Reid Thorburn, owner of Coast Signs, is the third generation in the sign business. His grandfather, Bill Bayliss, started Bayliss Neon in Victoria almost a hundred years ago, and Reid grew up with his father operating a home-based sign business in Nanaimo. In the 1980s Reid moved to Calgary and worked for Neon Products, a Jim Pattison Sign Company. Then he moved back to his home town of Nanaimo to raise his family.
After his father passed away in 1990, Reid took over running the family business as president of Devlin Electric Sign Company. He soon received his ticket as a Licensed Sign and Lighting Electrician. After many years at Devlin Signs, Reid started his own independent sign company and now brings all his varied experience to you as Coast Signs.
Marla has been married to Reid for over 30 years and started working as a bookkeeper for the sign business soon after marrying him. In Calgary, she worked on a word processor as a typist and proof-reader at the University of Calgary, and has worked on computers ever since. She’s the person that looks after the office, from graphic design and advertising to estimating and accounting.
When we’re not working, we enjoy getting outdoors and taking advantage of our mild climate and all the recreational opportunities that surround us.
Their son, Jake, is the fourth generation in the sign business. He’s trained as a welder-fabricator and now has several years of experience working on everything from signs to vehicles. Jake has a keen sense of what works and what doesn’t when it comes to signs, and can help you make the right decision for your business.
After more than 30 years in the sign business we have developed a large network of connections and associations with other sign companies and sign suppliers, who we work with to deliver the best product for the best price.
Office Documents
The business world is a very regulated place and other businesses working with us often require us to provide copies of certain documents to ensure that we are compliant with those regulations. Since this is our virtual office, we think it is appropriate to provide copies of those documents here for your reference.
Trucks
Our larger truck is a GMC 6500 with a 50′ Radocy Saturn II heavy-duty combination crane and man-lift, with a 10′ jib to extend the total reach to 60′. It has a Miller Welder-Generator and an extra large two-man bucket with welding leads to the bucket to allow for aerial welding. The bucket is also equipped with forks to facilitate lifting of some loads. The crane has a hook capacity of 3000 lbs and is also available for crane rentals.
Our smaller truck is a Ford F350 with an insulated bucket with 30′ reach. It 
doesn’t require outriggers, so has a quicker set-up time and is more convenient to use in tight parking lots.
Home-Based Business
We have found that in the electric sign business our customers have very little reason to visit our premises, since we are either working on their existing signs or deciding what new signs would be right for their location, so for the last few years we have operated as a home-based business. There are many advantages to running a home-based business, such as working with a cat on your lap or taking a break from desk work to walk the dog. Our pets are very happy that we work from home. We are well equipped, with spacious offices located on the ground level of our home, a large detached shop for fabrication and a half-acre property with plenty of parking.
Green Initiatives
The basic purpose of a sign is essentially to promote consumerism, so signs, by their very nature, would seem to be not exactly environmentally friendly. Therefore, we make every effort to reduce our carbon footprint in other ways. To start with, we build signs from quality parts so they last so long it can be measured in decades instead of years. We use the latest in energy efficient components such as LEDs, electronic ballasts and transformers to use less energy.
We diligently practice the three Rs – reduce – reuse – recycle. As a home-based business, we reduce our energy consumption in many ways, from not needing to drive to work, to saving on heating and lighting. One of our bucket trucks is operated on the job site using power from a generator and our other bucket truck can be partially operated using battery-power, so we reduce our fuel consumption as much as possible. We re-use sign components when practical and otherwise recycle everything possible, including aluminum, steel, fluorescent lamps, ballasts, transformers and other electrical parts. Our location, being so close to so many of our customers, also reduces our fuel consumption. We are even close enough to walk or ride a bike to do our banking and shop for office supplies. We are also working towards a goal of xeriscape landscaping with a yard full of drought-tolerant native plants and trees.