Discover how Hanover Displays transforms public transport solutions with innovative LED technology
Committed to addressing the diverse and evolving needs of its customers in the global public transport industry, Hanover Displays (Hanover) offers a wide variety of LED destination displays and passenger information systems. The company serves clients in over 80 countries worldwide all while staying true to its core values of quality, reliability, customer service and innovation. Dave Williams, Managing Director, retraces Hanover’s history and evolution.
“Founded in 1985 by my father, Hanover initially focused on matrix signage using older electromagnetic flip dot technology. He quickly recognized the economies of scale within the bus market, as the numerous bus constructors still required the same product for their on-board passenger information systems. We moved into that arena and were able to take advantage of an investment drive into public transport by the French government. We grounded ourselves in the French market and grew organically from there. As the French market expanded, we were able to secure contracts with major groups in the UK, including Stagecoach, Arriva, First Group, Go-Ahead, and National Express. Through networking, exhibitions, and strategic contacts, we expanded into Spain and Scandinavia. Eventually, one of our executives, Tim Mark, who had successfully run the French operations after my father stepped away, made the decision to set up in America,” he begins.
This Chicago office, set up in 2005 was a very small operation, with Tim working on his own to enter the American market. “The early years were challenging and all about building market awareness. It took six years of perseverance to secure two significant projects and suddenly, we had a $1 million order on the table, requiring us to scale up to deliver it. Consequently, we moved into a 2000-square-meter facility in Elk Grove Village on the outskirts of Chicago, where we have been for the past 15 years. During that time, our turnover grew from around $2 million to over $15 million, causing us to reach our capacity in the old facility. Therefore, we have now purchased a new facility over twice the size, and very recently moved into that,” explains Dave.
“This new facility is conveniently located just down the road and took 12 months and a few million dollars to refurb. Once that was completed, we relocated our offices and moved two high-speed SMT lines for surface mounting components on our electronic circuit boards from the old facility. Our timing on the move has been great, as although the American market was slow to pick up post pandemic, last year, we experienced a significant leap in our turnover, increasing to over $17 million. Within the next year or so, we expect to be north of $20 million. I believe we timed our move into the new facility well, and I am confident we have the capacity to as much as double our output, as the new facility will be sufficiently large and our sales continue to grow,” Dave elaborates.
For Hanover, the UK and European markets rebounded much more quickly after the pandemic. In contrast, many of its competitors struggled. Globally, the company has grown from around £40 million annual turnover in the middle of the Covid crisis to nearly £100 million today.
LED Technology
While still very much a manufacturing business, Hanover has shifted its focus to LED technology instead of electromagnetic flip dots. Bringing outsourced fabrication back in-house has allowed Hanover to deliver improved and faster service to its customers. Sean Winter, Operations Director, explains how this shift has empowered the company to regain flexibility and strengthen product development. “With our extensive product portfolio, we ship between 1800 and 1900 units each week, including assembled products that encompass a wide range of printed circuit board assemblies, such as power supplies, processor boards, and display boards. Outsourcing these presents several issues because some orders are high volume while others are low volume. By bringing these boards back in-house, we gain greater flexibility. For example, if an urgent order comes in today, we can easily adjust our machine priorities to produce the boards needed for that order. Typically, lead times for sourcing from the Far East are around eight weeks for shipping. By the time we place our order with a supplier and they procure materials and schedule production, we could face a timeline of 14 to 15 weeks. In contrast, our in-house manufacturing delivers considerably shorter lead times. Being able to react quickly and take control of our production process has contributed to our growth as a business.
“Moreover, in-house capabilities help tremendously with prototyping. As we design and manufacture new product lines in-house, our design teams can communicate directly with production and process technicians about the product they want to develop and the challenges it entails. Once we create prototypes, engineers from development work closely with the production team to address any issues. Our in-house capabilities truly help with communication and resolving challenges quickly face to face, thereby allowing us to bring new products to market faster than if we continued to outsource those components,” he expands.
Last year, Hanover celebrated its 40th anniversary, an impressive milestone. Dave shares insights into how the company has maintained its longevity and continued to foster global innovation, noting the importance of being family-owned and operated. “My father remains the majority shareholder, and I work with my twin brother in the business,” Dave shares. “I spent much of my professional life outside the family business and got to see and learn from how other companies operate. At Hanover, we have embedded a flat hierarchy, which fosters an informal, enjoyable company culture, though HR policies and regulations still apply. To celebrate our 40th anniversary, we brought together many of our overseas and UK employees under a large marquee in the countryside for a massive party, which was truly wonderful.”
Today, Hanover stands as a true growth success story, enjoying an international presence, with subsidiaries outside Europe in Hong Kong, Australia, and the US. “Over the past four decades, customer service has been at the forefront of everything we do, as we always strive to care for our customers while remaining flexible. In terms of technical innovation, we recently developed much higher resolution LED signs, allowing us to create displays that no longer look pixelated but now resemble print quality. These products are already being sold in major capital cities, including London, Madrid, Paris, Dublin and Berlin. Transitioning from pixelated signage to displays that look as crisp as a TV screen or printed material has been an important driving factor of our recent innovation and growth,” Dave ends.