Author Archive

We’re sure that you are as keen as we are to avoid handing the Chancellor any more of your hard-earned cash than is absolutely necessary. That’s why we’re urging potential customers who might not be VAT registered, and are about to place an order, to act now. As you will be aware on 01/01/2010, the current reduced rate of 15% will revert to the previous, higher rate of 17.5%

If you are not VAT registered you are unable to reclaim VAT incurred on purchases and, as a result of this, after 01/01/2010 the same item will inevitably cost you 2.5% more than it would today! The good news is that there is still time, (just), to take advantage of the reduced rate. Any orders invoiced before 01/01/2010 will be subject to VAT at the reduced rate.

Remember that in order to qualify for the lower rate of VAT, work needs to be invoiced before the holiday.
- Mike Barnes, Director

So if you’re thinking of ordering, email us today at sales@greenbarnes.co.uk and we’ll get the job into production immediately ensuring that you beat the deadline. For further inspiration you can browse our website or, in the event of any queries, call us as soon as possible and we’ll do all that we can to ensure that you don’t miss out.

Our Sales Department closes for the Christmas break at lunchtime on Thursday 24th December and reopens on Monday 4th January. Remember that in order to qualify for the lower rate of VAT, work needs to be invoiced before the holiday. We regret that we will be unable to backdate invoices once the increase has occurred.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Top: Burgess Square signage in stainless steel. Bottom: Bespoke oak-framed chalk board for The Old Hall Bookshop

A quick glance at our “Recent Projects Map” immediately reveals the nationwide coverage achieved by Greenbarnes products. However, three very different signage jobs, coincidentally all undertaken within the last 3 months in our home town of Brackley, Northants, have combined to provide a useful showcase of the company’s diversity.

First to be completed was a project for developer Swan Hill Homes Ltd in connection with the town’s new Burgess Square development. The signs, in brushed stainless steel with chemically etched graphics, are mounted between bollards at the front edge of the site to identify the newly created space and to delineate it from the existing Market Place.

Immediately opposite the Burgess Square project, but a world away in style, a bespoke oak-framed chalk board for our local independent book shop demonstrates the company’s skills in more traditional areas of sign-making. The Old Hall Bookshop occupies elegant Georgian premises set back from the High Street behind a garden area and was looking for a way to raise its profile by means of getting a variable message to passers-by. The railing-mounted board can be removed for safe storage at night.

Last but not least was a brace of powder-coated aluminium “tray” type signs with computer-cut vinyl graphics for life insurance specialists Pulse Insurance Ltd who have recently opened new premises in the town.

If you are considering any signage projects, why not contact our Sales Department for a no-obligation quotation.

Solar-powered notice board wall-mounted version

Greenbarnes have turned to solar-power for the latest additions to our range of external aluminium notice boards and display cases. With the emphasis currently being placed on implementing environmentally responsible solutions this is bound to appeal to a wide body of users, not least local authorities.

The benefits however are not confined to the product’s green credentials; the lack of need for a mains power supply not only makes installation significantly cheaper but also allows illumination in areas where this would previously have been impractical. Hence, a wide range of users including churches, schools and parish councils are now able to double the effectiveness of their message by getting it across day and night.

Motion sensors and a timing mechanism ensure that lighting is active on only when people are in close proximity, hence maximising battery life. For more information download an information sheet or contact our Sales Department via email or use our contact form on this site.

Before and after photos of a Greenbarnes installation at Chipping Warden, Northants.

Our recently introduced nationwide installation service is off to a flying start with jobs in a variety of locations already completed and many more quoted for.

As a manufacturer, we have always done everything possible to ensure that our products are simple to install and that they are supplied with full instructions to enable end users or their chosen contractors to undertake the work.

Whilst the use of such local contractors continues to be the method of choice for many of our clients, recently we have become aware of a growing demand for a one stop “supply and fix” service from customers who are either unable to source their own contractor, or who would prefer to see both the manufacturing and installation aspects of the project handled as one.

After careful evaluation, we believe that we have found ideal partners in the form of specialist sign installation company CSIM, who will be undertaking installations on our behalf in England and Wales, and Edinburgh-based Colinton Arts who will offer a similar service in Scotland.

Greenbarnes were very helpful in assisting us to find the right notice board for our needs. Delivery and installation were on time and the quality of the board is excellent.
- Lorraine Stanley of Chipping Warden Parish Council

For further details and costings, please contact our Sales Department

A-Max cases used in Ely Cathedral wayfinding project

We are delighted to be able to report that our A-Max aluminium display cases were recently specified as part of a signage project for Ely Cathedral.

Designers Maddison Graphic were commissioned by the cathedral Architects, Purcell Miller Tritton, and the Dean & Chapter at Ely Cathedral to design replacement wayfinding and information panels. The signs are positioned at seven entrances to the cathedral precinct, the idea being that any visitor to the cathedral would pass one of them. Three of the information panels are abutted by a second poster case containing notices.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT ELY CATHEDRAL WAYFINDING PROJECT

Keep in touch using RSS and email

We update our brochures to reflect the current market conditions and requirements once or twice a year and you can download the latest by going to the relevant product page. However, many people like to order high quality printed versions of the brochures directly from us with a view to presenting them to the organisation, group, team, director or other person who gives the final go-ahead on a project!

READ MORE ABOUT KEEPING UP WITH PRODUCTS

New website features

As you may have noticed, we have a new website to enhance both your experience as a customer and to help us assist you in finding the right product. We’ve produced a website with some interesting features for you to experience - in future postings we will run through some more of these technologies in detail. For the moment here is a summary:

READ ABOUT THE NEW FEATURES

SN board in Accoya with black stain finish

Greenbarnes are pleased to announce that our extensive range of traditional-looking timber notice boards are now available in Accoya®, a ground-breaking new material. Accoya® is the result of more than 75 years of research and development on wood acetylation. It is a modified wood produced using a patented process that adapts sustainably grown softwoods by increasing the amount of acetyl molecules present in the wood.

Accoya® contains 20 per cent acetyl molecules, compared to the 4 per cent found in oak and 2 per cent in pine. It is an extensively researched and proven “new wood species” with performance properties that match or exceed those of the very best tropical hardwoods and can be used with absolute confidence in external applications.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE

A selection of our bollards

Eco Bollards and Eco Posts are a natural extension of Greenbarnes longstanding commitment to providing street furniture manufactured from recycled plastics. Available in a range of designs and sizes, these offer the perfect compliment to our existing Heavy-duty Man-made Timber range of notice boards.

Budget poster case

Budget Poster Cases have been introduced to fill a niche not previously catered for within our already extensive range of aluminium notice boards and display cases. Available in 3 standard sizes, A2 – A4, Budget cases are suitable for display of such items as menus and timetables and offer a basic level of specification without compromise on build quality.