For almost 30 years Horizon Signs has operated as one of the leading suppliers of bulk and bespoke signage solutions to a varied client base in the private and public sector as well as specialising in supplying products to the trade signage sector throughout the UK. During this time the manufacturing process of their product range meant they regularly utilised the services of specialist metal fabricators and powder coating facilities as they branched out to supply products to the likes of the transport, advertising, healthcare, leisure and construction industries. In recent years they were approached to work with Matthew Wilson, a specialist provider of products to the education sector, and the rapid rate at which success was achieved saw the birth of Horizon BSF.

As demand grew for the supply of their high quality UK manufactured products it became apparent to directors Keith & Ross Ball and George Foster that the formation of a centralised group of companies would allow them make various cost savings on behalf of their client base by amalgamating a number of services in to one group of companies resulting in the formation of The Horizon Group.

Working out of their 20,000sq ft manufacturing base in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, The Horizon Group of companies is made up of:

• Horizon Signs – specialists in trade signage solutions
• Horizon BSF – a supplier of products to schools and HE colleges
• Horizon PTI – transport sector signage specialists
• Horizon Fabrications – a bespoke metalwork provider
• Horizon Powder Coating – an onsite long lasting paint finish facility

Through the formation of The Horizon Group, and by bringing each of these services on to one central site, the Group is now able to offer a one stop shop for customers requiring off the shelf signage right through to the design and manufacture of bespoke products. In particular the growth of Horizon BSF’s market share has been enjoyed off the back of the ability for contractors working with schools to benefit from a supplier they can trust who can manufacture their own products. As well as this, Horizon BSF offers customers the chance to benefit from the groups buying power and their ability to make savings on less readily available items, deliver them in bulk and also install the items.

Speaking about the formation of The Horizon Group, Director Ross Ball said:

“Horizon has been around for a number of years and we’ve always tried to evolve to ensure we can deliver the best products and services to our public and private sector clients. However, over the past few years we’ve found our expertise in developing flexible new product ranges has helped us work within new market sectors. When Matt approached us about setting up Horizon BSF and working within the education sector it made perfect sense. We’ve developed specialist and hugely popular products like the Versa IRB (an interactive roller board) and we deliver a massive range of off the shelf items such as poster cases, notice board, furniture and anything our clients throw at us really. The formation of the Horizon Group just means we can make savings by producing more items in house and these savings help keep us competitive by passing the benefits on to our clients.”

For more details on each of these companies and the massive range of expert services offered visit www.thehorizon-group.co.uk

We have already supplied and installed a large number of these signs to the likes of care homes, hospitals, healthcare centres, bus and train stations and many other locations throughout the UK. By using the talking signs our customers are seeing the huge benefits of being able to give information to their residents, patients and visitors at the push of a button.

Here’s just a few of the benefits:

• Change the message hourly

• It’s an easy way to record any message e.g.

• Ideal for giving info on lunch menus, directions, activities & event

• Handy for people that are partially sighted

• Also offers a volume control for the partially deaf

Prices start from £325.

For more info call 01484 460 909 or e-mail sales@horizon-signs.co.uk

Working in partnership with East Ayrshire Council and Vix ACIS, the leading provider of intelligent transport products, Horizon Signs has developed an exclusive bus stop pole solution which is battery powered or charged using the mains. The sign displays real time information and is mounted onto an anti-graffiti bus stop pole.

Graffiti and vandalism are problems faced by many Council’s throughout the country so in order to combat this, Horizon designed a PVC castellated sleeve which is simply slipped over an existing post and discourages graffitist’s as anything sprayed on it does not show up. This proved to be such a good solution that the company has since developed an aluminum version.

With many councils across the UK looking to reduce budgets and solve graffiti problems, Horizon’s commercially viable solution looks set to be adopted up and down the country.

Horizon’s unique design is also cost effective as it can be retro-fitted over an existing post, meaning that it does not need to be taken out of the ground, therefore, saving on labour costs. As Horizon has invested in its own powder coating works, the posts can be painted to suit the colour requirements of the council.

