What started as one man’s passion for handwritten signage, has transformed into a hugely successful family run business. Now under the third generation of management, Greens the Signmakers has made recent headway in the industry. Assistant editor Benjamin Austin, reports:
Lawrence Green has been the managing director since 2018
From artisanal pinstripe handwritten signs to being the exclusive UK signage supplier for one of the leading EV companies; Greens the Signmakers has made a name for itself within the sign making industry.
Having been in operation since 1963, the family-run business is currently under the guidance of the third generation.
Grandson of its founder, Lawrence Green took over the business in 2018, taking it from strength to strength, now having around 60 employees on its books.
He said: “It all started with my Grandad, Reg Green. He was pinstriping and handwriting originally which unfortunately is a skill we don’t have any more and one I’d like to get back.
“It was a lot for haulage kind of advertising and wagons, and he even started doing a lot of number motorcycle number plates for some reason, but that grew into more shopfront work when my dad got involved.”
Like with a lot of family businesses, Lawrence was introduced to it early.
He continued: “My first memory of being involved with the company was at the kitchen table at home. My Dad brought home drawings, line drawings and things and I was colouring them in, doing the technical colouring to have a bit of an effect so I was doing that occasionally.
“I have done every role here pretty much, working my way up. In the summer holidays when I was 15 or younger I’d come in and help sort the yard and separate the recycling and just generally keep on top of that.
“When I finished sixth form, I decided I wanted to a have a year out after as I wasn’t wanting to go straight into further education.
“I felt I needed a change from people telling me what to learn and so the day after my last exam I was in here.”
A fork in the road
However, Lawrence wasn’t as fully committed to the company like his father initially, opting instead to eventually follow a path to university and study motorsport engineering, but after passing his first year, his sister got both him and his dad to sit down to discuss the future.
Greens provided signage for XF Gyms in Merry Hill Shopping Centre, Dudley
He said: “I think generally that first summer was the first time I paused and thought about it.
“My sister had already finished university and was off doing her own thing and so if she wasn’t to join there needed to be a plan for the business so we had a good think and talk that summer and decided that yes, I would join.
“It did interest me, I did enjoy it, I liked the freedom, and it gave the opportunity to steer something on my own course.
“So, I went back second year and changed to motorsport technology to free up a bit more time and did a few more business modules so when I finished, I came to work straight away.
“I started helping the project managers then got into it myself before taking the MD role.”
The company now boasts so many recognised retail names like Toys R Us and Halfords as customer, and recently won the work to provide signage for one of the biggest global EV companies.
The full package
Greens offers all kinds of work and provides a full service to all those with sign making needs, from design to installation and checks.
Lawrence said: “It’s a bit of a cliché to call ourselves a one-stop shop but it works but we try to do everything in house; we only source work out if it’s over our capacity.
Lawrence Green sitting on the Printing Charity panel at SDUK
“But we like to try and do everything, so we’ve got our own cutting department. We have two big axis machines for milling, engraving and cutting of acrylic, and they have the knife head also so they can do foamboards and our own laser cutting.
“We have a fabrication department with guillotine folders to do all trays and low-level steel work.
“We do our own powder coating and just finished updating that system as the last one was 20 years old and just getting long in the tooth.
“We have the know how to do everything and we make sure customers get the service they need in turn and where others may take a few days as they could be waiting on powdering, I can trust going onto my floor and say guys we need this right, and it’ll be done by the next morning.
“We won’t walk away from something if it’s not gone smoothly so I think the reason we ended up with having pretty much everything of our own in terms of manufacturing is because if there is a better way of doing something we want to find it and do it.”
Industry praise
The hard work from the company to provide this level of service is now being rewarded with Greens walking away from this year’s Sign Industry Awards with the award for best window graphics.
Greens’ Hertz award-winning window graphics for Heathrow Airport
Lawrence explained how it made him feel to be given the accolade: “It’s always nice to be recognised. Looking at that project it sounded so simple, we had a dozen windows on which to put some pretty images.
“It soon became one of those where actually looking in more detail with the customer they had some very specific needs.
“Trying to gather all those needs and come up with something as simple as the outcome was a bit of a challenge but going back and forth with the customer and doing sampling, we all were happy in the end.
“It’s always nice to be recognised and it helps with our marketing as we can show off receiving these significant rewards.”
With accolades pouring Greens’ way, and work at a steady and stable flow it could be thought Lawrence has cracked the world of sign making, but instead, he is constantly looking to improve himself having coaching sessions once a month to ensure he keeps his knowledge fresh and up to date.
Lawrence said: “It’s been beneficial both for me personally but also the team as I pick up things and pass them on.
“It’s kept me focused which is great and gives me accountability as there is someone there asking once a month how everything’s going.”
With the coaching Lawrence is showing there is always more to learn, to adapt and improve upon when it comes to running the business.
Like his father did with his grandfather, Lawrence is now carrying the mantle, by learning and improving upon past successes, Lawrence is ensuring the Greens name continues perhaps even for the next generation.
