Vehicle Wrapping and Vehicle Graphics - for all your car wraps, fleet wraps, truck wraps

Ast Signs Christmas Party 2011

Well what a year 2011 has been for Ast Signs, we’ve taken on over 20 staff throughout the year and now have an office in Workington. As part of our expansion we’ve launched our new look website and Ast Signs now comprises of five divisions,Ast Transport Branding, Ast Signs, Ast Marketing & PR, Ast Workwear & Embroidery and Astaura.
All of our departments have been kept busy with new projects and contracts that we’ve won.
You can take a look at what we’ve been busy with by checking out our projects and news sections.

Ast Signs Christmas Party 2011

To end the year Ast Signs staff had their Christmas Party at Fantails restaurant in Wetheral. The evening is a great opportunity for staff to relax after a busy year and catch up with each other over a glass of champagne and a delicious meal. There were over 50 staff at Fantails and everyone was in high spirits and looking forward to the awards that General Manager Gareth Livingstone along with Mark Aston would be presenting. All staff has the opportunity to vote for the awards in the run up to the night. The categories are as follows, Newcomer of the Year, Special Recognition Award and Employee of the Year. As a result of our expansion throughout the year the Newcomer of the Year award had over 20 people in the category.

The Newcomer of the Year Award was presented to Shane Sowerby who works in production. Shane has a very positive attitude which helped people come to their decision in the voting process. He is willing to learn and always has a smile on his face. Shane is working as a fitter and also learning how production works here at Ast Signs. Well done Shane.

The Special Recognition Award went to Sue Smith who has been an employee for two years. Sue works in the Embroidery department and is always kept busy running different clothing projects. Sue is very hard working and keeps everything in order.

Employee of the Year was awarded to Barry Stockdale from production. Baz has worked here for many years and started out as a trainee fitter, you will now find him in production overseeing many of the jobs. Baz is committed to his work and always puts the effort in. A deserved winner of the award.

We hope that 2012 is another successful year.

ECE104 Regulation Reflective Tape

From January 2012 conspicuity marking will become part of annual HGV testing following on from the implementation of the ECE014 regulation.

What is Regulation ECE104?

The regulation ECE104 became mandatory from the 10th July 2011. All newly registered HGVS with a mass over 7.5 tonnes and trailers with a mass over 3.5 tonnes operating in the UK must be fitted with the reflective markings.

Why has it been introduced?

ECE104 was introduced to help save lives. The use of retro-reflective safety markings is already in use in Italy and Germany plus other countries. Extensive research shows that by applying the reflective conspicuity tape the visibility of the vehicle is greatly increased therefore reducing the number of accidents on the roads. By reducing accidents on the road it means that you reduce the costs of repair and the time that your vehicle is off the road.

Where do I need to apply the reflective tape?

A complete contour line needs to be applied to the rear of the vehicle in RED or AMBER tape.

On the side of the vehicle you can choose from two options, you can either have a complete contour line or a partial contour line in the corners in AMBER or WHITE tape.

The tape that is used must be a minimum of 50mm wide.

The tape must show the official E-mark. The E-mark proves that the product has been extensively tested and certified. The E-mark will be printed within the approved marking tape at least every 50cm.

Exempt vehicles that don’t require the reflective markings

• A none goods vehicle
• Chassis cabs
• Vehicles/trailers with overall width not exceeding 2.1m
• Vehicles/trailers with overall length not exceeding 6m (vehicle length excludes cab).

Vehicles registered before July 10th don’t require the markings by law, but it is strongly advised that you do have the reflective tape applied.

If you have any queries or would like your vehicles to have conspicuity tape added to them then please call 0845 450 5544 to speak to a member of the Ast Transport Branding team.

Ast Signs Rising Star

Nathan wins one of five rising star awards

Our very own Nathan Aston has finished off an exciting year by being awarded one of five rising star awards at the recent Cumbria Sports Awards.
14 year old Nathan has had an incredible year racing and his highlight was probably joining the McLaren Driver Development Programme where Lewis Hamilton started out. The Driver Development programme hopes to find the next generation of Formula 1 drivers for its Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team.

What does 2012 hold for Nathan?

In 2012 Nathan is hoping to compete in the European and British championships again where he is hoping for some top-five finishes.
We will keep you informed of Nathans progress throughout the year.

Plenty to Discover & Enjoy at Lanercost

Lanercost Signage

Lanercost tea room and farm shop is adjacent to Lanercost holiday cottages in Brampton, Cumbria. They have some new signs that have been put up to help customers and visitors navigate their way around and find out about the history of Lanercost.

History of Lanercost

Lanercost Tea rooms are situated close to the 12th century Lanercost Priory and close to Hadrian’s Wall.
The Romans once lived in the priory and William Wallace burnt it down, it is ran and maintained today by English Heritage. When you visit you can see the information signs that were designed and provided by Ast Signs. The signs are a mixture of Aluminium and Dibond some are full colour printed with cut vinyl text. They also have finger post signs to direct visitors.

What to do next

Ast Signs can offer a range of signage for your existing or new business, please give someone in the office a call and we will be happy to have a no obligation chat with you about our products and services. The number to call is 01768 892292.

Ast Signs Christmas Opening Hours

Ast Signs offic:s will be closing down at 17:00 on Friday 23rd December for Christmas. We will re-open on Tuesday 3rd January at 08:30 2012. We would like to wish all of our customers a Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year.

Don't forget to contact Ast Signs for Signage, Vehicle Wrapping, Workwear & Embroidery, Marketing & PR, Astaura Interior Finishes and printing.com. We will be happy to discuss your needs with you.

Call us on 0845 450 5544.

Nick Clegg takes a look at Ast Signs work while visiting Mersey Multimodal Gateway

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg visited the Mersey Multimodal Gateway in Widnes yesterday the 6 December, as part of a tour of Regional Growth Fund Supported Projects in the North West. He announced that there would be more money and new jobs for the region.

Haulage firm Stobart will receive £9m as a contribution towards a £139m expansion of its Widnes site. The investment at Stobart is hoped to create 3,450 jobs at the company itself.

The Stobart Group, Prologis and Halton Borough Council are working in partnership on the Mersey Multimodal Gateway Project.

Stobart Park at Mersey Multimodal Gateway in Widnes has exceptional communications with direct links to the west coast mainline, the M62 and the M56 motorways, the river Mersey and the Manchester canal.

Ast Signs have provided the directional, building and door signage. Pop-up displays, dibond prints and flat cut lettering on the outside walls.

If you are interested in any signage from Ast Signs please call 0845 450 5544 or email info@astsigns.com

Temple Sowerby School

Temple Sowerby School near Penrith have recently purchased some clothing for their netball team from Ast Workwear & Embroidery. The School bought the hooded sweatshirts and tracksuit bottoms from our extensive range of sport and leisurewear that is available for both children and adults.
All the hooded tops were embroidered in house by our embroidery team with Temple Sowerby School logos on the left side. Ast Signs helped the netball team with their clothing so we had our Ast Signs logo added to the right of the top.

Temple Sowerby School is a small rural primary school situated just outside of Penrith.

Ast Workwear & Embroidery can provide embroidery and heat press, you can either provide us with your artwork or we can design it for you in-house.

"We love the tracksuits for the netball team, they all looked very smart at tidy when they turned up for the tournament"

If you would like to see what we can offer you then as an individual, club or school then please contact us.

New livery for GBA Services

GBA Services in Preston have purchased some new vehicles and Ast Signs have produced their new livery design for them. The fleet has been wrapped in the North West by our Ast Signs fitters. They were wrapped in 3M full colour printed vinyl.
GBA were very happy with the service provided from the Ast Transport Branding team. Ast Signs fitters have wrapped over 50 vehicles for GBA who are one of the UK’s leading transporters of high value goods.

You can see some more images of the vehicles that we wrapped for GBA.

If you are interested in having your fleet wrapped then please give Ast Transport Branding a call on 0845 450 5544 or contact us.

Ast Signs designers help out Blue Peter

Ast designers have been helping out Pudsey bear and BBC Children in Need. The A5 leaflets were designed and printed by Ast Signs for the bake sale that was happening in the Lanes shopping centre, Carlisle. The bake sale also appeared on Blue Peter.
The leaflets were donated to Blue Peter presenter Helen Skelton who appeared at the bake sale along with other members of the team.

Children in Need will be happening on Friday 18 November and will be broadcast on BBC One.

Sponsorship at CN Business Awards Event

Here at Ast Marketing & PR we are very happy to be sponsoring an award at the CN Group Business Awards Evening. Ast Marketing & PR will be sponsoring the Best Business Website Catergory. We would like to wish the three finalists - Picture U, South Lakes Hotels and Tullie House Museum & Art Gallery the best of luck for the evening which is being held at Rheged. We recognise the importance of a strong website and online presence in this digital age.

Congratulations to the winner who was South Lakes Hotels, Grange-Over-Sands.

If you would like more information on Ast Marketing & PR please contact us.

Creative Partnership Wall Art Vinyl at Dowdales School

You can see a selection of wall wraps and internal and external signage at Dowdale School, Dalton-in-Furness. The images display work that has been designed as part of a creative partnership programme financially supported by Arts Council England, to help introduce culture into Schools. All the work was designed by Debby Akam a freelance visual artist who is based close to Penrith. The pupils helped Debby with their thoughts, images and views of the school. Debby then approached Ast Signs and we produced and fitted the dibond signs and vinyl wall wraps at our head office in Penrith. The dibond signs have been full colour printed and have a protective over laminate on the top of them. The signs were fitted by Ast Signs trained fitters at the School. The full colour printed vinyl wall wrap was also printed at our head office on one of our environmentally friendly wide format digital printers and this was wrapped by our trained 3M approved fitters.

Debby said “I was really pleased with the results, it looks great and the depth of the colours is better than I was expecting. The finish is perfect for the artwork. The team who installed it did a great job too- thank you all for your assistance!”

If you would like more information on dibond signs or vinyl wall wraps please contact Ast Signs.

New Skills Academy at System Training

System Training’s new Skills Training Academy received Royal approval after HRH The Princess Royal officially opened the new centre in Carlisle today. The new training facility is the result of a £1m investment by System Training and provides it with more teaching classrooms and practical training workshops.

System Training, the UK’s largest logistics training provider, welcomed The Princess Royal who has a long and distinguished relationship with the road haulage and logistics industries. As Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Logistics Corps, a past Master of the Worshipful Company of Carmen and an honorary member of the Road Haulage Association, The Princess has a keen interest in logistics.

The training centre, which is part-funded by Skills Funding Agency, will be used primarily to deliver Apprenticeships to young people, key skills to get unemployed people back into work, logistics training and workforce development.

The Princess was hosted by System Training’s Chief Executive Robin Brown who introduced the board of directors and company employees. During a tour of the new facility The Princess met young motor vehicle apprentices and lorry drivers from Eddie Stobart, Bibby Distribution, Yodel and Asda who were undergoing eco-friendly, fuel-efficient driver training.

The tour also included a safety demonstration from Cumbria Fire & Rescue, a display of client commercial vehicles and a chance to meet logistics apprentices learning to drive on a state-of-the-art truck driving simulator.

The Princess then unveiled a commemorative slate plaque to open the building and looked-on as Robin Brown donated the services of a training instructor and training materials to Transaid – a third-world transport charity of which she is Patron.

Among the guests were the Lord-Lieutenant of Cumbria Sir James Cropper, Sir Michael Bibby, the Mayor of Carlisle Councillor Barry Earp, the Chairman of Cumbria County Council Councillor John Woolley and Carlisle MP John Stevenson. They were joined by a host of dignitaries from the logistics, skills and training industries.

Robin Brown, System Training Chief Executive, said: “It’s an incredible honour for HRH The Princess Royal to give our new Skills Academy a stamp of quality and a Royal seal of approval. We work hard to improve skills within the logistics industry, deliver apprenticeship programmes to young learners and help give unemployed people the skills to find jobs – and it’s fantastic to have this recognised by The Princess. The company started from humble beginnings but we have a fantastic family of staff who have all contributed to the company’s success.”

ENDS

Ast Marketing & PR presentaton for DMACK

When global tyre manufacturer DMACK Tyres needed professionally designed presentation materials to tender for new business, they came to Ast Marketing for inspiration. We produced a striking Powerpoint template with a real vibrant feel to match the DMACK brand. The template looked professional but was simple enough to allow the client to build and modify their own presentations with ease. We also incorporated the design into a Word document template to give DMACK a touch of subtle branding and some added style to its electronic correspondence.

Ast Marketing also designed and produced a Competition Tyre Range catalogue which DMACK uses to provide worldwide information on its motorsport products and market its rally tyres to competitors around the globe.

Dick Cormack, DMACK Tyres Motorsport Director, said: "Ast Marketing has done a great job with our tender documents and presentation templates. Now we have a simple to use presentation which looks great and always raises a few eyebrows when we go into meetings. The consistent branding across all documents now ensures a high level of professionalism overall marketing correspondence and external communications. It's certainly helped to position us as a leading brand in the industry."

If you would like more information on Ast Marketing & PR please give us a call.

Autumn offer

Ast Workwear & Embroidery have a special offer on this Autum
In today's highly competitive market it's important for your business to stand out from the crowd. By supplying your workforce with high quality, fit for purpose, custom branded clothing you'll immediately see the benefit. Using our own in-house design, embroidery and printing facilities we can create some great looking clothing for you with over 2,000 products to choose from and more than 40 high quality brands. Below are the items that we have on offer.

In September we are also offering a free logo set up for every order over £200.00.

Menswear Autumn Offer -
5 Henbury Polo Shirts
1 Regatta Waterproof Jacket
1 Henbury Fleece
1 Dickies High vis Vest
1 Dickies High vis Jacket
1 Beechfield Beanie Hat
2 Pairs of Dickies Workwear Trousers
Plus a free pair of Beechfield Gloves
All for under £170!

Womenswear Autumn Offer -
5 High Quality Kustom Kit Workwear Shirts
1 Regatta Waterproof Jacket
1 Henbury Fleece
1 Jerzees Softshell Jacket
1 Beechfield Beanie Hat
Plus a free pair of Beechfield Gloves
All for under £170!

Take the hassle out of large uniform orders with our professional packing service. Each employee's uniform is individually packaged so when you receive your order you can just hand it out.

Ast Workwear and Embroidery can also offer sportswear and leisurewear for individuals or teams. If you are looking for any engraving for your sports club please get in touch. We can also offer something for a more personal touch such as mugs, coasters, magnets and key-rings.

If you would like more information on any of our products please give Ast Workwear & Embroidery a call.

Ast Marketing designs a new approach

Ast Marketing Designs A New Approach

Two key creative agencies in Cumbria have joined forces to offer a comprehensive design-led marketing and public relations service in a move which will create four new jobs.

Penrith-based Ast Signs and Really Clever PR from Carlisle have come together to form Ast Marketing & PR – the new business will have 12 staff, half of which will be graphic designers.

