“Established in 1948, Coleman Group has over 70-years of experience within the signage industry. This experience accompanied by the investment and market knowledge of the two owners Glenn Coleman and Rod Peter has grown the company into the multi-million-dollar signage-giant that it is today.”
Our simple beginning looked very different to the Coleman Group reality we know today, without an inkling of the growth and greatness to come. It was a glint in the eye of Robert Coleman, the founder of today’s Coleman Group, before we had the intelligent technology, we have presently to guide the way.
The Origin Story Of A Signage Company
Robert Coleman created a simple business of hand-painted signage in 1948 called R.B. Coleman Signs Pty Ltd. This establishment was trusted by many to create shopfront and billboard paintings, sports event advertising and vehicle decoration. Without the accessibility, let alone the desire for digital printing as a means to construct signage, a great deal of pride and effort went into the hand-painted signs that were created by R.B. Coleman Signs.
Robert Coleman passed his business down to his son, Bruce Coleman, who then went on to rebrand the signage company as ‘Coleman Signs’ and purchase one of the first ever computerised vinyl cutters. This ultimately changed the signage industry and the trajectory of Coleman Signs. In 1994, the first printer owned by Coleman Signs came into being. It was used to print decals onto weatherex.
1997 saw the signage company step into the new world of scrolling signage units, which skyrocketed business within the sporting industry and restructured the way Coleman Signs operated on a day-to-day basis. The company saw the potential in using technology to create signage when the Melbourne Storm NRL team requested 100 units in 1999. This was Coleman Signs’ first big project for any sporting stadium.
The Making Of Coleman Group That We Know Today
Towards the end of the 1990s, Bruce handed the business down to his son Glenn who later rebranded the company as ‘Coleman Group’ with the help of the then 'Business Development Manager', Rod Peter. Coleman Group became part of the exhibition industry in the early 2000s, introducing a sister company called ‘FABframe’ in 2007. The group welcomed Rod Peter in partnership with Glenn to for the benefit of business management in 2009.
The brand went global after years of growth and created a worldwide extrusion brand called ‘REXframe’ in 2012. FABframe and REXframe now work alongside Coleman Group and have seen impressive growth over the years. More recently, Glenn and Rod have greatly expanded the use of innovative technology for their signage, including Australia’s first Large Format 3D Printer.
It is safe to say that Coleman Group has developed alongside technology, witnessing all of the phases of growth within the signage industry. From humble beginnings to great accomplishments, it is exciting to imagine the future for our beloved signage company. The evolution will continue and so will the name of Coleman Group.
