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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1991-06-26, Page 5']T ' S YOLIR B US INES S Times -Advocate, June 26, 1991 Page 5 Acme Neon Signs lighting the way for others By Ray Lewis Businesses are always 1slooking for some L-,l type of gimmick to get then noticed, whether it be a funny ' ' -' ad, a witty slogan or a cute jingle. For many years peo- ple have been driving past a large building on Highway #83 west of Exeter, with the words Acme Neon Signs tattooed across its face. Most just consider it a distributor for some London company. Acme is trying to change that image. "There is no London company," said Jim Wydareny, sales manager for the plant. "We're trying to change our image and become more familiar with the communi- ty" The business began in London in 1945 and later grew to include Kitchener, Windsor and Exeter. 12 years ago, buildings in both Lon- don and Exeter were put up for . sale. London sold first, so the Ex- eter building was left to operate by itself, under the ownership of Da- vid McLeod. Wydareny is general manager for the plant which employs 15. He came to Acme 10 years ago, after working at Ford in Talbotville, and his experience with another sign company taught him to enjoy sales. "The major signs we do are for things like gas stations," said Wy- No, It's not Gulliver - But when it comes to making big in the sign in- dustry, Acme Neon Signs is a giant. Behind sales manager Jim Wy• dareny stands the company's newest addition, a neon, pole -sign complete with read -o -graph. Capaqian, Perio .l tt ,9r lli ,; c,.,, Cuntintfed`frbtH' 0 ';r ^. st, France has large German, Bre- ton, Basque and Italian minori- ties. Switzerland is made up of German, French, Italian and Rhaeto-Roman population groups plus the offspring of many "inter -marriages". But a man from the Alsace would not go around calling himself Alle- mand-francais, and I have nev- er heard of a woman calling herself Italienisch-Schweizerin. They're French, p^^^r.+. And they're Swiss, period. And this is what I would like to propose for the next 125 years: that we call ourselves Canadian, period. No more hyphens Hyphens are the curse of Canada. We qualify our Cana- dianism not only by ethnic ori- gin, but also by racial and relig- ious group. We explain our- selves as Protestant Irish - Canadians or French-Canadian Roman Catholics, as Black Ca- nadians or Japanese Canadians. One elderly lady explained to me the other day: "I am Scot- tish, English and American on my father's side, Dutch, German and Polish on my mother's side, and 1 know that I also have some Indian ancestry. Now where does that leave me?" It leaves her either in limbo or in an indigestible ethnic stew, unless she decides to follow my advice and call herself a Cana- dian, period. Are we so ashamed of the word Canadian that we have to apologize by adding a bunch of adjectives? Isn't it enough to say that we're Canadian? Can't we be proud to belong to the sec- ond largest country in the world, where the living standard is high, thc air and thc water rel- atively clean? We are the envy of the world, with our vast fo- rests, our mineral wealth, and our productive agriculture. We may have our problems, but generally speaking, we settle them peacefully. I'm a Canadian, period. This doesn't mean that I want to hide my origins and heritage. It also doesn't mean that 1 want every- body in Canada to be the same. There is room for diversity, for ethic culture, for languages oth- er than French and English. We don't have to forget "the old country" , the land (or lands) of our ancestors. Fatherland or children's land? But I ask you: what is more important to you - the land of your forefathers and foremoth- ers, your fatherland or mother country, or the land of your children?: I'll vote for Canada - the children's land - every time. What kind of a Canadian am I? I'm a Canadian, period. dareny. "There we would have an illuminated canopy sign all around the building along with a pole sign." Acme is capable of making virtu- ally any sign which pertains to the industry, with everything from neon, canopy, facia and pole signs to individual letters. Last week, they provide signs for the Scatch- erd Invitational golf tournament in Grand Bend. . Presently, Acme's territory spans all of Ontario, and has included some western provinces. They re- cently serviced three locations in Kapuskasing, and 11 Beaver gas stations, mostly in the Toronto area. Acme's signs are produced start to finish at the Exeter plant. A box is built of sheet metal and rein- forced with angle iron. In some in- stances, an electronic unit is placed inside, which comes from Hamilton Digital in Hamilton. Other times, neon tubes are used. Gas burners are used to heat tubes and bend them to the required pat- tern. Different coloured tubes and the different gases of argon and neon are used to provide different colours when lit. Neon signs are beginning to once again become popular, especially in window signs, because they attract such attention. But most of Acme's signs require either painting or the use of vinyl. "When you're painting a face, it's really time consuming," said Wy- dareny. "With vinyl, the whole face can be done in a couple of hours. Painting would take a whole day.