But the company is taking a fresh new approach. The business strategy is to focus on using marketing, social media and PR to help promote and effect greater sales for clients and it’s using professional graphic design at every stage along the way.

“In this tough economic climate it’s even more important for businesses to market and promote themselves and their services,” said Ast Signs managing director Mark Aston. “We’ve had to adjust our marketing activities and that’s been beneficial and helped us expand.

“But what we are offering is professionally designed marketing material to really help businesses stand out. We’ve been designing traditional promotional materials such as posters, flyers and stationary for years but now, in the ever increasing digital age, there’s even more opportunities to emphasise and build your brand. You can’t afford not to promote your company at the moment.”

In addition to traditional and new marketing and promotional platforms, the Ast Marketing & PR team will have a strong focus on supporting clients with professionally designed resource to help clinch new business and boost sales.

“All of my clients are asking for really striking templates for presentations and tender documents to help them stand out and win the work they are pitching for,” added Glenn Patterson from Really Clever PR.

“And there’s a requirement for innovation and graphic design across all marketing and media platforms currently in use – be it web design, social media pages, email flyers, newsletters and press releases. So what we are offering is different to most people in that the focus is squarely on creating sales and winning business.”

As well as providing consultancy on marketing and public relations the new business offers video production, professional photography and web design in its portfolio.

Ast Signs and Really Clever PR count Stobart Group, M-Sport, AW Jenkinson, System Training, Carlisle Youth Zone, Story Painting Group, David Allen, Tesco and Story Homes as clients. More information can be found at www.astmarketing.co.uk.

Vinyl graphics added to beauty salon van to maximise publicity

What better way to get your new business noticed by people than having it advertised on your vehicle? One company in Carlisle have decided to go for this option, St. Helena’s Beauty Salon who are opening soon have had vinyl graphics added to their Peugeot van to maximise publicity. The design was produced by one of our experienced designers at Carlisle and Ast Signs 3M approved fitters added the cut vinyl to both sides and the rear of the van. They have applied black and gold cut vinyl lettering and gold butterflies to the van. These can be easily removed without any damage to the original paintwork should the customer no longer require the graphics.

Ast Signs have produce some printed business cards and leaflets for St. Helena's Beauty Salon.

If you would like more information on wrapping your vehicle please contact AstSigns.

Ast Signs fitters travel to Norway for latest train wrap

Ast Signs fitters have been off on their travels again to apply some graphics to a train in Europe. The experienced 3M trained fitters travelled to Norway to apply the vinyl to the train.

You can see some more images of the trains that have been wrapped by Ast Signs staff.

If you are interested in learning more about what Ast Signs can offer you please look at our Rail Branding page.

Please contact Ast Signs if you are interested in the other products we can offer.

Printed wallpaper creates wall art

Are you looking for a way of transforming a blank wall or bored of the normal wallpaper / pictures? By using a similar process that we use for vehicle wrapping we can transform any wall for you by using digitally printed material. This product is becoming more and more popular in coffee shops, restaurants, retail, reception areas, offices and even children's bedrooms.

As with our vehicle graphics and any digital printing, we can do the design work for your wall wrap or you can supply us with digital photos. These photos can be digitally enhanced, cropped, re-sized etc to enable us to re-produce the desired effect. You may wish to incorporate your company branding into the wall wrap or you can go for something completely different.

We use a 3M printable material with matching protective overlaminate meaning you get the best quality. The graphics will last up to 5 years and use a removable adhesive meaning there is no need to use wallpaper paste like other products. It generally means that the material also removes a lot easier than the other standard wallpaper products on the market. We also have a 3M wall graphics material that can be used externally on brick walls.

As well as the digitally printed wall graphics you may wish to add some company branded letters. One example, as we have used in one of our offices, is to use built up brushed silver letters.

Our digital wall wraps can be on a supply only basis or we can use any of our UK wide network of fitters to come and apply the graphics. Feel free to contact AstSigns if you'd like any more information.

Ast Signs clothing seen in Finland on Christian Loriaux during ISDE challenge

Christian Loriaux who works for M-Sport as a technical director for the Ford Abu Dhabi world rally team has recently completed an international six days endure (ISDE) motorbike race in Finland. Christian decided to help raise money for Sparks, a children’s medical research charity. AstSigns supported Christian by providing him with some printing on his clothing using the heat press machine that we have at our head office in Penrith. The Ast Signs design team also designed and produced some stickers that he used on his bike.

The event took place over six days and Christian was racing for his national team Belgium, riding a KTM 250 bike.

You can continue to support Christian by clicking onto his justgiving page. http:// www.justgiving.com/christian-loriaux

Christian siad "A big thank-you for your support but as well for the fantastic quality product and the quick turnaround. What you have done for me is brilliant."

If you would like more information on clothing that Ast Signs can offer please contact us.

Wow people with a colour change wrap

A customer came into Ast Signs and asked us if we could wrap his originally black mini with bright pink vinyl for his wife. The vehicle was wrapped at our head office in Penrith by our 3M trained fitters.
Colour change wraps are becoming more popular for business' and for private vehicles, they are a good way to advertise your business or change the existing colour without the large expense of changing your vehicle.

If you would also like ideas on ways change the colour of your vehicle please contact Ast Signs.

Eddie Stobart Ltd - Superbrand honours

Eddie Stobart Ltd takes Superbrand honours.

Eddie Stobart has topped their categories in the 2011 Business Superbrand league table. The league tables are based on the opinions of marketing experts, business professionals and thousands of British consumers.
Eddie Stobart topped the Industrial Transport category for Logistics, Distribution and Freight Services to take 27th place overall. This is an improvement on last year’s 32nd placing.
Ast Signs design and fit all of the graphics on the entire Eddie Stobart fleet: this includes trucks, trailers, trains, and plant equipment. We also look after their branding guidelines and corporate image.
Stobart has benefited from the Channel 5 documentary “Eddie Stobart: Trucks & Trailers”. Chief executive Andrew Tinkler said “It has been a strong year for the Eddie Stobart brand which has been given a significant boost from the Channel 5 series. It has helped to showcase the business to a whole new audience and our promotional department has seen associated benefits with sales of merchandise reaching record levels. We are extremely proud of our brand which has been built on solid and traditional core business beliefs.”

If you would like anymore information please don't hesitate to contact Ast Signs.

Yodel Transport launches with the help of Ast Signs' graphics

Leading vehicle graphics supplier Ast Signs Ltd has continued its work with Yodel, supplying the graphics for 107 new Double Deck trailers.

Yodel, the UK’s second-largest parcel carrier, has announced the creation of Yodel Transport Ltd and is growing its capabilities fast.

“This is a really exciting time for Yodel,” said Yodel Transport’s Managing Director Jamie Stephenson.
He continued: “The new standalone business enables us to optimise our operation and deliver efficiencies in design and execution.

“We are making significant investments in new trailers and a state-of-the-art Control Tower, which is near completion, to support the effective management of network operations. We will have one of the largest transport fleets in the UK.”

Yodel Transport has ordered the new Double Deck trailers with lifting decks from manufacturers Don-Bur. The first ones will arrive in early June. This new order comes on top of the 100 replacement aero-dynamic, single deck trailers Yodel purchased in November 2010, which also had graphics supplied by Ast Signs.

Mark Aston, Ast Signs’ Managing Director, said: “We’re delighted to be working with Yodel during this exciting time for their business. More and more fleets are recognising the many benefits of wrapping their vehicles – from branding advantages to increasing the vehicle’s residual value.”

Last summer Ast Signs fully wrapped 400 brand new white Mercedes Sprinter vans in Yodel’s distinctive new colours. These vehicle wraps provided the UK’s second largest parcel delivery business with the operational and financial benefits that go hand-in-hand with vehicle wrapping. Vehicle wraps last between four and ten years and offer excellent branding opportunities, improved residual values and paintwork protection. As wraps can be completed in one day and removed in a few hours at the end of the life or lease of the vehicle, they minimise vehicle downtime and time off the road. In the event of accident damage, a panel can be replaced rather than having to re-wrap the entire vehicle.

Yodel Transport was formed to bring together the company’s considerable driver base following the acquisition of the domestic B2B and B2C businesses of DHL Express (UK) Ltd into one transport unit with a specialist leadership team.

Jonathan Smith, Yodel CEO, said: “The investment in Yodel Transport, including the new Double Deck trailers are a statement of our ambitions. We are on a journey to make Yodel best-in-class, offering our customers the broadest range of services to suit their parcel delivery demands.”

Signs for Story homes new development

Story Homes are one of the leading house builders in Northern England and Southern Scotland. They have just completed building some brand new houses in Cumbria. Ast Signs have supplied the signage and some cut vinyl for the show home doors. This can be easily removed once the home is ready to be sold and won't leave any marks.

You can read more and see more images of the signage we provided for Story Homes.

Story Homes have won many awards and are known for building high quality homes and offer value for money.

If you are interested in shop signs, building signs, a-boards window graphics or any other signs please feel free to contact Ast Signs.

New Printed Wall Art

David Allen, an accountancy and business services consultancy in the North West, recently had a complete rebrand. Working closely with their in-house team we helped design and produce an array of products for them including banners, pop-up displays, brochures, leaflets, internal signs, sign trays, flags, car park signs, window graphics, directional signs and building signs. The signs and graphics were mostly fitted at David Allen's three sites in the North West, their head office in Dalston, Penrith and Workington offices. In addition we also designed, produced and fitted the wall wrap below, which sits proudly in their reception area.

The wall wrap is printed on a 3M material and covered in a matching protective overlaminate. It's a self-adhesive product so there's no mess when applying it in office environments. One of the great things about these wall wraps is that you can produce a bespoke piece of artwork / mural / mission statement etc to fit a particular area. If you'd like to learn more about wall wrapping / wall art please contact us.

Kingstown United boys help their dads complete a coast to coast cycle.

Ben Livingstone, Will Morrey and Peter Gower all aged seven joined their dads along with Charlotte Gower to cycle the last 11 miles of a coast to coast on Saturday 2 July. They finished in Tynemouth when they all jumped into the sea! Their dads Gareth Livingstone, Brian Morrey and Peter Gower all started the coast to coast on Friday 1st July from Whitehaven and completed the 137 mile cycle in Tynemouth in just two days. Gareth works here at Ast Signs and decided to cycle the coast to coast to raise some money for the football team that he helps to run, Kingstown United FC in Carlisle. They are hoping to raise over £800.00 and they plan to split it between the football club and Eden House children's hospice, Carlisle. “We all enjoyed the cycle, it was hard going some of the time with the heat. When we finished it was a great sense of achievement.” said Gareth. Although Kingstown FC is not a charity it is run by volunteers and they do a great job with the football teams and local children helping them to find a hobby that they enjoy. All are welcome to go along and train with them. Ben, Will and Peter all play for the under 7’s team. Kingstown United FC has teams ranging from under 7’s through to under 16 levels. The under 7’s have had a very successful season with some impressive results. They recently enjoyed their end of season presentation evening where they were all presented with a player of the season award.
“They are a great group of boys who all train very hard and have fun playing matches each week, we have some promising young players.” Said Gareth who coaches the under 7’s team.
Ast Signs provide sponsorship for the team and will be supporting two teams when the 2011/2012 season kicks off in August.
Gareth, Brian and Peter all did very well in completing the coast to coast cycle.
On Saturday 9 July Kingstown United U7’s competed in a tournament at Calthwaite, they won three matches and lost one.

Wall Wraps at Nestle UK - North West

Nestle approached Ast Signs as the wanted us to design and fit wall and door wraps for them in one of their factories in the North West. Wall wraps are becoming more popular in both the work place and in the home, they can improve the look and feel of any wall and can be applied on most surfaces either curved or flat using vinyl. The wall wraps can be easily removed when they need to be changed as they have a removable adhesive on them. Ast Signs can design the artwork for a wall wrap to specifically fit any size wall as opposed to wall paper where you have to repeat the pattern.
The wall wrap is printed on 3M material and covered in a matching protective over-laminate. It is all printed on one of our environmentally friendly printers that we have at Ast Signs.

Nestle UK and Ireland is the world’s foremost nutrition, health and wellness company. They have 23 sites in the UK and Ireland. www.nestle.co.uk.

Nestle have achieved a wall print and piece of artwork that is unique to them.

You can see what Nestle have to say about Ast Signs.

If you would like more information on wall wraps please contact Ast Signs.

Kart ace Aston joins McLaren formula 1 programme

Cumbrian karter Nathan Aston is one step closer to chasing his dream of becoming a Formula 1 driver after being selected to the McLaren High Performance programme.

The 13-year-old will join a small group of young racers, including fellow Cumbrian Oliver Turvey, on the McLaren scheme to help find the next generation of Formula 1 drivers for its Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team.

Aston caught the eye of the McLaren scouts after clinching the Formula Kart Stars Cadet championship last year – in only his second season of serious racing.

His competitive career has been short but very sharp – he first sat in a kart just three years ago after a one-off trip to an indoor circuit. But the youngster caught the bug and, after a season of stunning performances including some scintillating displays in the wet, is now one of the top young karters in the country.

The McLaren Group is serious about its development of aspiring, young drivers and has created the McLaren High Performance Programme to offer year-by-year guidance, assistance and endorsement to help promising young racers – regardless of nationality – to climb the motorsport ladder.

The exclusive programme aims to provide training and support in areas such as physical training, nutritional needs, career guidance, driving skills and media training. However, possibly the biggest advantage for Aston is the endorsement from one of motorsport’s most well-established names and the growing reputation that will enable him to continue his career with increased independence.

The future is looking bright for Cumbria’s karting star as McLaren’s support has helped many drivers reach the top.

McLaren has been heavily involved in the foundation, funding and running of the McLaren Autosport BRDC Young Driver Award – the celebrated scheme that has helped develop the careers of junior racers since its inception back in 1989.

Past winners of the award include former world champion Jenson Button and 13-time grand prix winner David Coulthard.

McLaren engineers have also quietly fostered the careers of a number of junior racers, providing feedback, assessment and training to help develop their skills.
The most notable success in this area has been Lewis Hamilton, whom McLaren helped develop from a 13-year-old kart racer into a Formula 1 world champion.

The team knows only too well that to succeed at the pinnacle of world motor racing is incredibly difficult and that even the greatest of potential talents requires more than just raw skill and financial backing in order to achieve the greatest success.

Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team principal Martin Whitmarsh has been closely monitoring the team’s involvement with young drivers and has been instrumental in formalising the varied disciplines that form the programme.

Aston has recently signed for the Intrepid factory team for 2011 and will tackle the WSK series across Europe.

Nathan Aston said: “This is an amazing opportunity and a great honour for me. I am so grateful for the support of McLaren and it will definitely help me develop a lot of my various skills and career. Their factory is amazing and it just blows you away when you see how much innovation there is. This year is going to be a big challenge but this support will be invaluable.”

