Wednesday, 15 Jul 2015 10:52 GMT

Nova continues expansion march

One of the sign industry’s major success stories has marked a key milestone in its story of ongoing expansion, with staff at Bristol-based Nova Aluminium Systems celebrating its ten-year anniversary.

Having begun life in 2005 with just four employees, the company now boasts a workforce of more than 50 staff, following a decade-long period of sustained growth. The original quartet remain with the company, while 60 percent of the current Nova workforce gave been with the company for more than six years.

Paul Vickery, director of Nova, looks back over the past decade, suggesting that the company has more than lived up to the Latin origins of its name.

“The brand name ‘Nova’ means ‘new’ in Latin, which seemed very apt when we launched our new adventure,” Vickery explains, adding: “Thanks to our fresh approach to product development and service we have been steadily growing market share, which has been matched by careful investment back into the company.

“At the beginning we were operating from one main headquarters building which housed our offices, workshops and some warehousing which also included a satellite unit nearby. We still work from the main building but we have had to expand into five satellite units in order to meet our current demand.”

While workforce and floorspace has expanded over time, Nova has also seen its fleet of vehicles grow from one, second-hand Mercedes sprinter van to three brand-new sprinter vans and two specially commissioned curtain-sided trucks.

Any successful business understands that consistently reliable delivery of product is just as important as any other facet of its service, and that’s why we invested in our own delivery vehicles and drivers”

“Any successful business understands that consistently reliable delivery of product is just as important as any other facet of its service, and that’s why we invested in our own delivery vehicles and drivers,” Vickery says, adding: “You can provide the greatest product in the world but if it regularly arrives late or broken you’ve lost a customer.”

Vickery also highlights how Nova has been able to keep up with the changing demands of the industry, explaining how its products have evolved to offer effective solutions in the modern market.

He adds: “The Nova business model is quite simple—in a perfect world we would satisfy our customers every time. But this is the real world and things can go wrong. When that happens, which is rarely, we believe in dealing with the problem with the same energy and enthusiasm we put into gaining the sale, in fact more.

“Customers remember when a problem is dealt with quickly and easily, we believe they appreciate the professionalism involved in a supplier accepting when it’s in the wrong and putting things right.

“Over the next ten years digital signage will gain more momentum. We embrace the new and will always ensure that whatever signage developments come around the corner in the future, Nova will have the perfect aluminium system to house them.”
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