„ When paint is involved, a rub- bery substance, called a grip mask, is placed upon the clear plastic used for the actual sign face. With the aid of a computer, a pattem is made up and the computer cuts the pat- tern out the same size as the face. The face is laid overtop of the pat- tern and the grip mask hand cut to match. After being placed on a bank of fluorescent lights inside a spray booth, the mask is peeled away and the plastic painted. Paints aren't allowed to overlap, because when lit the sign will show different colours. Each colour must be applied in sequence from dark to light, only after their predecessor is dry and masked. The inside is then painted white, to better reflect light and make the sign brighter. According to Wydareny, vinyl faces are the best. They illuminate with more consistent colour, and are the quickest and easiest to man- ufacture, especially with the aid of computer. Within the building is an art and design department, Here, Mike Gibson and Steve Harrison draft sign designs and are grateful for the advent of computers. The comput- er has 16 letter styles and once the operator creates whatever he wants on screen, he plots it out on a 15 inch or 30 inch high speed plotter, which enables him to do up to eight foot letters. The machine will plot on paper, cut it in vinyl, or use a pounce wheel which makes a perforated hole in the paper, allowing you the rub chalk dust over it producing an outline. What used to take two men a week, now takes the ma- chine only an hour. "This is probably the way of the future, because it's so environment friendly," said Gibson. "No paint, no fumes, just suck it on and away you go." Old signs are reused by reskin- ning boxes, adding new faces or by painting. They aren't air or water tight, but with an aluminum frame around them, it's pretty tough for anything to get inside to cause dam- age. The average sign lasts 15-20 years, depending upon weather conditions. All signs must be CSA approved, and subjected to random checks. Acme's newest toy, is a huge dou- ble -sided pole sign which has been constructed on their front lawn. The sign incorporates every facet of their operation, and has one spe- cial feature, unlike anything in the area. The sign has a large read -o - graph, which acts as a message ser- vice. "We thought it was the best way to let the community know that we're here," said Wydareny. Exeter 235-2420 Galser-Kneale OVER S60,000 IN YOUR RRSP AND WORRIED? tr r try To transfer your RRSP or RRIF call Mark 1 McLlwain Account Representative Metropolitan Life 37 Main Street South, Exeter, Ontario NOM 1S1 (519) 235-1344 Metropolitan Life sold its first policy in Canada in 1872. For almost 120 years, we have been committed to providing you - our cu ,er - with the financial security )ace of mind you nee d. Our financial stability and solid tradi- tion of trust are only two of the rea- sons why the world's premier credit rating companies - Standard and Poors, A.M. Best and Moody's - give Metropolitan Life their highest credit rating (AAA) • Assets we manage in North Ameri- ca exceeded $154 billion in 1990 and we are still growing. REASON UP TO 1/2°i0* BONUS • 1.5 year term GICs. • Save for retirement with tax- sheltered savings by holding your Guaranteed Investment Certificate in a RRSP or RRIF. • Rates are guaranteed for 30 days to allow transfer of funds from another institution. • Maximum deposit $200,000. If they wanted attention, this sign seems to have done the trick. Those wishing to use the sign for short messages advertising special events, may do so free of charge by contacting Acme. Steady hand - Acme Neon Signs' Trevor Boyle cuts away the rubber grip mask from the sign's plastic face, which will then be painted. HOLIDAY ADVERTISING DEADLINE for next week's newspaper 9, ,i/ Mkt MOD'', i ,<<b{i'r-f .=t Because of the holiday Monday, all advertising must be in our office by Friday afternoon in order for us to maintain our publishing schedule. TWO GREAT REASONS TO MOVE 'PO NATIONAL TRUST National Trust Helping you secure your future REASON #2 $100 CASH BONUS • Open and deposit a minimum of $10,000 into a TOTAL Money Market Account (TMMA) or Guaranteed Term Deposit and we'll deposit $100 into your account. • TMMA offers graduated interest on your daily closing balance within each tier and paid monthly. • The higher your balance, the higher our interest rate. HURRYI OFFER ENDS SATURDAY, JULY 6, 1991 • National Trust is a member of the Canada Deposit tnsurante Corporation ((DIC). These offers canna be combined with any cher offer and apply to money transferred from other financial Institutions Unlit of one $100 bonus per client. Astern referrals will receive 11416 bonus. Minimum or $ 10000 mud remain on deposit for 90 days to receive bonus. Offers are valid at the branches listed below. Open: Mon., Tues., Wed. 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday, Friday 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. 425 Main Street, Exeter, Ontario Tel: (519) 235-0530 1 1\