Sometimes sign shops need a little help to get the job done, but in outsourcing a process or a part of a sign project, they don’t want to sacrifice quality.
Wholesaler ImageFirst knows this sentiment well. “It’s key in this industry to have quality-built product,” says Michael McKeag, president of ImageFirst.
Operating out of a 30,000-square-foot facility with twenty-five employees, ImageFirst prides themselves on their creative and quality-built products. The wholesaler specializes in exterior architectural and commercial signage, including custom electric signage, aluminum, fiberglass, and dimensional letters and logos.
As a wholesaler, ImageFirst finds that sign shops typically come to them to handle a process that they don’t have in-shop. “We help our customers sell a competency that they don’t have to have under their own roof,” explains McKeag. “They can look to a reliable, quality wholesaler that will back them up and basically be another factory for them.”
For other sign shops, the issue isn’t capability—it’s capacity. Large sign companies may outsell their capacity and need to spill over some of the procurement responsibilities to a wholesaler to make a deadline or get the job done.
ImageFirst handles everything from design to fabrication and is able to take on one part of a sign or the entire job. In addition, they can handle packing up and shipping a sign, if needed. Once the customer has signed off on a job, it typically takes three to five weeks to finish a project. However, ImageFirst does have flexibility in situations where a quick turnaround is a requirement.
The wholesaler is also big on educating—both its employees and its sign company clients. On the employee side of things, ImageFirst is big on cross-training. All of their production workers have spent time in every department. “A lot of cross-education across the whole platform has helped our company grow in the last five to six years tremendously,” says McKeag.
On the client end, ImageFirst provides detailed production drawings that help a customer understand how a sign will be built, what it’s made of, how to access any electrical in the future, and if necessary, how to articulate and communicate installation outsourcing needs.
In addition, ImageFirst often serves a consultative role, and sign shops will contact them prior to starting a design for advice on things like material limitations. “We can help push them down the right path to a better, more cost-effective, and quality product,” says McKeag.
Their experience with materials comes from working with architects and designers who need high-quality built exterior signage that fits into a specific environment. This often leads to working with odd or out-of-the-ordinary materials in order to mimic or match a part of the built environment.
The work has not only taught ImageFirst about the constraints and parameters of certain materials, but also how to communicate and educate clients on how those materials relate to factors like price and longevity on a job.
“We pride ourselves on being open, honest, and legitimate with our potential customer,” says McKeag, “to make them aware of the good, the bad, and the indifferent on their request.”
By Ashley Bray
Photo: ImageFirst.
