Shoptalk November 2017

MEMBER FOCUS
During October, SDEA Director Antony Behiels
accepted an invitation to view first hand the
company’s services and facilities.
arken will be celebrating their 70th birthday next
year, having been established in 1948 and are
well known as being the creator of the ’snap
frame’ as well as their award winning POP
displays.
Their main site is an impressive 80,000 square
foot, two building location in Newmarket - just an
hour’s train journey from Central London. With
over 100 staff on site, the facilities are a hub of
activity: from filling forecourt sign bases with
concrete to meticulously assembling POP units
ready to ship direct to store.
Above: arken’s HQ in Newmarket
AN INSIGHT IN TO DESIGN
AGENCY ARKEN POP
arken have two divisions providing Poster Display
and Bespoke Display Solutions which includes
any Special Projects, each with a design led ethos
at their core. The past five years has seen strong
growth for the company, stemming from major
contracts with brands, retailers, cosmetics
houses, media companies and, of course, trade
customers.
The 360 degree process of design, artwork,
development, delivery and installation is
complemented by their new offering of the review
stage - whereby the whole process can be
subjectively looked upon and any concerns dealt
with. A constant progressive development for the
company.
Sustainability clearly
plays a key part in
arken’s business, with a
focus on the way their
staff view ‘green’ issues
and provide a
statement of intent on
reducing environmental
impacts. Their views on
sustainable design are certainly positive,
believing that a sustainable approach can provide
unique opportunities for creative expression. For
example: perhaps using alternative materials or
alternative construction solutions so they are
transported with a smaller footprint and are
simpler to construct on site.
New product development is also a fundamental
belief in the company. Staying in touch with
retailer’s needs is essential when looking for new
products. This year alone has seen four new lines
in the company’s portfolio:
Magboard, an interchangeable pavement
sign.
Free standing six-sheet lightbox, available
single or double sided for media
messages.
Bannerview, an impactful 7m x 1m
banner display for forecourts and retail
parks.
Move-it lockable, a locking poster case
forecourt sign.
During the overview it was clear the passion Paul
Smart, Business Development Director, has for
the business and its customers, especially trade
clients who rely on arken to provide the complete
package from design to manufacture and usually
with challenging lead times.
Paul says, “Flexibility is key and we have the
processes in place that allows us to scale up or
down depending on customer needs”. In winning
contracts he continues “tell me the budget you
have in mind and we will do our level best to meet
the cost by value engineering the product design.
arken are fortunate to have existing clients that
provide the nucleus of our business, however we
wish to continue our growth plan and win new
business based on new product development,
service levels and turnaround.”
Contact:
t: 01638 565656
e: info@arken-pop.com
w: www.arken-pop.com
Above: Units being assembled in the factory
The company has an extremely strong in-house
manufacturing capability, including five large CNC
routers, a full digital and screenprinting area, nine
prototype development engineers, six CAD
engineers and a team of five designers in the
‘creative hub’.
NEW WEBSITE FOR LIGHTHOUSE DISPLAY
Lighthouse Display have a new
website! The company have made
some huge changes and invested
into an all singing and dancing
website – built entirely in-house.
In the sphere of temporary POS
there really isn’t much that they
can’t design and manufacture at
Lighthouse Display. From huge
creative theatre pieces to the
humble clip strip and everything in
between, they can do it all.
They are proud of every product that comes out of Lighthouse Display
whether it’s an industry standard unit or one that their creative team have
designed, built and artworked from the ground up.
Contact:
t: 0115 986 4677
e: shine@lighthousedisplay.com
w: www.lighthousedisplay.com
You’re invited to take a look around the new website
and see first-hand the quality and scale of their
operation. Don’t forget to sign up to their newsletter
for all future updates and news (sign-up in the
website footer)!
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