Martin Whitmarsh, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team principal, said: “The McLaren High Performance Programme doesn’t require drivers to conform to a singular template, or metric, it’s about assessing the needs of a small selection of drivers and providing them with our expertise and experience to see them through the motorsport year. We are looking for drivers with the right approach, attitude and potential, and we will seek to assist their careers in a range of different ways, not simply through providing them with the financial means to extend their careers.”

Vinyl table wrap

Ever wondered how you could brighten up your kitchen or wow your guests or clients at a dinner party or meeting? Why not consider a vinyl wrap that can be wrapped to your table or wall in your house or offices. The wraps can be put onto any surface and they can easily be removed once you have finished with them.
One of Ast Signs clients decided to get their table wrapped with a quirky design which was wrapped onto a glass table. The vinyl wrap was designed by our in house designers. It is then printed on 3M vinyl with an anti scuff over the top to protect the wrap.

If you would like to enquire about a wrap then please contact Ast Signs.

Dave Simpson triathlon

Dave Simpson just missed out on first place by three seconds on Sunday 19 June when he was competing in the Cholmondely castle triathlon. Dave who is part of the AstSigns team started off with an 800m swim followed by a 44km bike ride and finished with an 8km run. Dave is used to Triathlons as he has already taken part in triathlons in Keswick, Blenheim, and Darlington this year with a view to also complete Hawick triathlon, Teeside tri, London triathlon,( which will have around 14,000 competitors), Carlisle tri, Nottingham team relays, Penrith tri and Tatton park. All of these will stand Dave in good stead for 2012 when Dave will be competing in the Lanzarote Ironman. The Lanzarote Ironman is meant to be one of the toughest Ironman circuits. Dave is a member of the Arragon’s Cumbria Triathlon club in Penrith. Good luck with the rest of your triathlons Dave. We will keep you updated on his progress throughout the year.

Wall Wraps at Reays Coaches Travel Centre

Ast Signs can offer a range of different products for your company. For example Reays Coaches approached us and asked us to help with the branding for the opening of their new travel centre in Carlisle. Our Ast Signs team designed two wall wraps for their new travel centre office. The material we used was 3M and it is then covered in a protective over laminate which can be either matt or gloss. Wall wraps are becoming one of the most popular ways to improve the look of your office and make a statement. Wrapping a wall is similar to wrapping vehicles. We can apply wall wraps to most surfaces either curved or flat. They can also be easily removed when they need to be changed as they have a removable adhesive on them.

At the Reays travel centre you can also see the foamex sign that our experienced in-house designers produced then the Ast Signs fitters attached it. On the door you can also see silver frosted reverse cut vinyl. We also produced leaflets, letterheads and business cards for them.

To follow on from Ast Signs re-designing the livery for their coaches our experienced Ast Signs fitters have wrapped one of Reays new coaches. The coach has been wrapped using 3M and Avery material.

If you would like anymore information on any of the products in this article or anything that Ast Signs can offer then please Contact us.

AstSigns staff feature on Eddie Stobart trucks and trailers

Ast Signs staff featured on Eddie Stobart trucks and trailers on Friday evening. The first episode of the new series was aired at 8pm on 20th May. The show will run every Friday night on channel 5 for 8 weeks.
Ast Signs staff travelled down to Battersea Power station in London where William Stobart and Andrew Tinkler were sponsoring a charity ball to celebrate the companies 40th Anniversary. A brand new top-of-the-range truck was driven down to Battersea to take centre stage at the event. The FH16 Volvo truck was the first of its kind for Stobarts and it even has its own personalised number plate S708 ART. This vehicle is the reason Ast Signs staff were at the event which was for the Marie Keating foundation. The FH16 truck was liveried in a special Cancer Research UK wrap, guests at the event paid to have their name put on the side of the trailer. The Ast Signs fitters and production team printed the name there and then and applied it to the vehicle. A lucky member of the audience paid £5,000 to have their name on the front of the truck. The name that appears on the truck is Debby, again the Ast Signs fitters applied this infront of the audience while the event was in progress.

You can watch the first episode by clicking here. To see pictures of the finished charity vehicle please look at our vehicle graphics project.

If you would like anymore information on what Ast Signs can offer please contact Ast Signs.

Below is an example of an Ast Signs fitter applying a name to an Eddie Stobart truck.

Cranstons Cumbrian Food Hall

Cranstons Cumbrian Food Hall in Penrith is incredibly busy and they were looking for ways to modernise their premises and advertise their products. In the food hall you can see some of the examples of what they decided to use in the store. Hanging signs, Flat cut lettering, branded chalk boards and graphics on the customer lift are just some of the products Ast Signs have produced and fitted for them.

All of the products were fitted when the food hall was closed so there was no disruption to the customers or staff. The hanging banner signs make a strong visual impact in the fruit and vegetables area of the store. They have been produced on challenger display boards.
The lift is also used for advertising and promoting Oswalds cafe which is located on the first floor. They show menus and opening times. Outside the shop you can see the chalk boards which Cranstons are using to advertise their products in store on a daily basis.

We have also applied red flat cut acrylic lettering to the outside of the building where Cranstons added the extension to hold the cafe. These create a great visual impact.

“We are very pleased with the graphics and signs that Ast Signs have produced, we have had lots of positive comments from customers about the use of the new signage and hanging boards so they must be making an impression. We have a good working relationship with Ast Signs and will continue to use them.”

Cranstons are an award winning local company who were established in 1914. They have the Cumbrian food hall along with four traditional butcher shops and a busy catering and wholesale service throughout Cumbria.

If you would like more information on anything that you have read about or any of Ast Signs products please contact us.

Aston reaches final in Portugal race

Nathan Aston, Cumbria’s karting hot-shot, delivered another determined performance at the second round of the World Series of Karting (WSK) Euro Series at Portimao in Portugal. The 13-year-old, who is the current British Cadet Champion, has stepped his competition up a gear this year and is racing amongst the world’s best young karters in a bid to get noticed by Formula 1 team bosses.

Aston’s KF3 class is seriously competitive – there’s 255 karters from 34 countries in the WSK this year all wanting to be first over the finish line. But, despite still learning the Portuguese track on his first visit, he delivered a series of top-10 finishes in the heats to qualify on the seventh row of the grid for the Pre-Final – which he duly finished in 15th and qualified for the Final.

However, in the Final, young Aston was forced into a spin after contact from another competitor on the opening lap. After damaging his steering, he could only manage 28th position.

But just making it into the Final on his first time at this track and against the world’s best was a major achievement and signals the talent that 13-year-old Aston possesses.

Vehicle wrapped with union jack flag design for Royal wedding celebrations

CN Events are hosting a Royal garden party to celebrate the Royal wedding which is taking place on Friday 29th April. Ast Signs fitters completed a part wrap of the white Ford Ka with a Union Jack flag at our Carlisle workshop. The Ka which will be used for promoting CN Events was part wrapped in Avery cast vinyl. The union jack was designed and printed at Ast Signs head office and wrapped on both sides and the rear of the vehicle by our experienced 3M and Avery trained fitters.

One of the advantages of wrapping the vehicle means that you can promote your business. The wraps are easily removed once you have finished with them or the wrap can last for up to five years. You can have a full wrap, part wrap and include cut vinyl letters. At Ast Signs we can print and match any colour.

CN Events said “We wanted to host something in Carlisle to celebrate the Royal wedding and thought who better to get involved than Ast Signs. We use Ast Signs for all our design, wrapping and promotional needs, they provide a very efficient service and always deliver to a high standard. We will continue to use Ast Signs and would definitely recommend their skills.”

The Carlisle Royal Garden Party is being held on the 29 and 30 April in Carlisle City centre. You can watch the Royal wedding live on the giant screen, visit the made in Cumbria market and watch the selection of free entertainment. You can also see some examples of corex boards which have full colour printed artwork on them that Ast Signs have produced.

For more information on how Ast Signs can help play a part in making your event a success contact Ast Signs now.

Design, Signs and fitting for new cumbrian gym - Elite Fitness

Elite Fitness were looking to open their first gym in Cumbria and required a complete branding and signage package. Here at Ast Signs we worked with them to produce all of their internal and external signs and their printed literature to help them launch their business.

As you can see from the images the external signs are bold and impactful and comprise of flat cut letters fitted to a powder coated sign tray. You can also see from the images that we have used green vinyl with black cut text lettering on the other signs which were fitted to the windows. On the doors you can see etched vinyl with reverse flat cut lettering and in the reception area you can see examples of brushed silver vinyl.

In addition to the signs there were also lots of other products created by our in-house design team including t-shirts, business cards, posters, leaflets, flyers, adverts and membership forms. The customer was delighted with the work. “I am really pleased with the final result, the signs are exactly how we imagined, we told Ast Signs what we wanted and they been very professional from the beginning of the process to the end. I would not hesitate to use Ast Signs for any further work and would definitely recommend them.”

If you would like more information on any of Ast Signs products that we can offer then please contact Ast Signs.

New wall wraps and signage for Reays coaches

Ast Signs can offer a range of different products for your company. For example Reays coaches approached us and asked us to help with the branding for the opening of their new travel centre in Carlisle. Our Ast Signs team designed two wall wraps for their new travel centre office. The material we used was 3M and it is then covered in a protective over laminate which can be either matte or gloss. Wall wraps are becoming one of the most popular ways to improve the look of your office and make a statement. Wrapping a wall is similar to wrapping vehicles. We can apply wall wraps to most surfaces either curved or flat. They can also be easily removed when they need to be changed as they have a removable adhesive on them.

At the Reays travel centre you can also see the foamex sign that our experienced in-house designers produced then the Ast Signs fitters attached. On the door they have silver frosted reverse cut vinyl. We also produced leaflets, letterheads and business cards for them.

To follow on from Ast Signs re-designing the livery for their coaches our experienced Ast Signs fitters have wrapped some more of Reays new coaches. The coach has been wrapped using 3M and Avery material. The vehicles were wrapped at our premises in the North West.

If you would like to see more images please look at our vehicle graphics images.

For more information on what Ast Signs can offer you please feel free to contact us.

New EU legislation for reflective tape on vehicles

If you are a truck driver or fleet manager you ought to be aware of a new legislation coming into effect in July 2011 regarding reflective tape. The new legislation is coming into force on trucks and trailers first registered after 10th July 2011 and will affect various aspects of goods vehicle operation. The major changes come as a result of the UK's Department for Transport (DfT) reluctantly having to adopt United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN ECE) regulation 48. The reflective marking tape increases night time visibility and effectively reduces the chances of accidents. From July 2011, all newly registered HGVs over 7.5 tonnes and trailers over 3.5 tonnes will require reflective conspicuity markings that clearly outline the rear and sides of the vehicle to make it visible for up to 1000 metres at night. ECE104 specifies the standard for the reflective material that must be used, and where and how it must be positioned on the vehicle or trailer.

About ECE104

ECE104 is a regulation that establishes guidelines for the use of retro-reflective safety markings on the rear and sides of heavy goods vehicles operating throughout Europe
It requires that homologated retroreflective markings be applied to rigid, curtain and tanker vehicles with a mass over 7.5 tonnes or trailers that have a mass over 3.5 tonnes
The reflective material must carry the “E-mark” which means the tape meets the minimum requirements of the regulation
Markings will be mandatory in the UK from July 2011, and may be full or partial, provided minimum requirements are met
Red or yellow markings must be used for the rear of the vehicle, as close as practicable to the edge of the vehicle
Yellow or white markings may be used for the side of vehicles, covering at least 80 per cent of its length
The reflective markings must be 'Class RA2' or 'microprismatic' (e.g. 3M™ Diamond Grade™ DG³ reflective sheeting) in the case of rear markings and 'high visibility fluorescent or non fluorescent yellow reflective' in the case of side markings

Application of the markings:

Full contour marking partial contour marking

Why do you need to mark the vehicles?

Conspicuity markings reduce accidents and save lives. Studies conducted over a 10 year period show that well marked trucks are 30 times* less likely to be involved in a road traffic accident
Improve safety and increase visibility of vehicles. Other drivers are able to notice marked trucks 5 to 8 times faster**, allowing for considerably longer reaction time and safer driving/overtaking
Fewer accidents mean less downtime, less contracts missed and savings on repair costs
Improve corporate image through being more proactive about safety
Protect your company against potential legal action related to third party safety
Reassures and motivates drivers to know that your business takes their safety seriously
To meet the regulatory requirements under ECE104 from July 2011

*Technical University of Darmstadt, Germany, 2004 **Ludwig Boltzman Institute, Vienna, Austria, 2002

If you need any more information, or you'd like to order the tape or arrange an appointment to have the tape fitted, please call us on 0845 4505544 or click here to leave us your details.

Ast Signs wrapping on BBC television programme

You can see some examples of vehicles that have been wrapped by Ast Signs on a new BBC drama series called Candy Cabs. The programme will be aired on BBC One on a Tuesday evening at 09.00pm.

The programme is about a female run taxi firm for women set in the North West.

The show has an all star cast who include Jo Joyner, Claire Sweeney, Paul Nicholls and Denis Lawson.
The six blue Citroen Berlingo’s were wrapped in pink vinyl wrap film by Ast Signs fitters at our Trafford Park premises in Manchester.
One of the advantages of applying the vehicle wrap is that it can be easily removed when needed without any damage to the vehicles.

If you would like anymore information on any of our products please contact Ast Signs.

Tribute to Edward Stobart

AstSigns are sad to hear the news that Edward Stobart passed away in a hospital in Coventry at the age of 56. It is believed that he had heart problems. Edward was managing director of Eddie Stobart for over 30 years. He started working for the company in the 1960's which his father founded. Edward played a part in turning the Eddie Stobart brand into what it is today.

In 2004 he sold the company to his brother William Stobart and his business partner Andrew Tinkler. William continues his family involvement in the business with his role as chief operating officer of Stobart Group.
Our thoughts are with his family.

Edward Stobart
21 November 1954 to 31 March 2011

Edward Stobart was a businessman from a young age. In his early teens he started selling firewood and worked for his father, Eddie Stobart, as part of his family agricultural business based in Hesket Newmarket in Cumbria.

When he was old enough, Edward started driving tipper trucks working on the construction of the M6 motorway. He then used the delivery trucks from his father’s agricultural company and, seizing the initiative, expanded this side of the business into the Eddie Stobart haulage company.

He started with eight trucks and 12 employees in 1976 and by 25 years later the fleet had expanded to 1000 trucks and 2000 employees.

Edward was responsible for the massive expansion of the business and was the man behind the brand despite the fact he was uncomfortable in front of the camera. He introduced smart trucks to the UK’s roads and made driver’s uniforms compulsory including the wearing of ties – which was revolutionary at the time.

He was instrumental in bringing a sense of professionalism to the haulage industry and driving it forward into the 20th century. He concentrated on the attention to detail and professionalism which were the building blocks to the company’s success.

He also captivated the public’s imagination by naming his trucks after girls. The first truck was christened Twiggy after the famous supermodel. The public’s interest in the trucks, and spotting the girls’ names, started the Eddie Stobart Fan Club which, at that time, had 25,000 members. He gave the industry an acceptable public face.

