ISA EXPO - Thank You for Visiting Us in Orlando

Another year and another successful ISA Expo in Orlando thanks to the wonderful job done by the ISA staff and to all the sign professionals that attended the expo. As the economy continues to recover so does commercial building and the optimism in the sign industry.

This years expo came shortly after the new 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design (SAD) became law marking the first major revision to the ADA by the DOJ since the early 1990's. As expected, the new codes have caused a renewed buzz as the confusion surrounding the ADA codes continues - not surprising with all the so called "experts" in the industry.

None the less, fabricating ADA signage continues to be a lucrative and prosperous product offering for sign companies who deal with architectural signage and who are looking increase profitability in their business. Making NovAcryl photopolymer in-house is easy with a minimal cost of entry and a fast ROI.

Don't stress about the codes - Nova is an AIA Continuing Education Provider and has an approved AIA/CES course on ADA Requirements for Identification Signage.

Braille signs are also increasing in demand outside the US - Canada, Australia, the Middle East and beyond. To learn more about the accessibility codes outside SAD, take a look at Nova's Accessibility White Paper Series.

If you want to learn more about photopolymer and the services Nova provides connect with us today.

Email | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn | Google+

Small Business Opportunities

You are a Small Business, statistically speaking of course. This is a good thing!

Did you know that $360.9 million in applications had been approved for funding under a program designed to encourage new lending to help small businesses create jobs? The funds are part of $1.5 billion allocated for the program under the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010.

The Treasury Department announced applications have been approved for 11 states and the District of Columbia. The breakdown: Alabama, $31.3 million; Florida, $97.7 million; Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi, and the District of Columbia, $13.2 million each; Ohio, $55.1 million; Oregon, $16.5 million; Tennessee, $29.7 million; Texas, $46.6 million, and Virginia, $18 million.

The average size of a sign company in North America is 6.5 employees, so this type of program is particularly important to the sign industry.

With the passing of the 2010 ADA Standard for Accessible Design (SAD), now is the time to take advantage of the programs that are available, so that you can be part of this amazing recovery that we are experiencing.

Manufacturing ADA Compliant Signage using NovAcryl Photopolymer is an efficient, high quality and low cost way to take part in the recovering commercial building industry where these signs are needed.

If you already manufacture ADA signs, Nova can help you become more efficient, understand codes and regulations, increase your capacity and help reduce cost.

If you do not currently manufacture ADA compliant signs from photopolymer, our team will work with you to understand this market segment and help get you started.

Contact a Nova representative today or visit us at the ISA Expo in Orlando, FL at Booth 2559.

National Small Business Week 2011

This is week is National Small Business Week. This is an opportunity to recognize small business across the country and the contributions small businesses make to society as whole. 

• approx. 27.2 million small business in US
• 50% of American work for or own a small business
• 60%-80% of new jobs growth
• drive innovation, growth and competitiveness

We also want to look at new ways to keep and/or get business growing by looking at new technologies and growth opportunities within our markets. One way to do this is to continue manufacturing more products in-house like ADA complaint photopolymer signage.

Nova's processing equipment is build in our manufacturing facility located in Bryan, OH . Bringing this technology in-house supports your opportunity to grow as well as supports another US based manufacturer. 

Processing photopolymer has a low cost of entry, requires no licensing fees, has a short learning curve, utilizing existing equipment and processes and yields a higher quality and more profitable product than competitive methods like applied while integrating seamlessly into any production workflow.

So, if you're in the sign industry than you're either a small business or work with many. This week we can be proud to be major part of the economy while helping everyone navigate through their day. 

--MS

Small Business Depreciation Bonus 2011

Small businesses may be growing again

The percentage of firms expecting more sales rose to the highest level in more than three years. This is worth celebrating because lack of sales growth has been the No. 1 problem for small businesses.

There’s also evidence that these companies are beginning to invest for the future again. The number of firms in the NFIB survey who said they planned to hire more workers rose in December to the highest level in more than two years.

More importantly, these companies are actually hiring, not just talking about it.

In December, employment in small firms (fewer than 50 employees) rose by 117,000, the biggest gain in nearly five years, according to the ADP employment report.

For confirmation, the Intuit small business employment index (which covers even smaller companies with fewer than 20 employees) has increased for 15 months in a row. The average employee at one of these companies is working nearly three hours more per month than she was during the worst of the recession.

--DM

Source: MarketWatch.com

Recovery in Commercial Building Is Forecast for 2011

The nation's construction industry, virtually on life support during the economic downturn, will begin a slow recovery next year, according to a forecast set to be released Friday.McGraw-Hill projects that construction starts of manufacturing buildings will increase 9% and expects the U.S. economy will grow 2.5% in 2011.

Commercial buildings—which includes offices, stores, hotels and warehouses (all public spaces which require ADA compliant signage), will improve with a 16% gain to $44.9 billion.

- source http://online.wsj.com

This information can be further confirmed by the number of projects in which Novacryl has been specified on Arcat.com - the nations largest source for on-line specification related to commercial building projects.

If you want to be part of the recovery process, contact us.

--DM