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THE CHERRY ON TOP: CUSTOMIZED SLOT AND GAMING SIGNAGE
The Netherlands-based Signs4U may not be an established name in the United States, but it is a solid option for companies with interests abroad. Signs4U already enjoys significant market share in Europe and South America, working with other industry-leading manufacturers and properties. “You will probably find our signs in every European casino,” said Sales Representative René Huibers.
Some of their most recent projects have been complete casino installations at Gran Casino Costa Brava in Spain, Casino Espinho in Portugal and in-progress work at the new Casino Troia in Portugal. They are also collaborating with Lottomatica to supply the newly-opened VLT market in Italy.
A little less than half of Signs4U’s projects involve working directly with slot manufacturers, as the main European and South American sign supplier for Novomatic, Bally, IGT, Aristocrat, ATRONIC, WMS and Magic Dreams.
Those are a lot of impressive names, but the most important are those of the company’s founders, Jan and Martin Spies. These brothers established the company in 2000, and it continues to be privately owned and operated. One of the most recent milestones for the company is a 2007 joint venture with Suzo South Americas to product and distribute products in Signs4U’s new factory in Montevideo, Uruguay.
As to what sets the company’s products apart from others in the industry, Huibers explains: “We focus on high standards; our signs have a high-quality finish and are constantly checked during every step of the production process. An important part of a sign is the acrylics containing the artwork of the sign. We have an excellent quality of these so we can guarantee color resistance for at least 10 years, even under the influence of neon. Besides the quality, which is a major selling point, we always try to be innovative with our products.”
The complete product range for Signs4U includes: casino signage—consisting of progressive, mystery and custom-built, outdoor signage, multimedia systems, jackpot controllers and systems, slot toppers, denomination and edge-lit signs, directional and wayfinding signs, in- and outdoor LED displays, bank ends, and used signage.
In order to offer so many stellar options, Signs4U has recently partnered with a leading multimedia provider based out of Tel Aviv, Israel. “C-Nario secured its leading market position with the development of highly innovative content creation and management tools, better than broadcast quality playback, ease-of-use, workflow management, seamless integration with external systems and technologies, scalability and full control capabilities,” Huibers said. C-Nario has installations in 40 countries on six continents, and has offices in the U.S., Europe, Israel and Asia.
Where Signs4U and C-Nario collaborated was in the area of jackpots. C-Nario was only missing the interface to the jackpot controllers—an area where Signs4U was able to fill in the gap. Now, their system has the capability to display jackpot data from multiple jackpot controllers. The data that is fed, real-time, can be sent to and displayed in hotel lobbies, restaurants and bars around the world, at long distances.
One more example of Signs4U’s unique offerings involves a step in their production process that is different from that of their competitors. “We laminate most of our signs with a thin layer of aluminum to get a perfect high glossy finish,” Huibers explained. “This is labor intensive, but the end result is great. Most of the sign manufacturers in Europe just spray paint or powder coat their cabinets.”
And it is attention to detail like this that has earned Signs4U a top spot in the gaming signage world.
Signs4U At a Glance
Company headquarters: Ede, The Netherlands
Other location: Montevideo, Uruguay
Executives: Martin Spies, Jan Spies
Number of employees: 35
Year founded: 2000
For sales info: René Huibers, rene@signs4u.nl, or Shanna van Capelleveen, shanna@signs4u.nl
Website: www.signs4u.nl
Roulette ceiling sign by Signs4U
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