Edward changed the public’s image of a dirty, macho industry into an efficient, bright, clean and friendly company. He could spot potential in people and opportunities in business. He created the Eddie Stobart work ethos and was surrounded by devoted ‘Stobart’ people.

Edwards tenacity, vision, entrepreneurialism, determination and pure hard work meant he was a master of innovation. He epitomised the self-made millionaire business man.

In 2004 Edward sold the Eddie Stobart haulage business to his younger brother William and business partner Andrew Tinkler. It now forms part of Stobart Group plc – one of the top multimodal logistics businesses in the UK.

Edward lived in Warwickshire and is survived by wife Mandy and his children. His mother and father, Eddie Stobart, continue to reside in Cumbria.

New jobs created at Ast Signs as a result of printing.com franchise

Ast Signs Continue Their Expansion by Creating New Jobs in Cumbria

Following a successful 2010, Penrith based Ast Signs are continuing their expansion, by creating 10 new jobs in the region, with a further five to be confirmed over the next few weeks. Part of their growth sees them acquire the Carlisle based printing.com franchise, which will operate from their Kingmoor Park premises.

Printing.com will be headed up by Steve Hastings. Steve, 32, from Carlisle has over 16 years’ experience in the industry starting out at a printing firm from school then more recently he has been running another printing.com franchise. Ast Signs have already owned the franchise in Penrith for two years and are now taking over the Carlisle franchise.

Mark Aston - Ast Signs Managing Director said” We are pleased to have Steve on board and we can use his knowledge and expertise to make printing.com successful in Cumbria. Since the start of the year we have created 10 new positions which have all been filled by local people, despite the fact that the majority of our work is on national contracts outside of Cumbria.”

Printing.com has been a natural add-on to the Ast Signs range of services since 2009. Customers can have all their design, print and signage needs handled by Ast Signs with printing.com offering a range of products including business cards, stationery, flyers and folders. Customers can save up to 75% by ordering products with printing.com via Ast Signs.

Ast Signs are one of the fastest growing signage businesses in the UK, specialising in fleet graphics and vehicle wrapping. They are the current Sign Business of the Year and have picked up several regional and national awards, including Cumbrian Newspapers Business of the Year award.

Among their major clients are the famous Eddie Stobart Ltd, all the vehicle livery is designed at Ast Signs and then the trucks are wrapped all over the UK using experienced 3M trained fitters. Other clients include Shell, DHL, Tesco, Dunelm Mill, Yodel and Nestle. Yodel is the UK’s largest parcel delivery company (formerly Home Delivery Network and DHL Domestic) with a fleet of over 5,000 vehicles. AstSigns have the contract to rebrand their fleet during 2011 and 2012.

For more information on printing.com or any other services Ast Signs have to offer please contact Ast Signs.

Ast Signs New Employees

Sarah Birkbeck - Sarah joined Ast Signs back in October, her role is accounts assistant working alongside Janette Walton. Sarah is AAT qualified and is used to working on large accounts as her previous job was at Robinson Udale Chartered Accountants. Sarah is very meticulous and thorough which is vital in our busy accounts office.

Sam Hall – Sam is working at Ast Signs in the production department, Penrith. We hope he is enjoying learning how the department works. Sam started here after leaving school and is looking forward to his new career challenge.
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Agnieszka Ibek – Aga started working for the company in September. She will be working alongside the sales team as a Sales Administrator. Aga previously worked for Amey Highways in admin and brings with her excellent communication skills which will help her with Gemma’s busy team. We wish her well in her new role.

Tom Alderson –You will find Tom working in the production department at Ast Signs, he has excellent planning skills which will help him with his day to day tasks and ensure he fits in alongside the smooth running team. Tom used to work as a classroom assistant and spent last summer working at Camp America.

Becca Branthwaite – Becca joined Ast Signs in January as a marketing assistant working alongside Stuart Day. Becca has previously worked in public relations and event management, she has great organisational expertise and
is used to working under pressure and meeting deadlines.

Steve Hastings -Steve will be based at Ast Signs Carlisle as printing.com manager. Steve has plenty of experience in the print industry as he has been involved since he left school. Steve will bring a varied knowledge of his skills and experience to Ast Signs.

Lucy Warwick - Lucy will be working at both the Penrith and Carlisle offices as a cleaner. Lucy has come back to her roots in Cumbria after a spell living away in Liverpoolwhere she worked in an office. She will be making sure that all the offices are kept to a clean, high standard. We hope Lucy enjoys working at Ast Signs.

If you are interested in working for Ast Signs then please check the Employment section on our website or Contact us .

Baby News at Ast Signs

We would like to say congratulations to Sarah Cannon and her family on the arrival of baby Grace, who was born on 1 February weighing 7Ib 4oz.
Also congratulations to James Pass and his family on the birth of his daughter Lily Grace who was born on 16 February weighing 6Ib 14oz.
We wish them both well with their latest additions to their families.
Congratulations to Jen Baker our designer who gave birth to a little girl, Ella May on the 18 August weighing 7Ib 7oz.

Embroidery, Clothing and Wall Wraps for James Pittam

James Pittam has been using Ast Signs for a number of years to design and produce his business cards and flyers. We have recently produced a range of clothing, a wall wrap and signage for him to promote his personal training business that he runs in Penrith and throughout Cumbria. James has had a selection of clothes which have been designed by our in-house designers and then embroidered and printed here at Ast Signs. The items include t-shirts, vests, ladies and men’s hoodies, fleeces and ski jackets, these items will be worn by James himself and his staff. They can also be purchased by his clients.

Ast Signs also designed and printed a wall wrap which we have fitted onto the wall at his new premises. The wall wrap is printed on 3M material and covered in a matching protective over-laminate the wall graphics can last up-to five years and they are very hard-wearing, they are fitted using a removable adhesive so there is no need to use wallpaper paste so it will remove a lot easier than other wallpaper products. We also produced a roller banner and two signs using foamex and dibond.

James Pittam has been running his own fitness business for the past eight years, he specialises in personal training, sports massage therapy, exercise classes, one to one training and nutritional advice. He is training Nathan Aston, British Karting Champion. If you would like more information on anything in this article, please feel free to contact Ast Signs.

If you are interested in any of the above please contact Ast Signs.

Wall Wrapping at Nestle North West

Nestle approached Ast Signs and asked us to design and fit wall and door wraps for them in one of their factories in the North West. Wall wraps are more popular in both the work place and in the home, they can improve the look and feel of any wall and can be applied on most surfaces, either curved or flat. The wall wraps can be easily removed when they need to be changed as they have a removable adhesive on them. Ast Signs can design the artwork for a wall wrap to specifically fit any size wall as opposed to wall paper where you have to repeat the pattern.
The wall wrap is printed on 3M material and covered in a matching protective over-laminate. It is all printed on one of our environmentally friendly printers that we have at Ast Signs.
Nestle UK and Ireland is the world’s foremost nutrition, health and wellness company. They have 23 sites in the UK and Ireland. www.nestle.co.uk.

Nestle have achieved a wall print and piece of artwork that is unique to them.

If you would like more information on wall wraps please contact Ast Signs.

If you would like to discuss Wall Wraps in your work place or home then please contact Ast Signs.

Re-brand of signage at David Allen

David Allen & co approached Ast Signs and asked our design team to help them re-design their company branding. David Allen & co have premises at Dalston, Penrith and Workington. Ast Signs designed produced and fitted all products. We produced business cards, wall wraps, leaflets, window graphics, advertising boards, internal signs, car-park signs and directional signs.

If you would like to see more we have provided a wall wrap for David Allen .

If you are interested in a re-brand then please feel free to contact us.

Vehicle Wrappers required at Ast Signs

Due to continued expansion, Ast Signs, one of the UK's leading fleet graphics specialists are looking for experienced vehicle wrappers.
Ideally you will have 2-3 years fitting experience and a full UK driving licence. You will be working as part of a large team and would need to be flexible on travelling.
We're interested to speak to you whether your're looking for a full- time position or contract work.

In return we offer competitive rates of pay. Employed fitters will also receive a company vehicle, pension and uniform.

To apply either go to our employment page to to download an application form or contact David Simpson on 01768 892292 or email dave.simpson@astsigns.com

Nathan Aston wins trophy at Champions ceremony

Eden’s Nathan Aston attended the Motor Sports Association’s prestigious night of Champions ceremony which was held at the Royal Automobile Club, London where he collected his 2010 MSA British Cadet Kart championship trophy.
Mercedes GP Petronas formula One Team Principal Ross Brawn, presented 13 year old Aston with the award in front of a 150-strong audience of distinguished guests from the world of motor sport, including the British Champions from 2010.

Nathan who is a student at Appleby Grammar School began his 2010 title campaign with a victory at the season opener, his home event in Rowrah, near Egremont.
After some stunning performances, especially in wet conditions, he arrived at the season finale at Ellough Park as one of three drivers able to win the crown.

Aston ended up tied on 1,858 points with his season-long rival Connor Jupp, but his higher tally prior to dropped scores being taken into account meant that the spoils were his. He has recently signed for the Intrepid factory team for 2011 and will tackle the WSK series across Europe.
Aston said: “Last year was only my second season of racing at national level, so it was great to win the MSA British Cadet Kart Championship title. I had a great time at the night of champions and it was amazing to be given my trophy by Ross Brawn.”

Four winners at the Ast Signs 2010 awards evening

The Ast Signs 2010 Christmas party was once again held at the wonderful Fantails restaurant, Wetheral. As always the evening didn't disappoint. All the staff had a great evening, everyone had a relaxing time after all their hard work and commitment to Ast Signs throughout another successful year.

Following on with our tradition of the awards ceremony Gareth Livingstone got it under way by thanking staff for their continued hard work and support throughout the year.

Ast Signs staff voted for the awards in the weeks leading up to the night. The following staff received the awards.

Darron Watson - Joint special recognition award / James Pass - Joint special recognition award - The votes were tied for the award this year. The award went to two of our designers who have been at Ast Signs for over six years between them. Darron and James are very committed to Ast Signs, they work to tight deadlines and are always happy to help.

John Warwick - Newcomer award -John won this award with a unanimous decision. Since John started work for Ast Signs in April 2010 he has impressed everyone with his attitude and professionalism, he will turn his hand to anything and always help people when asked. He has become a dedicated member of the Ast Signs team.

Richard Moreland - Employee of the Year award - Richard received this award due to his commitment to Ast Signs throughout the year. Richard's role at Ast Signs is as production manager. He has put some long hours and hard work in, overseeing jobs and thoroughly deserved this award.

Sports Car Vehicle Wrapping

The owner of this SL500 green Mercedes was looking for a cost-effective way of transforming and updating his vehicle. The vehicle wrap was completed over the course of a day in the North West using 3M’s Controltac 85Cv3 Vehicle Wrapping Film. Controltac 85Cv3 Series is 3M's new flagship self-coloured car wrapping film with additional features like Controltac adhesive and Cv3. It comes in a choice of 24 bold and true colours including gloss, matte and metallic finishes, giving a paint-like finish whilst protecting original paintwork and minimising the appearance of scratches. As a 3M MCS partner we’re able to offer the customer a comprehensive warranty which gives added peace of mind.

If you would like more information on Car Wrapping please don't hesitate to contact us.

If you are interested and would like to see more images please look at our vehicle graphics project page.

Nathan Aston British Champion

Aston Wins British Formula Kart Stars Championship

Nathan Aston has been crowned the MSA British Cadet Champion in the Formula Kart Stars series after claiming two heat wins at rounds 11 and 12 to seal championship victory. He follows in the wheel-tracks of former Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton who was Cadet Champion in 1996.

The 13-year-old Cumbrian came into the last two rounds at Ellough Park in East Anglia in second position in the championship but his heat victories, and a steady head in the Final, meant he claimed enough points to overhaul his rivals and take the highly-coveted top spot.

Formula Kart Stars is widely accepted to be the proving ground for young British hopefuls aiming for motorsport stardom and, as such, is backed by the Formula 1 Management with Formula 1 champ Hamilton the Patron of the series.

Aston, a pupil at Appleby Grammar School, is in only his second season of top karting action. Last year he also competed in the Cadet series but it was very much a development year and a chance to learn some of the different tracks. But his performances this year have really belied his experience and Aston has delivered some stunning, and calculated drives, to claim the title in one of the most competitive classes out there.

He kicked off the 2010 season with a win at his home track in Rowrah using his Fusion-run Zip Kart. He knew the Cumbrian circuit well but had to step things up a gear when the battle recommenced at less familiar tracks.

One of his best performances of the season was at Genk when the series travelled overseas to Belgium. He had little experience of the circuit but rose to the challenge at a crucial part of the season to take victory in the Final by over 10 seconds – a gap virtually unheard of in the tightly-fought series.

But it was his drive at Ellough Park that was the most calculated and demonstrated the youngster’s maturity. He delivered a stunning performance under pressure to take two heat wins which meant he could stay out of trouble in the Final. Bringing the kart home in third position was enough to take the points needed and clinch the coveted title of British Cadet Champion.

Aston is currently reviewing options for next season’s competition but this title will certainly make racing team managers sit up and take note of the young karter from Cumbria.

Ast Signs karter Nathan Aston said:
“It’s a dream come true. We’ve had a tough season and in some races the lead has been changing many times every lap. But the hard work has been well worth it – to win this title is just fantastic. I had to concentrate really hard this weekend as the championship could go any way but winning two heats took the pressure off a bit. I just can’t believe I’m now the British Champion as we expected this year to be a learning one again but I’ve been on the pace at every track and it’s just come together well.”

New Van Livery for DAF centres

Van wrapping seems to be growing in popularity with lots of companies realising the benefits such as, a good brand image, cost effective marketing and paintwork protection. These vans were recently wrapped in Wales using Avery's vehicle wrapping film and matching protective overlaminate.

Due to the client's tight time constraints we had to produce and fit the graphics over the course of one weekend. One of the reasons we could accommodate this request is the fact that our printer uses new ink technology meaning that the printed graphics can be overlaminated and applied immediately. With traditional and more common printing methods the printed vehicle wraps would have to be out-gassed for 24-48 hours before being laminated and applied to the vehicles.

The vehicle wraps have been really well received by the clients which is great news.

Yodel Vehicle Wrapping Contract

We're pleased to announce a new contract win that we secured a few months ago, see press release below:

Leading vehicle graphics supplier Ast Signs has secured a major vehicle livery contract with parcel delivery firm Yodel, which will see an innovative vinyl vehicle wrap being applied to the Yodel fleet.

The two-year contract starts with 400 new vans getting wrapped in Yodel’s refreshing new livery and provides the UK’s second largest parcel delivery business with the operational and financial benefits that go hand-in-hand with vehicle wrapping. The vehicles will be wrapped using Avery's Supreme Wrapping Film, a product specifically developed for wrapping vehicles with deep recesses and curves.

