News

Signa StorTech Systems Changing With The Times

The Repository
By Felicia Smith
Repository Staff Writer
Sunday, February 26, 2006

Lake Twp. – Sometimes to stay relevant and profitable a business has to evolve.

In the early 1990s, as the banking and checking industry began phasing out paper products, officials at Signa StorTech Systems realized they also had to diversify their products.

“We had to reinvent ourselves,” company President Chad Smith said.
Since it opened its doors in 1977, Signa’s main business had been supplying and creating products for banks to assist with check remittance processing, filing and storage. Smith’s father, Gary, and a silent partner began the company.

In 1992, the company shifted its focus to a powder coating operation and fabrication. At the time, 15,000 square feet were added to the plant, Signa employs 29 people.

“We bend metal and we paint it,” Smith explained. “That’s what we do. It’s pretty simple.”

Signa continues to sell its base banking customers products for check processing, but the fabrication and powder coating sectors is where its growth has come. Signa had $2.5 million in sales last year.

The company saw a 12 percent increase in revenue in 2005, Smith said he expects the company to match or exceed that margin this year.
Eighty percent of the company’s business now comes from making custom products and powder painting. Smith said what sets Signa apart from the competition is what the company can do on-site.

“We can do 80 to 90 percent of our jobs – from start to finish – in-house,” he said.