January 14, 2021
The GNWT’s newest contribution for manufacturing is going to one of the North’s longest-standing manufacturers: Poison Graphics in Hay River.
Specializing in high-visibility traffic and safety signs since 1996, Poison Graphics has established itself as a “go-to” supplier of custom-manufactured advertising and industrial signs for government and private sector clients across the country. You can find Poison signs in place throughout the North – and from BC to New Brunswick. Among the company’s ever-expanding list of clients is Canada’s TransCanada trail.
Now, Poison’s Owner/Operator Derek Mundy says securing the GNWT’s inaugural $100k Manufacturing Innovation and Technology Contribution means his company can take another step forward.
The two-year pilot investment initiative was introduced in the Northwest Territories Manufacturing Strategy to assist manufacturers to invest in “technology aimed at reducing costs or improving productivity and resulting in increased local employment.”
2019-2024 Northwest Territories Manufacturing Strategy
With the GNWT’s support, Derek is investing in a new HP R200 Latex Printer which will allow Poison Graphics to print directly onto a variety of surfaces – but notably cardboard.
“In particular, we will be able to offer packaging and displays that will allow entrepreneurs to get their products to market – and establish in store displays for their products,” he says.
With an alternative to the standard practice of cutting and attaching vinyl to create signs, Derek is also looking forward to less industrial waste; reduced production costs and a faster turn- around time for his clients.
“We’ll be able to print larger signs – and faster. Our capacity is going to go from four sheets an hour to 28 sheets an hour.”
Spurred in part by the government- supported investment in a latex printer, Poison Graphic s is also set to take delivery on a new CNC Cutting Machine.
CNC cutting (its stands for Computer Numerical Control) is the heart of Poison’s manufacturing businesses. It is a computer guided tool capable of cutting anything from aluminum to moose hide without a manual operator.
Poison’s new model, which in Derek’s words, is the “Ferrari of CNC machines” combined with the increased printing capacity, promises to position Poison Graphics for an exciting new future – one that he hopes will mean new and expanded sales for his company and as many as 10 new jobs in the Hay River manufacturing sector.
ITI’s investment in the NWT’s manufacturing sector is also serving to advance the GNWT’s mandate commitments to: Increase economic diversification by supporting growth in non-extractive sectors; and Increase employment in small communities.