Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Happy Birthday

INNERFACE is 40! 
Though for some of us, our personal 40th might be a distant memory,  tradition has it as a time for reflection-a chance to look around and assess things.  So, let’s take a look at INNERFACE. 
The outside
INNERFACE has been all over the place.  We’re in all 50 states, and the US territories.  We have completed projects in Europe, Asia, South and Central America, Canada, the Middle East and the Pacific Rim. 
We’ve installed signs using helicopters, rappelled off of the edge of a building from 150’ above the ground to attach 6’ tall individual letters, and poured concrete sign bases big enough to support a 2 story building.  As part of a brand rollout, we’ve supplied a 200’ by 50’ banner and, when a ribbon was cut, our client’s new logo was unfurled in seconds on the face of a new 12 story tower. 
We’ve built and installed signs that can be seen from freeways, bridges, overpasses, and on approach to international airports.  We’ve changed the identity of a hospital system overnight, and rescued monument signs from shipping depots so that we could drive them 200 miles in a rented truck for installation before a 9AM ribbon cutting.  Sometimes it seems hard to believe we started manufacturing interior signs first…
The inside
Our interior systems have a lot to say, too.  With our 6 different standard product lines and a base of from 60 to 85 modules for each line, we’ve got over 400 different off-the shelf products.  And those products have as many as 20 different colors and finishes, which offers 1200 different possible combinations. 
Each sign has 6-12 different parts.  Are you still with me?  That means, in round numbers, we have roughly 48,000 different basic interior sign parts.  And that’s not even counting details like typestyle, photographic backgrounds, oversized backplates…and custom signs, which we document and log into our system for future reorders!
The other side
We’ve talked about what we do.  But the most interesting part of our story is who we are.  We currently have 119 employees.  53 of us have been with the company for more than 10 years!  We represent over a dozen nationalities, including first-generation immigrants from Vietnam, Cambodia, Haiti, Afghanistan, and Korea.  45% of us are women, 55% men.  Husbands, wives, and children of employees have joined us over the years-we currently have a mother and son working in Atlanta, and a third generation just attended the Christmas party!  Several employees have worked with us for most of their careers (including myself).
A lot can happen in 40 years.  And here’s to 40 more!