Today we’d like to introduce you to Sandy Gaitz.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Started in 1968. My Dad owned a Real Estate Company and was having trouble getting real estate yard signs. I had a friend of mine who owned a silk screen supply company and ask them to make me a silk screen so I could print them myself. Over the next years other Real Estate Brokers ask me to do theirs, and then ask me to make larger signs for tracts of land. One thing led to another and before I knew it they needed sign painters. Eventually I went after the Apartment industry and landed several of the largest apartment owners in the city. I was on the ground floor of the Houston apartment association growth spurt. Many of the people I dealt with started companies of their own, and took me with them. Since then we have diversified into Electric signs, monuments signs out of metal, granite, brick, cultures stone and stucco. We build many entry features to subdivisions, apartment projects and office buildings, some having water falls incorporated into them.
Has it been a smooth road?
Any start up is hard trying to establish yourself and your credibility. Lots of No’s to start with, persistence and not taking it personally helps. The economy is always a factor. Divorce, child custody suit bankrupted me in the late 80s. My reputation and good business relations helped me get back on my feet. A friend of mine and I started Professional Signworxs in the early 90s. He wanted out so we sold it. I stayed there for about a year and when I left it collapsed. I went to work for a friendly competitor with the understanding that what I brought to the table would turn into value added when he was ready to sell. We did find a buyer and they could never come to terms. I offered him an amount that he took. Had I gone elsewhere or started up alone again it would have diminished his business about 50 % so he took it. That company was 4d graphics and I combined the Signworx name into it and that has been what it is today after 13 years.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the 4D Signworx, LLC story. Tell us more about the business.
We are one of the oldest sign companies in Houston. 50 years in 2018. That in itself is something to be proud of. I have customers that have been with us 40 plus years. We have state of the art equipment, very skilled and experienced employees. I think we have established ourselves as the company to go to when no one else seems to be able to handle complicated projects. I was never afraid to tackle a project, this is where you get your experience from. Call it an education you are prepared to pay for. We have done many projects that others have turned down due to lack of experience. I have 40 employees some of which have been with us 30 years, many have specialized licenses and accreditation.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
Technology of course. When I got started there were no graphic computers, routers, printers, internet, fax machines, cell phones, etc. Think about that for a minute. Everything done by hand artwork, yellow page advertising, mail outs. Today a click of a button does so much. Sign painters are almost obsolete, the printing business is digital the only thing that won’t change would be installations on buildings, tall signs in the ground. The sign administration is somewhat of a hindrance. I believe in sign restrictions but some of what they come up with is not business friendly. The cost involved in getting sign permits when surveys and engineers certifications sometime cost more that the sign itself. Signs over the years have to be smaller and lower to the ground which is inflationary. They really need some experienced people outside the sign administration to work with them on obstacles and restrictions.
Contact Info:
- Address: 2022 Pech Rd. Houston Texas 77055
- Website: www.4DSignworx.com
- Phone: 713 984 2010
- Email: sgaitz@4dsignworx.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/4DSignworx/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/signworx4d
- Other: https://plus.google.com/117665703220414726102
Image Credit:
Left to Right: Russell Gaitz, Sandy Gaitz, Richard Allison, Jason Gaitz
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