North-west based Ast Signs is an award-winning expert in the provision of vehicle wraps – it’s the current Sign Industry Award Business of the Year and has collected awards for wrapping Eddie Stobart’s trucks. It has wrapped everything from trucks and trailers to vans, trains, cars and coaches and has delivered contracts for many of the UK’s largest transport providers including DHL, Tesco, Hoyer and Eddie Stobart.

Vehicle wraps last between five and eight years and offer excellent branding opportunities coupled with financial and fleet operational benefits. Ast Signs has worked with its partners 3M and Avery to develop a robust, high-quality wrap which helps to increase a vehicle’s residual value by protecting the paintwork from everyday scratches, scrapes and stone-chips.

As wraps can be completed in one day and removed in a few hours at the end of the life or lease of the vehicle, they minimise vehicle downtime and time off the road. In the event of accident damage, a panel can be replaced rather than having to re-wrap the entire vehicle.

Ast Signs can deliver vehicle wraps nationally and has the flexibility to work on its premises, at a customer depot or even at a manufacturer or body repair site.

Yodel is the new corporate identity for Home Delivery Network and its subsidiary company Parcelpoint Limited that purchased the domestic B2B and B2C businesses of DHL Express (UK) Limited on 1 March 2010. The parcel delivery giant operates a fleet of 5,000 vans, eight national hubs, and more than 120 service centres.

Mark Aston, Ast Signs Managing Director, said: “This is great news for Ast Signs and we are very happy to be working with Yodel during this exciting time for their brand and customer offering. Fleet operators are starting to recognise the many benefits of wrapping their vehicles – from branding advantages to increasing the vehicle’s residual value. Our experience of wrapping fleets with a diverse variety of vehicles will allow us to provide a high-quality, focused and efficient service to Yodel.”

Ast Signs' Nathan Aston

Cumbrian karter Nathan Aston has moved into the lead of the Formula Kart Stars British Championship after an excellent weekend in Wales saw him clinch two second places in some of the most closest racing the series has seen so far this year - with the winners being decided by just fractions of seconds.

Aston headed to the Glan-y-gors circuit in North Wales for rounds five and six of the FKS series - which is backed by the Formula One Management and is widely regarded as the proving ground for young racers aspiring to follow in the footsteps of Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button.

Aston had scored his debut FKS win at his home track in Rowrah on round one, but mechanical problems at Whilton Mill meant he was searching for renewed form and some podium finishes to get his championship battle back on track.

The determined 12-year-old started strongly on Saturday in his Fusion run Zip kart - he was fastest in qualifying and secured pole in race one. He continued to push hard and came away with a second place in race one and a third in race two which put him sixth on the grid for the A Final. But, in just four laps, he had moved up to second and was immersed in a battle which saw the top four racers all finish within the same second. In one of the closest finishes he’d experienced, Aston claimed second spot - a mere 0.06 seconds behind the leader.

This is only Aston’s second season of racing at this level and the young Appleby Grammar School pupil defied his lack of experience by setting the timesheets alight again on round six on Sunday.

He claimed fourth in race one and came out first in race two which put him third on the grid for the A Final. With a renewed level of confidence, he moved into the lead on the opening lap and led for most of the race. But a concerted effort by his team mate Darius Karbaley on the last corner of the race saw Aston slip back to second as Karbaley slid past to take the race win by 0.09 seconds.

But Aston had done enough and, with two second places, he came back to Cumbria as championship leader at the halfway point in the season.

The result has given the youngster a major confidence boost heading into the second half of the season and the next championship round at Genk in Belgium on 12-15 August.

Ast Signs karter Nathan Aston said:
“It’s a great feeling to be leading the championship and the results here will really help for the second part of the year. I had some great battles over the two days and I enjoyed every minute of it. It just shows how closely-fought the competition is – everyone is driving as fast as they can to just stay ahead of the other guys. I need to stay focused now and concentrate for the next rounds, I think the competition will get even closer.”

Ast Signs' Karting Star

Aston Maintains Fantastic Second in Kart Stars Championship

Nathan Aston’s incredible season in the Formula Kart Stars championship looks set to continue after a solid string of results on rounds three and four at Wilton Mill left him second in the battle for the series lead.

Aston headed to Daventry’s Whilton Mill track as FKS championship leader after an incredible first round victory at Rowrah – his debut win in a round of the FKS series.

After a six-week break, the championship field reconvened at the bumpy, demanding Midlands track where Aston delivered a strong performance in the race heats - making it easy to forget that this is only the 12-year-old’s second competitive season at this level.

His aim this season is to claim top-five finishes as continues to learn the tracks and get experience of his new Ast Signs and 3M backed kart and team.

On round three, Aston in his Fusion run Zip kart started well, with a second and a fourth in the two heats. This placed him fourth on the grid for the A-Final and things were looking good for a follow-up victory. But in the middle of the race he got pushed off the track and re-joined the pack in 20th place.

He battled back to 15th by punching in some extremely fast laps but the hope of a top-five place was dashed.

But the following day brought round four and a fresh start. Again, the heats went well and he bagged another second and sixth - getting placed sixth on the grid for the A-Final.

Aston made his way up to third but quite unexpectedly, his kart’s carburettor malfunctioned, dropping him down on power and raising the engine temperature. He battled to repair it while still racing with the pack but the problem dropped him down to tenth place.

However, unwilling to give up, he got the problem sorted and fought back up through the field to claim fifth by the end of the final.

The result leaves young Aston, a pupil at Appleby Grammar School, a secure second in the series behind Whilton Mill winner Tom Harvey and still in a much stronger position than he could have imagined at the start of the year.

FKS is backed by the Formula One Management and has helped launch the careers of more than 100 racing drivers since its inception in 1996. The next championship round is at Glan-y-gors in North Wales during the first weekend of July.

Ast Signs karter Nathan Aston said:
“I didn’t have the best of weekends with two problems in the two races but the battles here are so close than you just can’t give up. After winning on my home track at Rowrah, I knew this was going to be much harder. I’m still concentrating on getting more experience and learning the tracks as this is only my second year racing in FKS so to be placed second after four rounds is still amazing.”

Championship Standings after round four:
1. Tom Harvey 738
2. Nathan Aston 720
3. Connor Jupp 690
4. Rory Cuff 686
5. Philip Rawson 681

Ping Trailer Wrap

PING, one of golf's leading worldwide brands, approached us to help with the re-branding of their trailer. They were looking for something eye-catching and classy to help promote their brand on the European Tour. Our designers came up with this great design which has the rear doors and the sides of the rigid wrapped with a simple part wrap on the Mercedes Actros cab. The wrap was completed using 3M materials and a matching 3M overlaminate meaning the customer receives a 3M warranty on the graphics.

The graphics were fitted at our premises in the North West by our approved fitters. If you're interested in wrapping your own vehicle feel free to contact us on 0845 4505544 or pop into one of our offices across the North West at Trafford Park in Manchester, Gilwilly Estate in Penrith or Kingmoor Park in Carlisle.

Win for Ast Signs karting star Nathan Aston

The opening round of the MSA British Cadet Championship saw 49 drivers and their teams brave the unseasonably chilly Easter weather to take in the breathtaking Lakeland Stadium circuit in Rowrah for a day that played out under increasingly bright and sunny conditions.

With snow peppering the surrounding peaks the first half of Rowrah’s doubleheader weekend got off to a damp start following plenty of overnight rain with drivers split into two qualifying groups for the first part of the revamped FKS race format. Following those ten minute sessions drivers took part in two heats of twelve minutes (plus one lap) which then decided the grid for the 15 minute (plus one lap) final. 26 drivers would automatically qualify for the main event with a further four getting in through the B Final.

On a slippery track Welsh Champion Tom Harvey was quick to pick up where he left off in FKS in 2009 (a winner at the final weekend at Whilton Mill) as he set fastest time in the first session in his Fusion run Zip. Stopping the clocks in a time of 58.44-seconds Harvey was eight hundredths faster than new Zip Young Guns recruit James Kellett with Kellett’s teammate Connor Mills a further tenth in arrears.

SAS Motorsport’s Jake Walker, one of a growing contingent of Wright mounted drivers, was next up and was the only other driver to break the 59 second barrier with Connor Jupp, driving for James Bean’s new Eclipse Motorsport outfit completing the top five.

Darius Karbaley turned a few heads in the second group by being the only driver to venture out on slick tyres but when he soon appeared near the top of the timesheets it seemed to be an inspired decision. However while the Fusion-run driver was fastest of all through the first two sectors of the 1030-metre circuit, the last sector was just a little too slippery for Karbaley to fully capitalise although third fastest time, half a second behind teammate Nathan Aston, was highly creditable.

In fact Aston’s best lap of 58.19-seconds was quick enough to give him combined pole position over the two sessions, pushing Harvey down to second overall. That meant that Aston would start both his heats from pole position with Harvey and Kellett (whose session one time was good enough for third overall) each starting one heat from the top grid position.

Max Vaughan, aboard an RL Race Team run Tonykart, was second fastest in group two and fourth overall ahead of the aforementioned Karbaley, American Santino Ferrucci in yet another Fusion run kart and FKS newcomer Daniel Ticktum in one of the official Team Wright entries.

Aston and Harvey shared the front row of the grid for the opening heat and after both safely negotiated the tricky first chicane the two teammates proceeded to pull away from the chasing pack. After applying some initial pressure Harvey started to fall away by the half way point of what was a 14 lap race leaving Aston to guide his kart home with a 1.7-second advantage.

Harvey too was clear of the rest in second place with Jupp, Ticktum, Luke Barker and Shanaka Clay completing the top six. In eighth place, Scottish Super Series champion Dean Macdonald was the best placed of the championship newcomers although for two other FKS debutants, Tom Weyer and William Taylforth there was less to smile about as Taylforth’s kart failed on the rolling lap and Weyer got bundled up in an incident.

Kellett had top spot for the second 14-lap heat and the race soon developed into a four way tussle with Kellett, Vaughan, Lando Norris and Rory Cuff disputing top spot. All four took turns at the head of the queue before Vaughan dropped back and Cuff charged to the front. Despite some frantic late action Cuff held on for victory by one tenth of Kellett and Norris with Ross Martin taking a superb fourth on his FKS debut narrowly ahead of Dan Zelos and the recovering Vaughan.

Further down the order there was disappointment for Ferrucci, who had to retire when his chainguard flew off with Thanassi Barnicoat, Mikey Doble, Dubai based driver Cyrus Engineer amongst the non finishers and James Manning failing to take the start.

The third head saw Aston on pole once more and although he led virtually from start to finish he didn’t have things as easy as the first race he was still able to hold off Cuff and Kellett, all three flashing across the line separated by less than three tenths.

Mills crossed the line in fourth, five seconds down on the leading trio with Philip Rawson, Macdonald, Greg McKenzie, Owen Griffiths, Ross Gunn and Clay rounding out the top ten.

The fourth and final heat saw Harvey start from pole and while the Welshman led the early exchanges he soon found his kart lacking the pace to stay at the front and was swamped by Jupp, Vaughan and Zip’s Trevyn Jay Nelson.

Nelson, who picked up some unique backing from Irish Artist Bradley during the off-season, was a man inspired after qualifying outside the top twenty and he scythed up the order, passing Ferrucci, Harvey, Jupp and Vaughan to take the win by less than half a second. Jupp scrabbled through to take second spot with Vaughan a close third, Harvey two seconds back in fourth and Ferrucci fifth.

Twenty six drivers automatically qualified for the A Final with four more set to join at the conclusion of the 14-lap B Final.

In the B Final itself it was Luke Barker who escaped into a comfortable lead with Connor Hall and Sterling Forster disputing second. Jamie Caroline initially held the fourth and final transfer spot but was eventually swamped by Cameron Roberts and James Manning who, after some dreadful luck in the heats, started from the back of the 23 strong grid.

With the top three clear it was Manning who eventually claimed fourth place, holding off Roberts by a kart length with Caroline, Harry Torpy, Thanassi Barnicoat, Lewis Taylor and Ryan Anderton completing the top ten.

In the 15-minute (plus one lap) main event Aston took full advantage of his hard earned pole position to take and early lead and after all the usual early race shuffling it was Jupp who emerged as his closest threat as the race wore on.

Working in perfect tandem Aston and Jupp pulled a two second lead over the rest of the pack with Jupp looking just as confident as the leader. After narrowly missing out on victory in the final round of 2009 at Whilton Mill Jupp appeared to be playing the waiting game to perfection as they started their 18th and final lap.

But as the duo raced through the tricky uphill first chicane Jupp got a little too aggressive over the kerbing, clattering across the middle portion of the complex, unsettling the kart and giving Aston a couple of critical kart lengths advantage. Although Jupp did everything he could to try and regain those lost lengths over the subsequent corners, Aston refused to let him back in the game and crossed the line two tenths of a second ahead for a hugely popular maiden FKS win.

Jupp was somewhat disappointed with second place, but with a new team around him and a good points haul to start the season, his emotions were somewhat tempered.

Two seconds behind Jupp Vaughan claimed the final podium spot just holding off Kellett, who claimed his best ever FKS result. Nelson completed the top five just a fraction behind Kellett with Cuff, Harvey, Rawson, Callum Ilott and Gunn rounding out the top ten.

Among those who looked like contending for a top placing but who missed out were Walker, who finished 14th, Ferrucci, who was 17th and Norris, who was challenging for a top five place until one of his sidepods broke free of its fixings which led to a mechanical flag and a heartbreaking DNF.

Home Interiors Exhibition

This weekend we're exhibiting at the Home Interiors Exhibition in Carlisle at the Sands Centre. We'll be featuring our wall wrapping materials, canvas prints and the 3M DI-NOC range.
You can design your own wallpaper by providing us with your favourite images or you can work with our own designers. Your wallpaper design, unlike traditional wallpaper which uses repeated patterns, can be tailor made to fit the wall. It comes with a protective overlaminate offering more protection to scuffs and marks. It's also easier to fit than standard wallpaper as it is self-adhesive and doesn't require the use of wallpaper paste. See our wall art page for more examples of the work.
Our canvas prints are available in a number of different standard sizes or they can be made to measure. Again, we can use your photos or artwork or we can design something for you. The 3M DI-NOC finishes are the perfect substitute for, or compliment to, more expensive natural and synthetic finishes. With over 600 product variations, it is easy to match existing surfaces. It is self-adhering and can be applied to virtually any flat or curved surface, including walls, ceilings, floors, and furniture. See our 3M DI-NOC page for more info.

Car Wrap North West

One of our latest car wraps was done in the North West on the new Kick Fiesta rally car. This car was actually white when we started the vehicle wrapping process! The whole car was wrapped in a 10 year silver vehicle wrapping film including the bumbers, door handles and wheel arches. We then printed onto a clear vehicle wrapping film to enable the silver metallic film to show through the printed graphics. The car wrap was printed and fitted in the North West.

The vehicle wrap materials are removable meaning we can re-do the graphics or part of the graphics after each rally event or at the end of the season. Even if you view this vehicle wrap in person it is very difficult to tell that it isn't a silver car. The standard of the vehicle wrapping is very high and fortunately the customer was really pleased with the result. If you'd like to see more photos of the car during the vehicle wrapping process click here.

