Sure Signs

It is often said what goes around, comes around. And yet nobody was more surprised than Mark Tetreault when he returned to the company that once employed him in his early twenties, Sure Sign Inc., to be its Chief Executive Officer. "I worked here 10 years ago as the production manager for about four years," Mark says. "I went off and grew my business career and now I am back as of early spring this year as CEO of the company. If you had told my 23-year-old self that I was going to run the company one day, I for sure would have had a laugh." Sure Sign Inc started with two owners - Tom Shickler and Kevin Moore. Tom bought out Kevin last year and then retired, hiring Mark to run the show. "It feels very surreal, but it also feels like home," Mark says. "I have loved this business for years. Even in my absence, I was a long-term customer. I did marketing for a number of years and it really does feel like coming home. I am very happy. It works and feels right."

Sure Signs Inc. prides itself on being a one-stop-shop. "We do everything to do with signs under one roof." Mark and his team can handle everything from design to production to fabrication, including custom fabrication, to installation. "We also do vehicle wraps and boat wraps, which are almost their own business under the same roof. Often customers are looking to get signs upgraded, so we have done away with bulbs and we use LED resurfacing now. There is the whole service end of things, too. We pride ourselves on not outsourcing our work. We design it in-house with our customers and it gets produced in the back shop."

Mark says one of the biggest challenges Sure Signs faces is turnaround time. "Some customers want to get stuff going right away or they are opening a new business and need things right now," Mark says. "We pride ourselves on being experts in pivoting; we are very quick to shuffle the deck and see what we can do to help. Our customers are primarily business owners, so anticipating their needs and being able to work with them on budgets and different solutions for what they need helps us stay a cut above."In reorganizing Sure Signs, Mark said one of his top priorities was streamlining customer service. "We are much more digitally organized," Mark says. "We also invested in new infrastructure." For the first time in the company's history, Sure Signs has a full fleet of vehicles which includes a crane, bucket truck, and a van with a bucket. "We have never been more equipped to serve our clients." Mark, who is 39 years old, says he is delighted to be back with Sure Signs and loves being able to service the community. "The fact that we offer everything under one roof and also that we are all from Sarnia - born and raised - is something that makes us proud."