Hello, readers!

Welcome back to Meet the Makers, a series that takes a playful, engaging approach to showcasing the personalities and expertise of sign pros while staying rooted in the industry.

This week, we are featuring Nick Hansen, president and CEO of Hansen Signs. With more than 25 years of experience in the signage industry, Hansen has transformed his family’s operation of fewer than 10 employees into a nationally recognized leader and trusted partner for major brands with two locations and over 100 people on staff. Drawing on his design, marketing, and leadership background, he continues to drive innovation and growth while fostering a collaborative team culture.

Deeply committed to the future of the sign industry, Hansen dedicates much of his time to mentoring the next generation of professionals through education and hands-on training. Outside of work, he channels his boundless energy into Ironman races and motorsports events—and most importantly, into spending quality time with his three daughters. Guided by the company’s mantra, “Listen, Understand, Adapt, Evolve,” Hansen’s approach to business reflects the same balance of curiosity, creativity, and continuous improvement that defines his personal life.

Here are his responses to our five offbeat questions.

What’s your sign superpower?

Custom solutions to complex scenarios. With many years of experience growing up in the industry, I’ve had the opportunity to see a lot of different scenarios. As long as I stay curious, creative, and open-minded to possibilities, there always seems to be something to learn every day. This has allowed me to be well-positioned to quickly and efficiently design and develop unique solutions to challenges that best serve the end-user, allowing us to be best positioned for success together.

What’s the most challenging project you’ve worked on?

A rollout of 92 locations in a three-month window for the Tim Hortons 5th car program in 2013. Still brings me back to memories of having three crews logistically all over Atlantic Canada. We purchased and employed two auger trucks and an excavator with a rock breaker, and set up three certified electrical crews with vans and a flat deck transport truck with operators specifically to deliver the individual precast bases to each site and maintain, at the height of the project, a cadence of three locations per day, five days per week.

We managed the surveys, removal, electrical, pavement, concrete and curbing, excavation, installation, landscaping, and even the final electrical inspection, all within our own resources. It was not uncommon that we ran into rock and worked well into the early hours of the morning, with sometimes hours of travel to the next location the next day. We never fell behind a 1-day timeline for each location, with 100 per cent success on a 6 a.m. opening each day. 

What’s a favourite sign or sign system you’ve created?

Our version of the LED luminaire “Boomerang” that we use for A&W locations. With a custom bent aluminum cabinet and cap system, we have developed a modular system that is easy to install and creates a huge impact on our clients’ building exposure.

Another is our custom proprietary LED Retrofit system, which is simple, efficient, and inexpensive to employ. It has served to position us as a low-cost leader in this area and gets us in the door with some major brands as a stepping stone to future business. One of my favourites is the Wildcats Dressing room in Moncton, N.B.

If signage could talk, what’s the funniest thing a sign has ever ‘said’ to you?

“I don’t want to come down” ;). I’m not sure if it is “funny,” but so many beautiful signs have to come down, and some make it extra hard. It’s possible that they just don’t want to be taken out of service.

What’s the one piece of signage advice you wish everyone knew?

Not to take the client’s suggestion to what they think they need.

I’m a firm believer in adding value. We get paid for the value we create. We don’t ask the client what they want; we instead ask a series of questions designed to determine what they need and develop a solution that meets those needs. This allows us to go above and beyond the request and really utilize our many years of experience and creativity to develop the best sign experience for the application.