philm

I'm willing to stand corrected on my opinion, but when this post starts out with requests to ask questions that will "silence the room" and to have someone video the questions and responses it implies that the writer's goal is to ambush the national panel with "gotchya" questions. I don't even understand the questions regarding contractor licenses. What do you care if a national has a license in a specific state or not. My company, AGI, has contractor's licenses in many states, but not all. Some states have reciprocal agreeements with neighboring states. I don't know of any sign company that holds a class A contractors license in every state. However, not every sign project requires a class A license so nationals are not committing an illegal act by contracting with a local sub. Besides, the license issue typically pertains to work done on site, not work done at a manufacturing facility located in another state. As a national, my impression of the original post is that it reads like the same old "Us vs Them." I started working for AGI before some of you were even born (1980) and I can give you hundreds of horror stories about local installers. I think the scheduled discussion at ISA is a great idea, but I hope it will be a friendly exchange of give and take and will be a learning experience for both the nationals and the locals. However, if some locals are looking to ask (and video) gotcha questions, then I don't hold out much hope for a good exchange of ideas.

Same old negative mantra this site has become known for; National companies = BAD, Smaller, Local companies = GOOD!

We mostly use a company out of Nashville for all states; Ross Bryan Associates. They specialize in signs and they are licensed in all states, including New York. Ask for Elizabeth Surface (she is the sign expert). 615-329-1300. Good luck. - Phil Morgan - AGI