Xmo Strata is a company built on dedicated adherence to sound training, high skills levels and excellence in health and safety practice.   It’s a leading sign installation and maintenance company; you won’t use this firm if you’re putting a single sign over a pub or a corner shop but if you have a complex programme involving signage at scores, hundreds or thousands of locations across the UK, and you need high quality work involving rigid adherence to strict corporate identity guidelines, these are the guys that will do it for you.

A surprising amount of sign work, however, is potentially hazardous.  Installers have to work at height, sometimes using cranes and specialist equipment to bring heavy components on to sites, locating them with pin-point precision, where the room for manoeuvre may be extremely limited.  Xmo Strata has a particular expertise in working in difficult situations – fuel forecourts being one example.   Large forecourts have complex traffic flows with distracted motorists who are often speeding after coming off dual carriageways and motorways, and the engineers (and the electricians working alongside them) have to carry out precision work on components exposed not just to the weather, but to fuel and other vapours and liquids.   There is no margin for error and engineers are expected to do it right, do it once (ie without the need for unnecessary repeat visits) and – above all – do it safely.

The key to this is very high skills levels – this company has the most highly trained installation engineers in the industry; it takes pride not just in their technical skills, but in their knowledge of good health and safety practice.   There is an extensive, well-funded and continuous training programme; but in addition, once a year, the entire company effectively closes down for the day – with the blessing of its customers (who are all large national or multinational companies) – and all employees and subcontractors converge on a hotel for an in-depth health and safety day.  The intellect, health and safety know how and overall direction comes from the company’s managing director; Garnett Keeler provides advice, and ‘makes it happen’ – with two members of staff taking an extremely active role on the day, leading and contributing to sessions where they have the relevant knowledge.

The agency has also produced an extensive suite of videos for the company, devised and delivered training programmes on specialist topics, advised on highly sensitive communications, and conducted the marketing programme; Garnett Keeler has been an advisor to the managing director since before the company was launched.

“Garnett Keeler knows our company extremely well and it is amazing how involved they are in our operations – their work goes far deeper than simply ‘getting us in the press’,” said Managing Director Steve Martin.   “They carry the trust and confidence of our senior management team and they give us straight, candid advice – even when it isn’t what we necessarily want to hear!  I expect to receive advice fearlessly – it is what I pay them for – and I expect them to be able to argue their case, from an informed base, when I challenge it.  That is precisely the service I receive.   I don’t always take the advice – but I do recognise that it is always valuable and well thought-out.  They are very much part of our team and have a right to claim their share of the credit for our success as a company.”

Steve Martin, Managing Director, Xmo Strata