George Foster, Director at Horizon Signs, commented: “It was fantastic to work with a council that is forward thinking in its approach to the modern problems that the transport industry face. Our new bus stop pole is the solution to many of these problems and we look forward to working with East Ayrshire Council and their transport network in the future.”

Alan Vass, Project Manager for the Real time passenger information scheme at East Ayrshire Council, added: “We were delighted with the end product that Horizon designed and developed for us with Vix Acis. We have had positive comments from members of the public about the efficiency of the real time signage and the improvement in the overall visual environment in the community due to reduced levels of graffiti.”

Battery powered or charged using the mains, the sign displays realtime information and is mounted onto an anti-graffiti bus stop pole.

Graffiti and vandalism are problems faced by many councils throughout the country so in order to combat this, Horizon designed a PVC castellated sleeve which is simply slipped over an existing post and discourages graffitist’s as anything sprayed on it does not show up. This proved to be such a good solution that the company has since developed an aluminum version.

With councils looking to reduce budgets and solve the graffiti problems, Horizon’s commercially viable solution looks to be adopted by more councils throughout the country.

CSCS, the Construction Skills Certification Scheme, was set up to help the construction industry to improve quality and reduce accidents. CSCS cards are increasingly demanded as proof of occupational competence by contractors, public and private clients. They cover hundreds of different occupations within the general construction industry, including craft, operative, technical, supervisory and management roles.

Many projects now demand full compliance with the CSCS scheme as it allows clients to ensure both trade competence and health & safety requirements.

4 of Horizons employees have received CSCS cards after completing the relevant courses to the highest standards. As the company has won many contracts recently to supply signs to schools and councils across the UK, it enables Horizon to be in control from beginning to end, manufacture to fitting, and to work with the clients to fit in with their requirements and deadlines.

While there are many courses for tradespeople and a few designed for construction supervisors and managers, it has proved difficult to align them both with the national occupational competence standards. CSCS is increasingly finding ways to meet the very diverse staff development needs of construction companies and as a result of its staff gaining CSCS cards, Horizon can now offer a wider service to its customers.

Ross Ball, Director at Horizon Signs, commented: “Having four of the workforce with CSCS cards gives our clients’ greater confidence in our employees’ competence and health and safety awareness. It has added another element to our already highly skilled team and is helping us to continue to secure more contracts – from small projects right through to government funded schemes such as Building Schools for the Future – as we can now complete projects from start to finish.”

J C Decaux is one of the world leaders in outdoor advertising solutions with a presence in all areas of the market – street furniture, billboards, transport and digital. It has worked in partnership with Horizon for over 15 years, building a strong relationship based on quality and service.

Horizon Signs has supplied JC Decaux with products including timetable cases across cities such as Manchester, Hull, Nottingham and Lincoln and the company has continued to increase its orders with Horizon, remaining one of its biggest customers.

The two companies have continued to grow and expand together, with JC Decaux becoming European leaders in the outdoor advertising market and Horizon Signs renowned for its quality signs manufacturing and fabrication work which it completes entirely at its base in Huddersfield.

John Smith at JC Decaux, commented: “Horizon provides quality products, on-time and with excellent after sales service. We chose to work with them back in the mid nineties because we wanted a manufacturer we could trust and Horizon have never let us down which is why the relationship has continued for so many years.”

Ross Ball, Director at Horizon Signs, added: “We have worked with JC Decaux for many years and found them to be great customers, we hope to continue the partnership for another 15 years with both companies growing from strength to strength.”

Easy as 1, 2, 3!

The Metro 3 is a product Horizon Signs have supplied to Leeds Metro for the last three years and it continues to prove itself as a high quality poster case that stands the trials and tribulations thrown at it day by day.
Utilised in all bus shelters throughout West Yorkshire the Metro 3 was designed to ensure the local council can display their logo on the back whilst still giving easy access from the front to allow for a quick and easy change of the posters an timetables.

