Twenty years of signage that holds up

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Overview

Fitzpatrick Woolmer Design & Production (FWDP) manufactures signage for landmarks, attractions, nature reserves, and public information schemes across the UK. Their clients include the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, and their signs sit in places where the public will see them every day, often for years, in all weathers.

For nearly two decades, Custom Wytelyne has been a part of how those signs get made. Sign blanks come in to be degreased and powder coated, go back to FWDP for screen printing, and return for an anti-graffiti clear coat that locks the print in and stands up to whatever the public throws at it. Most days, there is a delivery or collection running between the two sites.

It is a working relationship built on the unglamorous stuff: consistent finish, predictable turnaround, and a willingness to fit around a two-stage production process that other powder coaters would push back on.

Key results

• A partnership of more than 20 years, started when FWDP’s previous powder coater closed and has continued through several trials of alternative suppliers
• Near-daily collection and delivery between sites, integrated into FWDP’s production schedule
• A two-stage coating workflow (base coat, then anti-graffiti clear coat over screen-printed graphics) handled as a routine part of the service
• A finish that survives long-term outdoor public exposure on signs for the RSPB and other landmark and attraction clients

On top of that, FWDP need a supplier who will move parts back and forth through a two-stage process without it becoming a logistical or commercial problem.

Client perspective

Client: Fitzpatrick Woolmer Design & Production

“We originally started using Custom Wytelyne over 15 years ago when our previous powder coater was forced to close due to health and safety issues. At the time, we needed a reliable replacement quickly, and Martin stepped in and delivered.

Over the years, we’ve run other powder coaters in parallel and trialled several alternatives on smaller orders. In every case, we’ve come back to you, either because of inconsistent quality, missed lead times, or service issues elsewhere.

The reason we continue to use Custom Wytelyne is straightforward:

• Consistent finish quality across batches
• Reasonable turnaround times
• Good communication and responsiveness when issues arise
• A willingness to work with us on a wide variety of signage projects

For us, powder coating is a critical part of producing high-quality signage, and the finish is often the first thing our customers see. Consistency and reliability really matter, and we know that when parts go to you, they’ll come back right.”

Jim Whitton, Production Manager, Fitzpatrick Woolmer

Project specifications

Application: Outdoor signage for landmarks, attractions, nature reserves and public information schemes

Material: Sheet metal sign blanks (primarily aluminium and steel substrates)

Coating system: Degrease and pre-treatment, base powder coat, anti-graffiti clear coat applied over screen-printed graphics

The challenge

Signage is a finish-first product. Whatever a sign is made from, the public sees the coating before anything else, and the coating is what has to last. For FWDP, that means three things have to be true at once:

• The base coat has to be consistent batch after batch, because matching panels and sign families need to look like they belong together, regardless of when they were made.
• The coating has to accept screen printing reliably, because the graphic layer is applied after the base coat and before the protective clear coat.
• The final anti-graffiti clear coat has to genuinely do its job. A sign that needs replacing every time someone takes a marker pen to it is a sign that costs the end client far more than the coating ever saved.

On top of that, FWDP need a supplier who will move parts back and forth through a two-stage process without it becoming a logistical or commercial problem.

How powder coating delivers results

Every FWDP job starts the same way, with a thorough degrease to remove the oils and contaminants picked up during fabrication, followed by pre-treatment to give the powder something to bond to properly. That groundwork is what keeps the finish consistent across thousands of panels over twenty years of work.

The base coat itself is matched to the colour the project calls for, applied at controlled film thickness, and cured to specification. Once back from screen printing, panels return for the anti-graffiti clear coat. This is a top layer that lets cleaning agents and solvents lift surface markings without damaging the print or the base coat underneath.

The whole workflow is set up around the fact that FWDP need parts to come back right the first time. Rework is expensive on every side, and signs that come off the line wrong hold up the rest of the production schedule. Getting it right first time, every time, is what the relationship is built on.

Real-world performance

The clearest evidence of how this finish performs is in the field. RSPB signs and the wider range of FWDP’s work sit outdoors year-round on coastal reserves, in woodlands, along visitor trails, and in busy public spaces. They take direct sunlight, salt air, rain, frost, and the occasional close encounter with a marker pen or sticker. Twenty years of repeat orders is the test result that matters most, because it means that every sign that goes out is one that has to perform, and the work keeps coming.

The consultative partnership

A relationship that runs daily for two decades thrives because both sides are willing to pick up the phone, raise an issue early, and work it through. When something needs a different approach, such as a new substrate, an unusual sign format, or a tighter deadline tied to a client install, Custom Wytelyne’s team treats it as a problem to solve.

That goes both ways. Jim’s note that Custom Wytelyne is responsive when issues arise is the part that is hardest to win and easiest to lose. It is also the part that keeps work moving when the alternative would be a panicked rework on a Friday afternoon.

Conclusion

Some case studies are about one heroic project. This one is about thousands of unremarkable days that just run well. Fitzpatrick Woolmer needs signage that looks right when it goes up and still looks right years later, and they need a coating partner who will fit around how they work rather than dictating terms. Custom Wytelyne has been doing that since before most of the current shop floor was here, and the vans still come and go most days of the week.