Zelie company aims for success, growth under 1 roof
ZELIENOPLE — Signs are businesses' first impressions to people, and one company is helping make those first impressions good ones.
Since 1983, Sign Innovation has created signs for companies in the region and across the U.S.
“There's a lot of different sign companies out there that have the ability to produce a sign, but it's difficult to have a facility that can do just about everything,” President Ray Roccon said about what his company offers.
Roccon has been at the business for about nine years. It has 30 workers.
He bought the company in 2014 and set out to relocate the business to its new location on Halstead Boulevard in Zelienople.
Before the relocation in early March, the company had three locations — two in Harmony and one in Evans City.
Roccon said efficiency and lower costs are why the company decided to operate under one roof.
“It made sense,” he said. “Real-time decisions can be made because everything is close at hand.”
The facility also has room to grow in its new home with 50,000 square feet of space available.
Roccon also said a 13,000-square-foot expansion is planned for 2017.
The addition will house a larger finishing department.
Every Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. the production team works on several projects.
The company makes signs using a variety of shapes and sizes.
“There is no 'biggest sign,'” Roccon said. “If we can't get it in the building, we'll build it in pieces.”
He said the largest one the company has made measured about 100 feet tall. It took two weeks to create.
The smallest include signs for bathrooms, nameplates on doors and the Americans with Disabilities Act.
“You don't want to make signs too small so people can't read them,” Roccon said.Companies who want signs contact Sign Innovation and either present their designs to be made or work with the company on a design.“Either way, we'll work through the design with them and collaborate on the production,” Roccon said.The building's upstairs will house the company's graphic design department.The design ideas for a project go through reviews before approval.Raw material such as aluminum or steel is brought into the facility. The material is then cut by lasers using computerized numerical control machines into shapes and letters.The company will have three cutting machines of different sizes in the new facility.From there, different parts are shaped and placed together to create the framework for each sign. Tasks such as welding, drilling and buffering are done to the designs.After the framework is complete, the signs are taken into one of the company's two temperature-controlled, enclosed paint stations. Roccon said the room can be heated to 275 degrees in 60 seconds.For its biggest projects, the company has a paint station measuring 18-feet high by 34-feet deep by 18-feet wide.“You could fit a semitruck in it,” Roccon said.For neon signs, glass is bent into the desired shape and dyes are placed on the ends.The company can also make wood, dimensional and electronic signs.One project the company has been working on is a sign for Nemacolin Woodlands Resort in Farmington. The sign, featuring the resort's bird logo, weighs more than 250 pounds.
Other unique designs include 160 color-changing boxes that wrap columns at Designer Shoe Warehouse in Manhattan and a column of jewelry at Alex and Ani in Las Vegas.Big-name businesses from across the country such as Foot Locker, TGI Fridays and Nike get signs from the company.Regional companies and places include Butler Health System, Wexford Plaza and The Buncher Co. Signs made by the business can also be seen at the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh.Harmony borough's welcome sign along Route 68 and directory signs in the town square were created by Sign Innovation.Roccon said his company works with about 150 businesses across the country. About 75 to 80 of them are based in the tri-state area.“We've really niched ourselves into becoming ... a prototype and production shop for them (other companies),” he said.
“When they don't know how to do something, they come to us and we figure it out.”The company also has a collection of vintage signs it has accrued over the years. These signs will be hung up around the new building in both its offices and production facility.Roccon said what makes a good sign is “a good design that resonates with your target audience” and “quality manufacturing of materials.”He said a trend he has seen with signs today is companies going for a retro look.“Signs that look weathered or antiqued seem to be popular at the moment,” he said.
