Founded on honest company standards and top-notch products…

Wait wait wait…. You have heard this speech from everyone out there. Want to know what sets Sign-A-Rama, Metro Detroit apart from the rest?

• We LOVE a challenge! Custom anything, that is what gets us up in the morning!
• Our team is made up with Metro Detroits FINEST Sign staff available… Period.
• Our management team alone has over fifty years of combined sign knowledge!
• Your sign WILL be perfect… that is just how we do things.
• Not only will our sales team be on time… but they actually SHOW UP for appointments!
• We love crazy, odd, strange projects… they make GREAT stories to tell later!

So with all this setting us apart, why just “buy a sign” when we can promise to make it an experience to remember? Some say there are two sides to every story…

At Sign-A-Rama they couldn’t be more correct! 

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A great man by the name of Ed Progar (Company Founder) once stopped for lunch across the street from a Sign-A-Rama in Dearborn and thought to himself “I could really use a quick sign for a presentation at the office. He walked in and was absolutely amazed at the Sign-A-Rama concept. From start to finish the process was streamlined and very efficient. He began asking about franchise opportunities in the Detroit market.

Ed and his wife Joann had raised an amazing family in Livonia, all children to be very proud of. Deep inside Ed had the entrepreneurial itch that he just couldn’t avoid. Together they made the decision in November of 1998 to retire as an engineer from Ford Motor Company and go into business for themselves. They proudly opened up one of the original Sign-A-Rama locations in Michigan, based in Madison Heights. This is where the foundation for an incredibly customer service driven sign company was laid. Both Ed and Joann firmly believed (and imparted on their staff) that if you take care of customers they will take care of you. They couldn’t be any more correct!

At the same time in 1998 an enthusiastic and energetic man by the name of Bob Chapa had just moved to Madison Heights to finish his college degree in Architecture. While on the way home from a late night class at Lawrence Technological University he passed by a new sign company with a shiny red “Now Hiring” sign in the window. This sign caught his eye for two reasons… One, it was across the street from the apartment he had just moved into. Two, it was a SIGN company. Bob had sworn that he was done with signs, in fact it was the last place he wanted to work through college. Something drew him in anyway.

There is a little more back story here… Bob Chapa had actually grown up in a family owned Sign Company based in Waterford Michigan for most of his childhood. His parents Bob and Marci Chapa had built a very successful business and had not only instilled the value of hard work, but also indirectly taught him all the core basics of the sign business. From vinyl production to large scale fabrication he had spent years working in the family business in just about every aspect of the company. But this led to the tough decision, Bob was absolutely passionate about pursuing his dreams of becoming an Architect. In fact, it was all he ever wanted to do. Dare he walk in the door and ask for a job application when he was focusing so hard to move his life into another direction?

The obvious answer was yes, and that was a night that changed not only his life… but that of Sign-A-Rama Madison Heights.

Ed and Bob hit it off right away, an immediate comfort zone for the two of them. In fact, Bob stayed with Ed late into the night helping to get production caught up. Ed and Joann hired Bob that night as the first production person in their new business. His “can-do” attitude and their service-driven mentality made for a great team.

As a few years passed and the business began to grow, Bob worked through college and eventually did receive his Architecture degree. That is when the tough decision was really in front of him. About to get married, the decision to go off in search of an Architecture position or take a new job offer from Ed as the company Operations Manager. Running the company was an exciting opportunity, and perhaps the best decision Bob ever made (aside from that wedding!).