Ast Signs Employee of the Year Awards

The Christmas Party for 2009 was held at the Fantails Restaurant in Weatheral. As always the food was excellent and the snowy weather added to the Christmas spirit! Everyone works extremely hard over the year with long hours and challenging deadlines being the norm so it was time to let off some steam!

As has become tradition at these evenings we had a small award ceremony to acknowledge some of our star performers for 2009. Throughout the week prior to the party all staff voted for the annual awards which resulted in the following:
Janette Walton was awarded the Special recognition award to acknowledge her contribution to the team over the past 12 months
Breanne Cowburn was awarded Newcomer of the Year. Breanne has integrated in to her role in the company well and has become a valuable member of the team.
Gemma Lowis was recognised for her exceptional dedication, commitment, and passion by being awarded Employee of the Year 2009.

Everyone had a great night judging by the sore heads and red eyes witnessed in the hotel reception the morning after!

New Environmentally Friendly Vehicle Wraps

Near the end of last year we invested in the latest printing technology to enable us to provide our customers with higher quality, longer lasting prints. Our HP printer uses water-based, odourless, Latex inks meaning there is a large reduction in the environmental impact compared with traditional solvent printing and screen printing. The printer is perfect for vehicle graphics, as well as many other applications, enabling us, as a 3M Qualified Manufacturer and Approved Vehicle Wrapper, to offer a 5 year guarantee on all printed vehicle graphics. This 3M 5 year guarantee is the longest available in the vehicle graphics industry and uses the 3M IJ380 vehicle wrapping film with matching protective over laminate.

The printer enables us to react quickly to customers’ timescales due to the fact that we do not have to wait 48 hours drying time for the prints to outgas whereby the solvents from the inks are released. The HP Latex printer produces rich, saturated prints up to 1200 dpi. This latest investment shows our commitment to provide the best in class service for fleet graphics across the UK.

Cash for kids at Christmas

Every year there are thousands of kids who wake up on Christmas day with no presents to open. We've teamed up with CFM radio to help with their Christmas Appeal in association with ASDA. Anyone across Cumbria and South West Scotland can drop off a 'secret santa' present at one of our offices. By simply buying an extra present you can make a massive difference to a child this Christmas.

Here at Ast Signs we decided to help the appeal by sponsoring the event and by supplying a vehicle wrap for the santa van. The van was wrapped using a 3M vehicle wrap material and matching protective overlaminate. The van wrap will hopefully help attract attention for what is a great cause.

The appeal is designed to help all children up to the age of 18 so all types of presents are welcome. The secret santa van which will be used to travel around all the collection points (see Cumberland Building society branches and Focus DIY as well as our offices). You can read more about the appeal by going to cfm's website at www.cfmradio.com

Aston excels on debut

AstSigns' Nathan Aston recently joined the Fusion Motorsport team and made a remarkable impression at the first meeting of the season.

Nathan showed what a transformation he has made since joining the team by completely dominating Round 11 of the MBKC Championship at Three Sisters, Wigan, winning all 3 heats and the final. Having consistently set fastest laps during testing, along with new team mate Darius Karbarley, the pair were joined at the front of heat one by Fusion’s Tom Harvey to record a 1-2-3 finish for the team. Nathan took victory in the remaining two heats, one from grid 25, with Darius and Tom scoring consistently to line up 2nd and 4th respectively for the final. At the start, Nathan dropped back to 5th with Darius taking an early lead. However, Nathan was soon into his stride and stormed back through to take a lead he would extend to the flag for a perfect result. Meanwhile accidental contact took Darius out of 3rd and delayed Tom, leaving him to chase Nathan home and pick up the final podium position, with Darius recovering well to finish 9th.

Fusion Motorsport was set up in 2003 by ex karting and single seater Champion, Dan Hazlewood. The team took victory in their fist season with new McLaren Mercedes protege Oliver Rowland, who won the Super One Championship, and repeated his success in 2004. Since then, Fusion have won a major Championship every year in the cadet category, and in 2008 achieved the ‘Grand Slam’, winning all 4 major Championships with driver Roy Johnson. In 2009, the team is expanding to produce a stepping stone from cadets to mini max and KF3, with the Fusion Junior Team, which will be run by ex-British Champion Chris Rogers.

Car Wraps for M Sport

The brand new Ford Fiesta S2000 was successfully launched this week at M-Sport. The highly anticipated rally car, which is the result of nine months hard work, was presented by M-Sport's MD Malcom Wilson. The S2000 will be M-Sport and Ford's first global rally car and will compete in the national rally championships around the world. We were asked to design, produce and fit the vehicle wraps, their embroidered clothing, the wall wrap and the banners.

The vehicle wrap used a combination of a new 10 year metallic blue vehicle wrapping material and some cut vinyl for the text. The ford logo was digitally printed on 3M material and covered in a 3M protective overlaminate.

Invited guests were given an opportunity to get a close-up look at the exciting new car which has been designed by M-Sport’s award-winning technical director Christian Loriaux and his team led by Chief Designer Anthony Brinkman and Test Engineer Chris Gray.

Continuing their close relationship with Ford, the team at M-Sport has worked in tandem with Ford’s Motorsport Technical Manager Mike Norton and the Ford small car design team that developed the acclaimed kinetic design of the Fiesta road car, to develop a dynamic and aggressive looking rally car.

The experience gained from developing the record-breaking Ford Focus RS WRC has been used by the M-Sport team to develop the Fiesta S2000 rally car while working within the new FIA sporting regulations which mean that this car can be used by customers at both national and international level.

The Fiesta S2000 has already completed nearly 3000kms of testing both in the UK and Europe and that extensive testing programme will continue into the start of the next year in readiness for the car’s competitive debut.

The Fiesta S2000 is the latest in a long line of rally cars produced as a result of the successful partnership between M-Sport and Ford, starting with the Escort Cosworth in the 1990s and moving on to the record breaking Ford Focus RS WRC and Ford Fiesta ST.

It follows hot on the heels of M-Sport’s extremely successful two wheel drive Fiesta R2, which was launched earlier this year and has already taken class victories in rallies across Europe.

The arrival of the Fiesta S2000 means that together Ford and M-Sport offer a complete ladder of opportunity for rally competitors to graduate with Ford from national level right through to the WRC in Ford cars.

If you'd like to see the launch party video click on the link to youtube

Aston ends season with strong performance

Cumbrian karter Nathan Aston produced one of his best performances of the season at the penultimate round of the Formula Kart Stars Championship at Whilton Mill in Northamptonshire, narrowly missing out on a top-ten finish in the final. But there was disappointment for the Ast Signs youngster as he was taken off the track in the very first corner of the final round of the championship.

The Appleby Grammar School pupil was targeting a strong finish to his debut season in the prestigious championship, which launched the career of F1 Champion Lewis Hamilton, and got his weekend off the perfect start as he finished sixth in his opening heat, just one place behind more experienced team mate Matthew Graham.

Climbing 16 places in his second heat, the 11-year-old registered an impressive 11th place finish in his Tooley Motorsport kart and 12th place in the final heat qualified him comfortably for the A Final where he climbed six places from his starting position to finish 14th overall, one of his best results of the season. Graham meanwhile, posted a strong result in the final to finish seventh.

Aston had a solid start to Round 9, finishing 12th in his heat to go directly to the A Final, but his team mate was involved in a crash which meant he had to come through to the B Final before starting the A Final from the back of the pack.

Graham climbed 14 places in the A Final to finish in a credible 12th place overall, but Aston’s hopes of gaining another strong finish were dashed as another kart ran over the top of him in the first corner causing an abrupt end to his race.

The 11-year-old finished 19th overall in the championship, while Graham took second place after a strong season.

Ast Signs karter Nathan Aston said:

“It was disappointing to end the season the way I did, but it has been a really good learning experience for me. I was aiming to finish inside the top 20 overall and that’s what I did, despite some ups and downs over the year. I am already really looking forward to getting back out there next year and with everything I’ve learnt this season I will be aiming to score top-five finishes as often as possible and get on the podium when I can. We’ll be doing lots of testing over the winter and I’ll be ready to race hard again next year.”

Ast Signs karter Matthew Graham said:

“Going into the weekend I was still in with a chance of winning the championship, but unfortunately some of the problems I had over the weekend meant that I missed out on the overall win. But it has still been an exceptional season for me and to finish second overall in the championship is a result that I am really pleased with.”

Fifa World Cup bid for Manchester

Manchester's campaign to be a host city for England's 2018 Fifa World Cup bid was held at the impressive Spinningfield's site this earlier this month. Spinningfield's, Manchester's very own Canary Wharf, was the hosting site for the Fifa delegates on Tuesday 1st September. We were asked to produce several banners, flags and vinyl graphics to help with the event.

During the evening a free event was arranged to help promote the bid. Manchester hip-hop band Kid British performed a live set at Hardman Boulevard in the centre of Spinningfields.

Council Leader Sir Richard Leese, said: “Manchester is renowned around the globe for its footballing and musical heritage so it’s great that this event is combining the two.

“The World Cup is arguably the greatest sporting spectacle on the planet and bringing it to Manchester would make for an unforgettable occasion. We believe we have impeccable credentials to be a host city, including a unique bid using the stadia of both Manchester clubs.

Coach graphics for Reays coaches

One of our long standing customers, Reays Coaches, recently approached us looking for a re-brand. As a well established company they were looking to update their overall marketing and branding to incorporate not only their coaches but also their stationery too.

We worked on a new vehicle graphics design for them which you can see in the photos of their coaches. We also designed, printed and supplied their new business cards, letterheads, compliment slips and vouchers using their new logo. Chris Reay was delighted with the work and is particularly happy with the look of his fleet of coaches.

Ford's world rally car wrap

M-Sport's Ford Focus World Rally cars have new graphics for their 3rd season designed by our team here at Ast Signs. Munchi's Ford World Rally team is in the FIA World Rally Championship and it is named after a popular chain of ice-cream parlours in Argentina. We had to design and wrap the 2008-spec Ford Focus RS.

As you can see from the finished vehicle wrap the results were pretty impressive. As with many projects we often have to remove and replace parts of the wrap at short notice to help them maintain a pristine overall look!

Last weekend, Munchi’s Ford WRT driver Federico Villagra scored his fifth points finish of the season taking an impressive eighth place overall at Repco Rally Australia, round 10 of the FIA World Rally Championship. This helps cement his place in the top ten of the Drivers’ Championship going into the final event of his eight-rally campaign in Spain next month.

Current Argentine national rally champion Federico Villagra will contest eight rounds this campaign under the new, relaxed FIA rules which allow manufacturer teams to enter only one car on each event. The team began its campaign at Rally Cyprus and is contesting WRC rounds in Portugal, Argentina, Sardinia, Greece, Finland, Australia and Spain.

Both successful competitors in their home country of Argentina, Companc and Villagra were nevertheless two of the least experienced international rally competitors in the 2007 field. Unsurprisingly their goal for the season was to learn; to familiarise themselves with the rallies in the series, and to improve their pace as they went along. And looking back at the season that's exactly what they did.

Last year the best event for the Munchi's team was Rally Japan, when Companc and Villagra finished fifth and seventh respectively, their best WRC finishes to date. In fact, Companc only narrowly missed out on fourth place.

The sun shone down on Cumbrian Triathlon

Sunday 30th August – It was the second annual Penrith Triathlon organised by Eden District Council and in partnership with Arragons Cumbrian Triathlon Club.

For many it was their first crack at a triathlon, including Anna Aston, who is one of the team here at Ast Signs Ltd. The event also drew competitors from triathlon clubs across the UK - One Life Triathlon, the Royal Air Force Tri Team, one of the Team GBR squad as well as competitors from Carlisle and Tri Lakeland to name a few.

There was intrigue, too, from local sports clubs with several Eden Runners and Border City Wheelers represented. It is not surprising that triathlons are one of the fastest growing sports, enjoying an all-welcome atmosphere.

Starting with a 400m swim in the pool, competitors then mounted up for a 25k cycle taking in some of the Eden Valley’s finest views… and one or two challenging climbs. The last discipline was a 5k run round the school’s football and cricket pitches.

Speaking, event referee Phil Graham said:

‘We had a couple of records broken this year with Arragons Cumbrian Triathlon Club member Jon Fletcher taking the overall win in a course record time of 1hour 6 minutes. The ladies winner was Diane Jackson who crossed the line in another ladies record time of 1hour 14.’

‘The support of marshals who gave up their whole day to ensure the smooth running of the event was greatly appreciated. Spectator numbers were also up by a great deal, which added to the tremendous atmosphere on the day. We look forward to working with Eden District Council again for the next event, which promises to be even bigger!

The club has an active training schedule including weekly swimming, cycling and coached running sessions. The club is open to everyone who fancies a go, but also encourages a good number of elite level competitors.

Aston's progress hit by pile up in Belgium

Youngster Nathan Aston put in an excellent qualifying performance in Round Six of the Formula Kart Stars Championship in Genk, Belgium, at the weekend but had his hopes of a strong finish in the final dashed as he was involved in a crash on lap one.

After some productive testing ahead of the race, 11-year-old Aston, who is in his first season in the championship, had a great start to the weekend taking three top-ten finishes in the Round Six heats to qualify well for the A Final. But a huge pile-up going into the very first corner of the final put him out of the race completely.

Following his strong showing in Saturday’s heats, the Ast Signs karter was poised to build on that performance in Round Seven of the FKS championship on Sunday, but he struggled with the settings of his kart qualifying in 12th place for the final. The compromised set-up left him trailing in 23rd place in his Tooley Motorsport kart.

Meanwhile Aston’s Ast Signs team-mate Matthew Graham had another excellent weekend. After finishing seventh in Saturday’s A Final, Graham started third on the grid for Sunday’s final climbing to first on the penultimate lap to take an impressive victory.

The final two rounds of the championship will take place at the start of October at Whilton Mill in Northamptonshire.

Ast Signs karter Nathan Aston said:

“I was really disappointed not to get a better result in the final on Saturday because my times in the heats had been excellent and the kart was going really well after testing. But my performances showed that I am improving and that the potential is there to get podiums next season. The kart did not feel good on Sunday but I was pleased with the way that I stuck in there and held my ground. This year is all about getting experience so every race counts towards that.”

Hall in Pirelli Star Driver contest

MSA British Rally Elite scheme driver Kris Hall was unable to make it through to the European final of the Pirelli Star Driver competition even though he delivered an impressive performance at the northern Europe shoot-out in Finland yesterday.

The Pirelli Star Driver scheme was initiated by the tyre manufacturer in conjunction with the FIA to help young drivers who have found success at a national level make the huge step up to competing in the FIA World Rally Championship. Hall, who is one of British rallying’s brightest young talents and the runner-up in last year’s Fiesta Sport Trophy International Shootout, was selected by the MSA to represent the UK in the competition.

