Positive Signs as Grantham Business Lifts SME of the Year Award

Added by Love Business East Midlands | 19 October 2021

Staff at leading Lincolnshire sign manufacturer Viking Signs are celebrating after the company was named Midlands & East SME of the Year at the MakeUK Awards on Wednesday (13th October). 

Based in Grantham, Viking Signs is led by its Managing Director Darren Joint, who is also the Chair of the Manufacturing Board at the Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership. 

MakeUK is the manufacturers’ organisation in the UK and Wednesday’s awards dinner in Warwick was one of a number of regional events celebrating manufacturing businesses across the country. 

Having won the Midlands & East SME of the Year award, Viking Signs will now progress to the national finals. Judging will take place in early December and the winner from all five regions will be crowned at the national gala dinner in London on 27th January 2022.  

“The whole Viking team has been incredibly grateful during the last year to have been called upon to produce higher levels of output than ever before and to have been able to help thousands of other businesses across the country stay open safely with social distancing signage,” said Darren Joint, who has been Managing Director of Viking Signs since 2007. 

“To have now been also recognised by our manufacturing sector peers as an exemplar of innovation and excellence for our flexible and adaptive digital on-demand processes really is the cherry on our cake.  

“We want to help even more businesses use this methodology to react faster to changing customer demand and to reduce environmental impact and waste by only making what's required at the point of need.  

“We hope that winning the MakeUK Midlands and East SME of the Year award and going forward to the national awards will allow us to reach even more manufacturers with this message!” 

Since he took charge Darren has grown Viking Signs 20-fold and the business now offers the UK's largest range of safety signs, manufacturing more than 50,000 signs and labels every month on demand for free next day delivery.  

Viking Signs is also a supplier of sign, label and engraved components to many other local Lincolnshire manufacturers.  

As the Chair of the LEP’s Manufacturing Board Darren leads a dedicated voluntary group of business leaders from the manufacturing and engineering sectors whose role is to support and accelerate the growth, productivity and competitiveness of the manufacturing economy in the Greater Lincolnshire region. 

Ruth Carver, Chief Executive of the Greater Lincolnshire LEP, commented:

“We’d like to send Darren and his team our heartfelt congratulations for what is a fantastic achievement. 

“Viking Signs is an exemplar in the business world and has shown what can be achieved by innovating, adapting and keeping one step ahead of the marketplace. We’re very proud to have them as part of our Greater Lincolnshire business community.” 

Find out more about the Manufacturing Board here: https://www.greaterlincolnshirelep.co.uk/about/boards/manufacturing-board/  

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