What Our Move Means for You
Moving a headquarters and manufacturing facility is a daunting task for the company making the move. But, for customers and partners, it should be nearly undetectable. That is the goal of Harbinger, which will be moving a few miles from its current location to a much larger facility this summer. By operating both locations throughout the transition, Harbinger will ensure minimal disruption in its manufacturing and shipping.
What customers and partners will notice, however, is faster turnaround and expanded services following the move.
The 51,500-square-foot building features 35-foot high ceilings to accommodate larger signage and multiple loading docks for faster shipping. The production space is 2.3 times larger than the current facility, allowing for more streamlined operations and more equipment that can run simultaneously.
Harbinger’s new facility will be based on Lean manufacturing best practices to maximize efficiency and throughput.
- The paint booth is centrally located on the manufacturing floor; as painting is the last step of production it is important that all other production areas feed into it efficiently.
- The production area of the most highly demanded products is closest to the shipping and install lines.
- Overall equipment placement and layout of the production floor is designed with efficiency and increased workflow in mind.
The new location houses a larger graphics room to accommodate additional printing technology as Harbinger becomes more multifunctional. Previously only serving to print and cut vinyl for various signs being manufactured by Harbinger, the graphics department will have the capacity to print vinyl banners and site signs, and create custom fleet graphic wraps.
Offices within the building also are designed for improved communication flow and integration between departments. More conference rooms and internal meeting spaces, including conversation “bars,” facilitate collaboration.
The company will create its new workspace to ultimately benefit its current and future customers. Producing top-quality, consistent signage in an efficient and timely manner, and offering more product options to better serve as a one-stop signage resource are the effects of this move Harbinger hopes its customers notice.
Eye Appeal (Chain Store Age)
Edwin Watts Golf Utilizes "One-Touch" Signage Program
Harbinger helps Edwin Watts Golf in times of crises, with an ongoing "one touch" program for exterior signage and by bringing ideas to the table. Below is an excerpt from the feature case study in Chain Store Age magazine's June 2011 issue:
“The prints — we call them window clings — were Harbinger’s idea,” [Therese] Grossman said. “They’re beautiful and very impactful for our customers.”
Grossman explained that Harbinger came up with the idea of the window prints.
“It proved an economical way for us to try something new while meeting budget,” she said. “One of the benefits for a very specialized retailer like us in working with Harbinger is that they have a very broad base of experience and of doing different things that they are able to share with us. They bring a lot of great ideas to the table.”
Trust of America’s Golf Club
The world’s largest individual golf retailer, Edwin Watts Golf, trusts Harbinger with its national, multi-location signage program. For eight years, this successful partnership has grown along with both companies. Today, Harbinger manages Edwin Watts Golf’s signage program for more than 75 locations, including new, converted and updated locations.
“We have created a ‘one-touch’ program for Edwin Watts Golf. They contact the dedicated Harbinger project manager to initiate any required signage service and we seamlessly manage the surveys, permitting, fabrication, installation and servicing of any sign at all locations,” explained Steve Williams, president of Harbinger.
The signage program currently involves the logo and letters on the exterior of the locations, and decorative window and interior imaging solutions to maximize the brand at retail.
For color consistency in the green and white logo and lettering, Harbinger converted Edwin Watts Golf signs from paint to translucent vinyl films, all applied first surface for both cabinet and channel letter signs. To stay “green” in other ways, all new signs use LED illumination, reducing Edwin Watts Golf’s carbon footprint, saving the company up to 70 percent on sign operating costs, and providing more reliable, consistent luminosity.
To enhance Edwin Watts Golf’s brand and seasonal promotions, Harbinger provides full digital window prints in an array of motifs. The prints are created on a 3M medium-adhesive product that allows them to be removed without leaving an adhesive residue on the windows. Harbinger also is working with Edwin Watts Golf on virtually permanent interior prints that can be applied to both treated and untreated drywall substrates, and can be fully removed without leaving any adhesive residue.
“Edwin Watts is the most trusted retailer in golf because of our employees’ knowledge of the golf industry and their commitment to customer service,” said Therese Grossman, director of construction for Edwin Watts Golf. “We expect the same of our partners. Harbinger is exactly that in the sign industry -- trusted, knowledgeable and customer-centric.”
Graphic Films Guidance
Advances in graphic vinyl films – whether textured, colored or digital print – has exploded. Dozens of film options have turned into hundreds. Films can be used on interior spaces, masonry, or as window films. Products vary by intended application, product durability, and properties that resist fading or retain brighter colors when printed. This abundance of choice is beneficial, although it often can seem overwhelming.
Harbinger’s Creative Director Ed Busey helps to determine the appropriate ones to use for clients’ signage. According to Ed, there are three key questions he asks clients:
Where do you want the graphic to be applied? "It makes a big difference whether the film is going to be used on the side of an exterior brick wall or in an interior space. In fact, even in interiors, no two walls are the same due to the paint surface, textures or drywall on which the film will be placed,” he explains.
How long do you want it to be there? A film used for a sign inside a lobby for a few weeks has different properties than a perforated window film intended to remain in place for several months to a year, or a graphic applied to the sidewalk exposed to foot traffic and weather.
What do you want to do with it? It also is important to determine whether the sign will be a “throw away” after a short period of use, or whether it should withstand being repositioned various times.
Armed with these answers, Harbinger’s experienced team members evaluate the product options provided by the leading vinyl film companies like 3M, Oracal and Arlon, and determine the most cost-efficient and effective signage program.