During the two-day contest the 20-year-old from Appleby underwent tests of his fitness, media and presentation skills as well as a nerve-wracking interview with the judging panel. The final element of the contest was an assessment of the candidates’ driving skills over four runs of a 3.7km stage near to Rally Finland’s famed Ruuhimäki stage, where drivers were tested on both gravel and asphalt whilst being watched by the judging panel.

The panel of five Pirelli Star Driver judges comprised former World Rally Champion Ari Vatanen, Petter Solberg World Rally Team manager Ken Rees, current Pirelli Star Driver Mark Tapper from New Zealand, WRC journalist Reiner Kuhn and Pirelli’s motorsport manager Mario Isola.

Hall received training, advice and coaching using the MSA British Rally Elite scheme resources in preparation for the competition and was joined in Finland by last year’s UK nominee Adam Gould as he, and co-driver Seb Marshall, undertook the official recce for the classic WRC Rally Finland event.

Rally Elite scheme members have a busy week ahead as they join their counterparts from Race Elite for a joint sponsorship training workshop on Wednesday before heading to M-Sport, home of the BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team, for a visit and mechanical workshop on Thursday.

MSA British Rally Elite scheme driver Kris Hall said:

“Obviously I’m bitterly disappointed not to have reached the European final but I really gave it my best shot. The driving element was a big learning curve for me as I really had to take what I picked up from the first pass and adapt my driving to be faster on the second run. I wouldn’t have done anything differently but going forward I need to ask the judges for feedback and improve on the areas where they scored me down.”

Aston proves potential despite early setback

Cumbria’s karting sensation Nathan Aston continued to show his star potential as he produced some strong results in the fifth round of the Formula Kart Stars Championship at the PF International circuit in Nottinghamshire.

The Ast Signs karter was going into the competition on a high after an excellent result in the previous round of the championship at his home circuit Rowrah, where he earned the ‘On Fire Award’ for his performance.

But the 11-year-old had a disappointing start to the weekend as a mechanical failure caused him to miss the opening heat. Despite this set-back he showed great mental strength to put those problems behind him as he started day two running on his back-up engine.

The Appleby Grammar School pupil, who is in his first season in the championship, showed early promise posting the fastest time in the morning practice. He then gained six places in his second heat and a staggering 16 places in the third heat, beating other karters with two years’ experience in the competition.

After his engine problems on Saturday, Aston’s excellent results on Sunday were not enough to qualify him directly for the A Final. But yet another storming performance saw him take victory in the B Final to clinch a spot in the A Final.

Starting near the back of the grid, Aston was moving his way through the field in his Tooley Motorsport run kart when he was knocked off the track, eventually finishing in 21st place overall.

Aston’s Ast Signs team mate Matthew Graham had another impressive weekend in the Formula Kart Stars championship. The more experienced karter finished second overall to maintain his title challenge.

Ast Signs karter Nathan Aston said:
“Obviously it was really disappointing to have an engine problem at the start of the weekend because it makes life much harder. But I was pleased with the way I bounced back from that. I’m gaining experience with every race and I am competing with many older, more experienced karters and holding my own. Hopefully in the next round we won’t have any mechanical problems and I can really show what I’m capable of.”

Hall leaps to victory

M.S.A Rally Elite Members Kris Hall and navigator Robbie Durant had a difficult start on the Manx International Rally but bounced back to take overall victory on his home event the day after.

The fifth round of the Kick Energy Fiesta Sporting Trophy was based in the seaside resort of Douglas, the event gave crews over 80 miles of some of the toughest tarmac stages the infamous motorsport renowned island has to offer. Before the event even began there was drama on the shakedown stage for Hall (19) from Appleby, clipping a bank and bending the rear beam. Some superb work through the night from the service crew allowed Hall to begin the event all be it with some light exterior damage.

With Friday morning came dry weather conditions for the eight tough stages of the day. However disaster struck again for Hall as exiting a slow 90 left, he clipped another bank but this time sent the car into a light roll. Suffering minimal damage apart from a heavily smashed windscreen the fourth round winner lost 3 minutes to rival Breen and with it the hopes of a second consecutive win. Stage two and three were less eventful however Hall was still dropping time due to poor visibility through the broken windscreen. At the first service of the day Hall was fitted a new windscreen whilst the other remaining crews reported no problems. Stage 4 was cancelled due to an earlier accident from an International competitor; Stage 5, Cringle at 13.66 miles brought Hall back in to contention with clear vision and an increased pace allowing him to take second quickest. Stage 6, Glen Roy at 4.66 miles saw Hall take his first stage win of the rally which was quickly mirrored on the penultimate stage with another stage victory.

This final push and a cool head gave Hall fourth in the FST Championship and despite a troubled beginning to the event Hall still stands strong in the overall championship in 2nd only 10 points adrift – a great result considering his two offs during the event!

Now Hall’s thoughts turned on to the challenge ahead. A quick ferry ride home and a few hours sleep saw the dynamic duo competing again on Sunday at the more familiar home ground of the Greystoke Stages. Taking advantage of the opportunity to gain some four wheel drive experience Hall competed in his father’s Red Mitsubishi Evolution 9 for the first time.

Only driving the car for a few miles on tarmac the week before Hall didn’t know what to expect from the car. Easing in gently Hall set respectable times over Stages 1 and 2 with no reported problems. In second place overall and in to the groove the young Cumbrian upped the pace catching out the rest of the field to take a commanding lead from fellow competitor, Peter Sinclair who was also competing in an Evo 9 to take 1st place from the third stage onwards. Hall never looked back impressively setting the fastest stage times on stages 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 building a comfortable lead to take victory by over 1 minute.

Hall Said “It’s been a hectic weekend to say the least. We didn’t have the set up quite right at first in Isle of Man but when we got it sorted we were the fastest its just a shame we made that mistake in shakedown otherwise the car would have been right. I am pleased how we bounced back and we picked up some handy points with just 2 rounds left. Winning today has been great, this is my first overall win and it felt great. I didn’t know what to expect but the Evo is great to drive. It took a while to get used to the power but the times were good. I couldn’t have done this without the help of my Sponsors Stobart, Ast Signs and my dad so I just want to thank them”.

40 under 40 award

"Born since the moon landing battling to banish the dark side..........our 40 under 40s are fighting to bring about the recovery"

This was the strapline used at the recent awards evening at Manchester's Midland Hotel to honour the 40 businessmen and women from the North West that were recoginsed by Crain's Business. Our MD, Mark Aston, was one of the 40 entrepreneurs under the age of 40 that were featured. There were some very impressive companies in the top 40 all of which had achieved phenomenal growth and success despite the challenging economic circustances. According to Crain's:

"The demands placed upon them are greater, but the supply of entrepreneurs in this region is as plentiful as ever. Despite the recession, we had no shortage of aspiring, ambitious people to choose from when compiling our second annual 40 under 40 listing. If any of them feel aggrieved that the long boom came to an end just when they were growing their businesses and realising their potential, they are too positive to say so. For achievers like these, the present situation is just another opportunity."

Hall Storms to Victory in Scottish Rally!

Stobart Motorsport driver Kris Hall got the result he was hungry for after dominating from start to finish on the 45 competitive stage miles of the RSAC Scottish Rally, the fourth round of the FST UK Championship. Hall finished 14th overall winning his class by 30 seconds whilst he held off fellow FST rival Craig Breen. He was also awarded the Castrol Hard Charger Award for being the most frequent stage winner in the Fiesta Crews.

Hall was greeted by overcast but dry weather conditions as they left the Dumfries Ceremonial start and headed for SS1, the 8.08 miles of Kinharvie. With the weather having been dry for a good length of time dust was the biggest worry for the competitors. Hall immediately set the pace stopping the clocks on 8:22, a superb time. The closest nearest rival was championship leader coming into this event Kyle Orr who was a considerable 14 seconds slower. Following a short service halt the competitors tackled the 0.7 mile spectator stage, Heathhall. Again Hall showed excellent pace being only 1 second adrift to rival stage winner Breen, however success was soon stolen back by Hall on stage three with an 8 second advantage. Stage four saw Hall drop time as he was held up by another competitor creating dust on the stage; nevertheless this did not hamper Halls extensive lead. Following a quick service the rally changed setting to Ae Forest where despite having a reported massive moment due to brake failure Hall stormed to victory, stopping the clocks on 12:58, nine seconds quicker than the closest competitor and sealing his second triumph of the year.

This is what Kris had to say, “I am absolutely delighted to win, this morning the times were coming fairly easy for us, but after we dropped time on one stage after being caught in the dust of another competitor we were worried Craig [Breen] may catch us so I had to up the pace a bit. The car worked perfectly and I
have to thank the team for preparing and running it so well. I really needed the win and I hope
this weekend’s result will help to get my championship chances back on track!”

With a win under his belt this awarded Hall maximum points taking him in to equal fourth place in the Fiesta SportTrophy. With only 3 points separating the top five places in the championship the fast approaching Isle of Man Rally will be a vital round in keeping Hall’s title hopes alive.

Fantastic fifth for Ast Signs youngster

Nathan Aston scored a stunning result in the Formula Kart Stars championship at the weekend, achieving his best finish of the season so far to take fifth place in the A Final at his home circuit, Rowrah.

The 11-year-old Ast Signs karter put his local knowledge to good use as he produced a string of fine results over the meeting before racing to fifth in the final in his Tooley Motorsport run kart. Aston produced two scintillating performances in his heats, moving up from 22nd to 10th in one and 16th to sixth in another, proving he really was on top form amongst the much more experienced field of young karters.

Another strong result saw the youngster take third in the B Final after having led for five laps and again advancing two places from his grid position. But the best was still to come in the main final of the weekend where Aston took on 26 other young aces. Starting from second to last on the grid, Aston showed the remarkable improvements that he has made this season to scythe through the field finishing in fifth place.

It was a huge weekend of success for the Tooley Motorsport team with Aston’s team-mate Matthew Graham taking overall honours in the final – with improved performances from the pair of young stars helping to deliver the best results of the season so far.

Aston, who is competing in the FKS Cadet class for the first time this year, had a previous best result of 24th place in the third round of the championship at Glan-y-Gors.

The Formula Kart Stars Championship was established in 1996 by McLaren boss Ron Dennis to provide a path for young drivers who wish to pursue a career in motorsport. Today it is supported by Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone and has been the proving ground for international motorsport superstars like Lewis Hamilton.

Ast Signs karter Nathan Aston said:

“I am really pleased with the result today as it shows how much I have learned over the season and the improvements that I have made since the start of the year. Rowrah is my home circuit, so I have more experience here than some of the other drivers and it was good to be able to use that today. A result like this is a big confidence boost for the rest of the season and I hope that I can keep it up for the next round.”

Manchester businessman award for Mark Aston

Mark Aston, our MD here at Ast Signs Ltd, has been nominated as one of Manchester's most successful businessmen. Crain's Business has selected Mark as one of its '40 under 40'. This is an annual list of 40 people who have achieved success in business before turning 40. All of the final 2009 40 Under 40's will be profiled in the 29th June issue of the popular Manchester-based newspaper. There will also be a dinner and award ceremony at the Midland Hotel on 29th June to honour and recognise all of the 40's.

Aston plans to make most of home advantage

Ast Signs karter Nathan Aston will be hoping to make the most of home advantage as he tackles the latest round of the Formula Kart Stars championship at the Rowrah circuit in his native Cumbria.

The 11-year-old from Penrith is on a steep learning curve in his first season in the Formula Kart Stars championship, a competition that aims to launch new British motorsport talent into the limelight, and after three rounds he is excited to have the chance to race at his home circuit.

He is currently ranked inside the top 30 of the highly competitive national competition and will be looking to make yet more progress this weekend after reaching the A-Final in Glan-Y-Gors last time out.

Earlier this month he warmed up for the FKS event by taking part in round four of the Cumbria KRC Club Championship at Rowrah. Some highly impressive performances in his heats, including a six-place gain in his third race of the meeting, where he finished in an impressive fourth place overall gave him the perfect preparation for this weekend’s competition.

With over 70 competitors registered for the FKS series, Aston knows that he will be up against some stiff competition but is hoping that he can make home advantage pay to produce his best result yet in the series.

Ast Signs karter Nathan Aston said:

“I am really looking forward to competing at Rowrah. It’s my home circuit so I have a lot of experience there which will help with the set-up of the kart. It was good to race there in the Cumbria KRC meeting recently as it means I’ve got a really good feel for the place. The Formula Kart Stars championship has been a really good learning experience for me so far and I am looking forward to another exciting weekend of karting. I hope that my knowledge of the track pays off and I can produce a really good result.”

Hall has high hopes for Scottish debut

Kick Energy FST UK Round Four. RSAC Scottish Rally, 27 June 2009 Event Preview

Stobart Motorsport driver Kris Hall is hoping to get his Fiesta SportTrophy UK title bid back on track this weekend as he takes on the RSAC Scottish Rally, the fourth round of the FST UK competition, for the first time.

Hall’s last outing in Scotland, at the Jim Clark Rally, ended in disappointment as he crashed off the road on the final day after skidding off on cold tyres, but the Appleby-based driver is looking forward to kick-starting his campaign in Dumfries on Saturday. With the Fiesta SportTrophy UK reaching its midway point Hall is lying in fifth place overall, but there is still all to play for in the closely-fought championship.

This year’s Scottish Rally is set to be one of the biggest ever, with 130 entrants set to take on 44.93 miles of stages around the Dumfries and Galloway countryside. The rally is made up of six stages, none of which are repeated, meaning the drivers can look forward to fast, clear roads with minimal ruts. Two classic Scottish Rally stages, Castle O’er and Twiglees are also returning to the rally which will be based around the Ice Bowl arena in Dumfries.

Hall will again have co-driver Robbie Durant on board after returning from commitments in the USA. The pair will take part in shakedown in Dumfries on Friday giving Hall the chance to get a feeling for being back on gravel for the first time since April’s Pirelli Rally.

The 22-year-old will also be drawing on the knowledge and support that he has received from being part of the MSA British Rally Elite scheme this season as he aims to score his first victory since his win at the Malcolm Wilson Rally in March.

Stobart Motorsport driver Kris Hall said:

“It is a completely new rally for me, but I think a lot of the stages are quite similar to the Pirelli Rally. I’m expecting it to be quite abrasive and grippy and that should suit me. I’m really looking forward to it. I think that whoever stays out of trouble is going to do well here so that’s what I’ll be aiming to do.”

Vehicle wrap scania

We recently got approached by a vehicle owner to recreate a design he had seen whilst on his travels overseas. Based on the Scania Griffin the customer was looking for an eye-catching look for his Scania Tractor Unit.

The customer was purchasing the vehicle via Alliance and Leicester and was looking for a new paint job to work well with the vehicle wrap. Using a cast 10 year vehicle wrapping film we managed to wrap his cab with a bright orange vinyl to match his metallic silver paintwork. As with any vehicle wraps we applied the graphics in a covered premises and used the heat guns to ensure the vinyl stays in the recesses. The customer is delighted with both the great paint job and the vehicle wrap which is great news.

The vehicle wrap was completed at our Manchester office over one day.

