Ortwein Sign has been designing, manufacturing and installing signage that has defined Chattanooga
Ortwein Sign has been designing, manufacturing and installing signage that has defined Chattanooga
Ortwein Sign has been designing, manufacturing and installing signage that has defined Chattanooga
Ortwein Sign has been designing, manufacturing and installing signage that has defined Chattanooga
Much has been written in the past few years about the reinventing of Chattanooga. What once was called one of the filthiest cities in America during the 1960’s now enjoys one of the nation’s best reputations as a city for businesses, both large and small, the arts and families.
A great amount of effort has been exerted to bring people back to town from a consumer and residential standpoint to kindle the resurgence of the city, Many things have and continue to occur such as the building of affordable housing, the opening of essential stores for groceries, pharmacy, and other household sustaining products as well as the creation of a sense of community in the downtown area. However it isn’t enough just to provide appropriate functions of a community, function has to be made appealing in its design. You have to wrap this function in its own ambiance, its unique community style.
One local company has played a significant role for nearly a century in helping Chattanooga leaders and business owners create and recreate this special community ambiance. Ortwein Sign has been designing, manufacturing and installing signage that has defined our great city for much longer than most of us have been residents.
“Ortwein Sign has built and maintained some of the great landmarks in the downtown area such as the ChooChoo and Tivoli, long before many of those frequenting the downtown area were even born,” said Jim Teal, vice president, Ortwein Sign. “Such a great heritage motivates our craftsmen to continue putting their own mark on this wonderful city. Most people don’t realize that we help design and supply our clients with all their exterior branding elements such as awnings, lighting as well as their actual signage. First impressions matter and we aim to help each client and the city of Chattanooga make that first impression an attractive one.”
Ortwein continues to build on this heritage by providing custom crafted elements for the wayfinding in Chattanooga’s River Park, the Block, the Tennessee Aquarium, the Majestic 12, Blue Water, Sticky Fingers, World of Beer and Rock/Creek to name a few.
If you are a metro Chattanooga resident you can’t help but feel good about what is going on in Chattanooga. It’s great to see city leaders, non-profits and for profit organizations come together and work diligently to make our city a great place to visit and live. The surprising thing for me was, who would have thought that a sign company could play such a critical role in creating the unique community ambiance of our city. Once you speak with the craftsmen of Ortwein Sign you gain a better understanding. They see themselves as artist and their work as art. It’s more than a sign to them. I don’t know about you, but I feel better knowing that there is a local company working with our city leaders and developers to create and protect the ambiance of our community; one that sees their work as that of an artist versus one that just wants to put a rectangle on a pole and light it up.
About the Author: Terry Massey is managing partner of AmeriStride, a business growth and performance management firm located in Chattanooga. He enjoys writing about small business success in the area.