United Ink Collaborates With Local Union for Sign Project

AN ILLINOIS TRADE union’s desire to increase their visibility in the community led to a collaboration that employed various local union trades and resulted in an evocative, community-oriented sign.

Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 101 (Belleville, IL) has provided union trades in plumbing, pipefitting and HVAC in the Metro East Illinois region for over a century. The union’s building was easily overlooked, however, due to its lack of signage on a busy 50 mph road.

In stepped United Ink (Belleville, IL), a Watchfire sign company partner. “United Ink has been our go-to graphics partner for years,” says Daniel McKenna, business manager, financial secretary and treasurer for Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 101. “They’re local, reliable and we’ve built a solid working relationship with them over time, so they were the natural choice for this project.”

United Ink designed the sign cabinets in Adobe Illustrator, while the metal posts and frame — styled after water pipes with turning valves and a pair of monkey wrenches on top — were handled by the union through team collaboration. “We knew from the start we wanted more than just another LED sign — it needed to tell our story,” McKenna notes. “That’s where using actual pipe elements came in. We wanted to build something that shows who we are and what we do, right there in the structure itself.”

The signshop then crafted the single-faced cabinets using 1.5-in. aluminum retainers, 3/16-in. ACRYLITE Extruded Acrylic Faces and 3M 3630 Bristol Blue Translucent Vinyl — a color that nearly perfectly matched that of the building’s, according to Tim Miesner, project manager at United Ink. The shop assembled the cabinets using their Miller welder, cut vinyl on their Graphtec plotter and acrylic with a Speedy Cut Panel Saw, then applied vinyl to acrylic using a CWT application table.

Meanwhile, the union worked on their end of fabrication in their weld shop using Miller Shopmaster equipment. They built the structure from 10-in. Schedule 40 steel pipes with two 10-in. welded 90-degree fittings, plus 10-in. weld flanges and two 10-in. gate valves to add stability between the posts. “To top it off, we used two donated 3-ft. pipe wrenches, crossed in an X-formation between the valves, which really highlights our trade and identity,” McKenna says. Apprentices worked on the project as part of their training, and some journeymen volunteered on weekends for the more detailed components. A union painter gave the structure a professional finish once it was completed.

The cabinets are lit with Hanley white LEDs and incorporate a photocell, with power supplies, retainers and backer panels painted black in Matthews Paint. Watchfire Signs (Danville, IL) met with United Ink on site during the concept stage to help determine which display would achieve maximum visibility for the location, Meisner says. Messages rotate every 14 seconds on the digital displays, showing member logos, contact information and available services in the area.

Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 101 also handled the installation of the posts and frames, while United Ink mounted the cabinets and Watchfire displays with the help of a local union crane service. The union’s team, consisting of McKenna, their training coordinator and business agent, handled setup and installed the bracing for the Watchfire displays and lighting. They brought in a local contractor to bore under the parking lot and run power through one of the legs, tucking all of the electrical wiring inside the square iron mounting cross bars to give the sign a clean, professional look.

The union was happy with the collaboration and final result. “This sign is more than just a marker — it’s a statement,” McKenna says. “Since moving into this building in 2010, we’ve only had signage on the building itself. Erecting this standalone piece during our 125th anniversary makes it that much more meaningful. It’s a lasting symbol of our pride in our trade and our connection to the community.”

“The Union collaboration not only rendered a beautiful final product, it also reinstated the importance of Union Brotherhood,” Meisner adds. “The underlying tone throughout the project was, ‘as one we can’t do it all; collectively there’s nothing we can’t achieve.’”