European Vehicle Graphics Award

We've been recognised for the quality of our work - this time in a Europe-wide competition for our vehicle livery work.

FESPA, which promotes screen printing and digital imaging throughout Europe, covers 28 countries and in last year’s awards no British firms were recognised by the judges making Ast Signs’ achievement this year even more significant. The award represents a huge milestone for us, on the back of winning the title of 2008 Sign Business of the Year in the UK. The FESPA jury recognised our interesting and innovative application of digital printing in awarding us the runner-up spot in the vehicle category for our work on over 1800 Eddie Stobart lorry cabs and trailers. Eddie Stobart, which is recognised as one of the UK's Business Superbrands by the global branding organisation, Superbrands, has long had a reputation for its style and image as well as it quality and service.

Stuart Day Ast Signs Ltd Sales and Marketing Manager said:

“We are delighted to have won this latest award. Our success is a testament to the quality and dedication of our staff. We believe that the enjoyment we get from our work is reflected in high levels of customer satisfaction and that has contributed to our success in this award and the others that we have won in recent months.”

For any of you who are interested in more information on the Eddie Stobart fleet feel free to look at the official Club Stobart website

Flatbed printing just got easier

As part of Ast Signs continual investment and expansion plans we have installed the latest Arizona flatbed printer. The Oce Arizona 250 GT adds to our collection of over twenty printers, plotters, flatbed cutters, routers, heat presses, embroidery machines and application beds. This new flatbed printer offers a real breakthrough in digital capability. It is a new generation 8ft x 4ft flat bed printer offering direct print to mediums such as card, rigid PVC, glass, plastic, acrylics, pre-stretched canvas, doors, ceiling tiles and wood. This will help us and you create outdoor point-of-purchase signage, second surface backlit displays, exhibit displays, customised estate agent signs, directional signage, event signage and more. It will also allow us to be highly competitive on large production runs. With no set up costs or protracted lead times it offers an ideal solution to cost effective bulk printing. If you'd like more information please contact us in the normal way on 0845 4505544 or e-mail us at info@astsigns.com.

Future star Aston makes leap forward in Wales

Young karter Nathan Aston proved that he is one to watch after reaching the A final of round three of the Formula Kart Stars Championship in Glan-Y-Gors, Wales while bagging some excellent heat results along the way and showing consistently good pace throughout his four races.

The 11-year-old Ast Signs karter showed maturity beyond his years as he took on more experienced karters to qualify in 14th place for the final while his Ast Signs team mate Matthew Graham qualified in fourth place for the final.

Following a difficult weekend at Kimbolton last month where they contested rounds one and two of the Formula Kart Stars championship and struggled with the set-up, Aston and Graham both switched karts for the Glan-Y-Gors event moving into Zip Karts and the move proved to be just what the doctor ordered for the pair.

Appleby Grammar School pupil Aston moved up six places in his opening heat to finish fourth, and gained an impressive 13 places in his second outing to grab tenth place. He was knocked off the track in the first lap of his final heat but kept his head and recovered well to finish in seventh place and book himself a place in the A final.

Graham was not to be outshone by his young team mate and gained a staggering 21 places in his second heat of the day before leading his final heat from start to finish to qualify in an excellent fourth place for the A Final.

Aston showed blistering pace in the final climbing up to 11th place, but a spin sent him to the back of the field and he eventually climbed back up to 24th, an impressive feat for a youngster in his first full season competing against karters who have several years of experience. Graham had a trouble-free run, dropping just one place to finish fifth, his second fifth place finish of the championship so far.

Aston is already looking forward to the next round of the Formula Kart Stars Championship which takes place at his home track Rowrah next month and will prepare with a club meeting the week before at the West Cumbria venue

Ast Signs karter Nathan Aston said:

“I really enjoyed myself out there and it was awesome to get into the final. The kart felt really good and I was able to prove that I have the ability to do well in this championship. It was disappointing to spin in the final but I recovered well from that and I am pleased with my results this weekend. My target for this season was to qualify for the A Finals and get close to the top 20 and I managed to do that so I’m happy with the way things have gone. The next round is at my home track so I’m looking forward to that. I’ve got a lot of experience there so hopefully that will help.”

Hall relishes return to tarmac at Jim Clark Rally

MSA British Rally Championship

Jim Clark Rally, 22-23 May 2009

Event Preview

Stobart Motorsport driver Kris Hall has high hopes as he prepares for next week’s Jim Clark Rally, the third round of the MSA British Rally Championship. The Appleby ace has had a disappointing start to the MSA British Rally Championship by his own high standards and, after a six week break since his last competitive outing at the Pirelli International Rally, he is hoping to make a fresh start in the championship on tarmac, his favoured surface.

Hall, a member of the MSA British Rally Elite training scheme, has been working hard on all fronts since crashing out of the Pirelli International Rally last month. With his car now repaired he is hoping to put in some testing this weekend ahead of the Scottish event. He has also been working on both his physical and mental fitness ahead of what is set to be a gruelling event for the drivers.

The 19-year-old will have support from the Elite scheme’s sports psychologist and a physical trainer during the event. With drivers expecting to get around five hours’ sleep between Friday night’s late finish and an early start on Saturday, concentration will be at a premium. As part of his training Hall has also been working on his nutrition and hydration to try and maximise his focus during the long days.

He will also benefit from the knowledge and experience of British rally ace Guy Wilks. The 2008 MSA British Rally Champion will be offering advice ahead of shakedown before getting in the Ford Fiesta ST with Hall to offer some tips. After shakedown he will be on hand to talk about getting the best out of the pace notes, a crucially important aspect for all drivers as the Jim Clark Rally offers some of the most challenging and changeable conditions of the year.

After missing the Pirelli International due to commitments abroad Robbie Durant returns as Hall’s co-driver for this event, the first of three consecutive British Rally Championship events taking place on tarmac.

The rally will get underway on Friday evening with the ceremonial start taking place at Edinburgh’s Fountain Park before heading to the Lammermuir Hills near Duns with two stages run in the dark. Friday’s stages are tricky and technical testing the drivers’ concentration to the limit. On Day Two the crews will tackle around 100 miles of smooth, fast stages on the country roads around the Borders which include a number of spectacular jumps. Central Service for the event will be based at Kelso Racecourse.

Stobart Motorsport driver Kris Hall said:

“I haven’t had the best of starts to the British Rally Championship so I’m hoping that this weekend will be a fresh start for me. I really want to prove to everyone what I am capable of. I did the Jim Clark Rally last year in the same car and I really enjoyed the experience. A lot of the stages are very different so it’s a challenging event but I’m looking forward to getting out there and hopefully getting a good result.”

Customer file upload area

Due to popular demand we have now set up a customer upload area on our website. This means you can now upload any of your files without using e-mail. This can be very useful if they are particularly large files and save you lots of time. All you need to do is contact us for your individual password and then click on the word FTP in the top right hand corner of our website.

Sarah's Ironman Triathlon challenge

Sarah Graham will soon be heading to Lanzarote, but not for a holiday. She will be competing in one of the toughest challenges in sport, the Ironman Triathlon. Sarah, who runs Arragon's Cycle Centre in Penrith will be swimming 2.4 miles, cycling for 112 miles and then running a marathon! Due to the heat and the level of endurance required to tackle the mountainous course the event is considered by many to be the toughest Ironman challenge around. Not only that but Sarah will have to complete the course within 17 hours for it to be acknowledged by the judges.

The 31 year old from Calthwaite near Penrith said: "There will be men and women from all over the world who are all proper athletes, and that worries me a little! I know I will put the training in and I hope I can finish it and do everyone proud.”

Sarah, who helped set up the Arragon's Cumbria Triathlon Club http://www.cumbriatriclub.co.uk/ will be raising money for cerebral palsy.
Sarah has had all of her sports gear embroidered by Ast Signs.

Aston aims to advance at Glan-Y-Gors

AstSigns karter Nathan Aston is hoping that the experience gained from his first outing in the Formula Kart Stars Championship last month will stand him in good stead as he takes to the latest round of the series at the Glan-Y-Gors circuit this weekend.

The 11-year-old from Appleby struggled with set-up problems in the first round of the championship, which aims to launch new British motorsport talent into the spotlight, as changing weather conditions affected his performance. But the AstSigns youngster, who only took up karting a year ago, is on a steep learning curve and after two rounds of the championship, in his cadet Tony Kart run by Tooley Motorsports, at Kimbolton last month he is expecting to rise to the challenge at Glan-Y-Gors.

Aston’s AstSigns team mate Matthew Graham also suffered set-up problems in the changing weather conditions in the opening rounds of the series. He grabbed fifth place in round two of the Formula Kart Stars Championship and will be looking to build on that result at the Welsh track this weekend.

The championship, which has the backing of Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone, is made up of 12 rounds over six weekends with Glan-Y-Gors forming rounds three and four.

Nathan Aston said: “This is my first season in the Formula Kart Stars Championship and I am getting a lot of good experience and learning the circuits. I showed some good pace in the last round but I was struggling with the set-up of the kart. I’m learning all the time and I’m hoping that this time round I’ll be able to show what I can do and put in some really good times. We have spent a lot of time in the last few weeks working on the settings for this race so I’m a bit more confident now.”

Kris Hall dominates Malcolm Wilson Rally

Rising MSA Rally Elite star Kris Hall stormed to victory on the opening round of the Kick Energy Fiesta SportTrophy U.K.

The newly appointed Elite driver was seeded first Fiesta on the opening round, the Cumbrian based Malcolm Wilson Rally. Hall had one aim coming into the event and that was to take maximum points on his local event.

Hall had planned to contest either the Riponian Rally or the North Humberside event as preparation for the opening round. Unfortunately both were cancelled, making the Malcolm Wilson Rally the young Cumbrian’s first outing since the Fiesta Shootout back in December. Despite no competing for 3 months it didn’t seem to phase Hall with a fantastic time on the first stage beating nearest rival Craig Breen from Ireland by 6 seconds in the short 3 mile stage. Hall’s dominance continued with 2 more convincing fastest times despite a small misfire. As the rally left the Lake’s stages in Whinlatter, there was a sting in the tail for Hall as the rally moved to the M-Sport owned forest of Greystoke for stage 4. This was to turn the competition on its head with Hall suffering from a fuel pump failure dropping over a minute and I turn demoting him to 3rd Fiesta. Breen’s rally also took a bad turn with gear box problems forcing him to retire robbing him of a great score for the opening round. In a comfortable 3rd at this point was Matt Edwards but a puncture dropped him a minute also. After both Barry Greer and Stevie Brown had driveshaft problems early on, their rally was an up hill struggle from the start.

Hall’s disappointment of losing the rally lead was obvious at service but he remained confident in his service crew to solve the problem in the short time provided. He said “It was a heart in mouth moment when the pump started going. I was unsure if we could get it to service but we have and hopefully we will get away on time. We had managed to pull a good gap on most of the lads but now we are behind by around half a minute so I will be pushing hard to get that 1st place back”. Sure enough the service team replaced the component and managed to get Hall out in time. In all the drama new man on the block Stefan Davies took a 36 second lead over Hall with only four stages to go. In second was Kyle Orr ten seconds ahead of Hall.

It was all to do for the local youngster as his 30 second advantage over the chasing crews earlier on now had reversed to over a 30 second deficit. None the less a committed charge from Hall saw him take back 31 seconds from Davies and 36 from Orr on stage 5 then a further 24 seconds on the penultimate stage, seeing Hall comfortably take back the lead. Winning the final stage confirmed that the Stobart and Ast Signs backed youngster took an emphatic opening round win. He was awarded the Castrol Hard Charger award for his 6 out of 7 fastest stage times and he took maximum points in the Championship. Hall won his class by a convincing 54 seconds to Matt Edwards despite the minute loss earlier in the day. Kyle Orr rounded off the top 3. Hall was also 3rd 2wd and 18th O/A on the event that attracted over 100 entries.

Hall now leads the Kick Energy Fiesta SportTrophy U.K 2009 heading into the second round, the Bulldog International Rally based in north Wales. Coverage of the Championship can be found on the Rally Zone television program on Sky Sports.

Aston aims to become Formula Kart Star

Cumbrian starlet Nathan Aston (11) is set to race in the UK’s most prestigious karting championship.

The youngster, who attends Appleby Grammar School, claimed second place in the Cumbria Kart Club championships in 2008 - and is now looking to take on the cream on Britain’s karting talent at national level, in 2009.

He will compete in the Formula Kart Stars series which has just been launched by Formula 1 Chief Executive Bernie Ecclestone; who aims to launch the next British racing hopeful into the spotlight, with the plan to hold align the series more closely to Formula 1. Karting has produced top motorsport talent in the past such as DTM racer Paul Di Resta, McLaren test driver Gary Paffett and reigning F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton. Now a global superstar, Hamilton is Patron of the Formula Kart Stars series and continues to try and help those who wish to follow in his footsteps.

Nathan Aston is one young driver aspiring to do so, and has displayed the kind of form that marks him out as a potential star of the future. Having only taken up karting last year he was first novice home in his first four race meetings, racked up nine podium finishes from 13 race meetings and also won his class in the Lakeland Challenge.

In 2009 Nathan will race in the Formula Kart Stars championship as part of a two kart Ast Signs team run by Tooley Motor Sport, using a cadet Tony Kart with a Comber engine, and partnered by Matthew Graham. The duo will also benefit from specialised sports science support throughout the year to boost their chances of success.

The series’ calendar will cover five events in the UK and one in Genk, Belgium. The flag drops on the first round of action at Kimbolton on April 10-12. With a visit to Cumbrian circuit Rowrah penciled in for June 26-28, Nathan Aston will look to use home advantage to make a big impression against his rivals. But he is fully aware of the challenge ahead and with over 70 competitors registered for the series his aim is to get experience and clinch some top-20 finishes; this would be a fantastic result for his rookie season at national level.

Nathan Aston said:

“I’m really excited about this season. I had a really good time last year and seemed to improve quickly and I’m hoping that what I learnt last year, and the speed, will continue when I step up to this important series. Learning a lot of new tracks will be a big challenge but great fun too and there will be a lot of other good drivers so the competition will be tough. I really want to be a racing driver so if I can do well in the Formula Kart Series I hope that will help me in my career.”

Welcome to the ast signs news section

Welcome to our recently launched news section which we hope will keep you informed of all that is happening here at Ast Signs Ltd. We have had a busy year here as we've successfully expanded the business and our range of services. We now offer an enormous range of services above and beyond vehicle graphics, vehicle wraps and general signage that you would expect from a signmaker including embroidery services for a range of personal and work clothing, litho printing for business cards, brochures, leaflets, booklets, menus etc and flatbed printing for a range of rigid substrates such as glass, wood and textiles. Here you'll also find updates on the MSA British Rally Championships. We are also the proud sponsors of some local sporting teams including the Karting, Penrith Boxing Club and the local football teams so here you'll be able to find all their latest results and news. Enjoy the read and feel free to give us some feedback via the contact section.