The Centro Wing

The Centro Wing is another bespoke Horizon product which is to be utilised by Centro, who act as the Transport Executive for the Birmingham area. Horizon has been commissioned to supply the Centro Wing for the next five years and we’re confident the product will continue to be a huge success.

Problem Solved

Horizon Signs designed this specific case alongside Centro to help them overcome a particularly expensive problem they had encountered. This came about due to the fact there are two types of shelter used in Birmingham whereby some have flat panels and same of the shelters have ridged panels. Previously Centro have had to have two different types of timetable cases that utilised different fixings dependant on the type of shelter. This resulted in maintenance teams having to take more units to a shelter that required a case changing to ensure they had the correct version for the particular shelter.

To over come this problem Horizon designed the case so that it had hinged “Wings” on the reverse that can be pulled out and used to be fixed to a shelter with either ridged or, alternatively, the case can  be left flat against the back of the case should it need to fastened to a flat panelled shelter.

Ultimately, this Centro Wing is proving to be hugely cost effective product and has warranted Horizon Signs registering the design.

If you would like to discuss this product or any other with the team at Horizon call us on 01484 460 909 or contact us here.

Horizon recently undertook a new and somewhat different project for Opsource, a long standing customer of our sister company Horizon BSF. Opsource were tasked with finding high quality cycle shelters and cycle lockers and although there were similar products in the market they were keen to task Horizon with producing something they could use on the project and roll out to the wider market.

The cycle shelters were made using 10mm high impact polycarbonate with the box section being made up of rolled aluminium which was then powder coated blue to fit with the clients existing products. The cycle lockers were produced by Horizon using galvanised metal with a powder coated door and adjustable feet give the system the flexibility to be securely stationed on uneven ground. Both products were produced to our usual high standards and will be more than capable of sustaining the wear and tear of every day use.

Although not a standard product for Horizon the versatility of our in house engineers and product designers meant we could quickly, easily and cost effectively produce a high quality product which is already attracting much attention. As well as this our onsite Powder Coating facility allows us to personalise products without having to send them offsite.

If you have a project that requires a bespoke product then Horizon Signs are always happy to discuss these with you with a view to producing a quality, cost effective product.

Call now on 01484 460 909 or contact us here.

Julie Charlton has joined the team in this new role. She has over 10 years experience working in sales as an Account Manager for blue chip companies such as Wrigleys and will work on key accounts at Horizon, overseeing the entire process from order through to completion.

Julie said of her appointment: “I’m really looking forward to taking on this new challenge, getting to know key customers and helping to drive the business forward. Horizon is such a versatile and dynamic company which is growing all the time and it will be great to be a part of that.”

George Foster, Director at Horizon, added: “We’re delighted to welcome Julie to the sales team here. She brings with her valuable skills and experience that will benefit the business and our clients as we continue to expand.”

The majority of Horizon’s work is based around creating bespoke signs and fabrication products for its customers. Those who have just left school or college bring with them fresh new ideas and skills thus driving this side of the company forwards. Danny Templeman is an example of this, he joined the company when he was 17 years old and after 4 years of training him on the welding and fabrications side of the business, he is now one a key member of the Horizon team.

Horizon recently used this to their advantage with a job completed for Acis, a Real Time company, which specialise in providing solutions of real time location based intelligence systems for bus stops and train stations. Acis approached Horizon because they were having problems with vandalism affecting some of their units so they required a more substantial casing. With that brief in mind, Horizon produced a unit that houses their monitors securely, this proved a great success with Acis placing more orders.

Around 80% of all Horizon’s work is bespoke, this differs from the industry norm as the majority of sign companies and sign suppliers will only be able to offer the set sizes of the stock they keep which is generally bought in large quantities, often from abroad.. Horizon’s products are high quality, expertly constructed and because it has its own powder coating works, it can paint signs in any colour to suit the customers’ needs.

Ross Ball, Director at Horizon, commented: “Our partnership with Acis is just one example of how we work with our customers and produce bespoke products to fulfil their requirements. We are capitalising on a niche area of the market and bringing young people into the industry, helping them learn a trade and gaining innovative ideas on bespoke products for our customers in return.”