Advanced Color Signs & Graphics
Advanced Color Signs & Graphics
By Ed Avis
Brad Schwartz launched Reprographic Specialists in suburban Philadelphia when Ronald Reagan was president and the Bangles’ “Walk Like an Egyptian” was the number one pop song. Now he’d like to do a little more walking himself – for example, on a golf course – and has put his business up for sale.
“I’m at a position in my life that I want to be able to take off now and then,” Schwartz says. “Sometimes a buddy calls and says, ‘Let’s go to the beach,’ but I can’t. I still open and close every day.”
Schwartz’s business, which is now called Advanced Color Signs & Graphics, has three divisions – traditional reprographics, static color signs, and digital billboards.
The traditional repro part of the company does large document and spec printing for small contractors, builders, engineers and other AEC clients in and around Newtown, Pennsylvania. That business hasn’t grown much in recent years, Schwartz says, though they did pick up a few clients when Office Max/Staples dropped their plan printing capabilities about six months ago. Competition is light – the nearest competitor is about 15 miles away.
The static sign division creates posters, banners, signs and other color projects for local restaurants, advertising agencies, car dealerships, and such. Schwartz says one full-time employee handles that work, which is printed on a CET hybrid UV-curable printer.
The third division is the one that is enjoying growth – digital billboards. Schwartz entered that business after talking to a digital sign distributor at a trade show about three years ago. He has found a strong market for the signs among clients such as the local hospital, community college, strip malls, and other places.
He doesn’t manufacture the signs himself. When he makes a sale, he places an order with the sign manufacturer in California; when it arrives, he hires a local sign installer to put it up.
“The digital billboard part of the business is growing well,” Schwartz says. “That’s where I’m spending all my time.”
Schwartz says he is open to selling the first two divisions, or the whole company. If a buyer would like the digital billboard division, he would like an employment agreement to stay on and continue growing that business.
A sale would include the assets of the business, such as two KIP printers that are paid off, a delivery vehicle, and of course the client relationships. Schwartz and his wife own the building, but he would like to keep that and lease it back to the new owner (if the owner wants to keep the business in that location). He has four employees, and feels that a new owner would most likely want to keep on at least the employee who runs the color division.
Interested? Contact Schwartz via email at bradley9192@gmail.com