By Michelle Ma ST.
CLOUD TIMES
Published: August 27. 2006 12:43AM
FALCON HEIGHTS — Minnesota State Fairgoers just need to
look down as they enter the fair to see a new Waite Park advertising
product — sidewalk signs.
Employees of SignWalk in Waite Park traveled to the state fairgrounds
in Falcon Heights last week to install light-purple state fair
welcome signs on the ground at each of the 24 entrances.
The signs can be pasted to concrete, tar, steel and wood with
a special glue and will stay for up to five years, employees said.
SignWalk is the first company to develop a sign product that
sticks long-term to the ground's rough surfaces and withstands
weather, walking and driving wear-and-tear, said Shawn Peck, who
works in sales and marketing. Other companies have created signs
to stick short-term to the ground, he said. It took about four
years of research and testing before the company's signs were
ready to go.
"It's something new and exciting," said Lonnie Folsom,
president of SignWalk and BlackSigns.com, which manufactures black
and neon portable signs seen in the St. Cloud area and nationwide.
Folsom said he's always looking for something new and found his
next project in sidewalk signs.
Several professional sports teams and stadiums, gas-station chains
and businesses, both local and nationwide, have inquired about
the signs, Folsom said.
An expected 1.65 million people will walk across the fair-entrance
signs over 12 days this summer, said Brienna Schuette, fair spokeswoman.
The 6-foot by 4-foot oval welcome signs are the company's biggest
project since it applied its first signs six months ago. After
the state fair signs were installed, a representative from 3M
met Tuesday with SignWalk staff in Waite Park to show interest,
Peck said.
It's exciting to see which companies inquire about the signs
day to day, he said.
Right now, more advertisers want to be featured on the street
signs than there are property owners who will paste them on their
property, Peck said.
SignWalk soon will move to a new location to expand from BlackSigns.com.
NEWS:
SignWalk takes care of