renowned casinos and manufacturers, such as Atronic, Bally, IGT, Novomatic and WMS. Such is the
company’s involvement in the market, that visitors to the London show in January couldn’t have failed to take note of Signs 4U’s work throughout the exhibition hall, as well as on its own booth.
Signs 4U’s European office employs around 30 people, depending on the number of projects being undertaken. In 2007, the company also opened a factory in Montevideo, Uruguay, to take advantage of opportunities in the South American market. At present, this facility employs 10 people. “We have a long list of customers,” said the company’s René Huibers. “You can find our signage in every European country.” Huibers explained that half of the signs it produces are for manufacturers, while it also works with large operators, such as Hit Group, all of the casinos in Italy, Atlantis World in the Caribbean, Grosvenor in the UK and Storm Group in Mexico. Signs 4U also supplied all signage for the new Casino Barriere Blotzheim in France. “Since we opened a South American factory last year, we are also penetrating that market,” he said, adding that the company is also targeting the Caribbean and South African gaming markets.
Signs 4U produces interior installations that feature more than just lighting, creating an interactive and comprehensive multimedia package. This, as Patrick de Bruyn, the company’s head of design, explained, requires the use of innovative new technologies. “We are making more use of advanced LED technologies for inside and outside signs,” De Bruyn said. Many of his new designs feature programmable LEDs that can be controlled to make a complete light show from LED strips or LED tubes. De Bruyn said that these signs can be controlled in combination with the company’s multimedia system developed by digital signage software company C-Nario. “With this tool we can create a complete multimedia system – a digital signage sign with sound and visual effects,” he said. These new LEDs, which are available in a wide range of colours and can be controlled to alter brightness, speed and colour, offer a number of economic benefits for clients. Their low energy consumption and long lifespan make them a relatively environmentally friendly solution. “Another advantage is the smallness of them,” De Bruyn continued. “We can use them in all sorts of ways and quantities. ”With a seemingly endless number of possible arrangements and colours, LEDs are easier to use in any casino environment, he added.
Meeting its customers’ requirements is a key aim for Signs 4U, and the production process often relies on a good dialogue between the company and its clients. Huibers said that the time it takes to design and complete a sign can vary, depending on the customer. “If we design a custom sign, we have to get approval from them; we normally design some initial signs and then it’s up to the customer if he agrees with one of them or if he wants changes or totally new ones,” he said. “After that it will take about three to four weeks to complete it, depending on the complexity. ”So what is the biggest challenge in this process for the company? “Sometimes it’s time,” Huibers remarked, “like the exhibition in London in January, where we had to make 20 signs! “But mostly it’s getting the final approval from a customer; production-wise we tend to have everything covered.”
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