Big Bear Sign Co., Inc.

What Big Bear Sign Co., Inc. does

Big Bear Sign Co., Inc. is a privately held, family-owned sign shop headquartered in a single facility at 1315 Clark Fork Lane, Missoula, Montana, serving the Missoula Valley and surrounding Western Montana region. The company originated as Montana Flasher and Barricade in approximately 1970, was rebranded to Big Bear Sign Company in 1998, and transferred ownership within the Johnston family in 2001 to Wendy Johnston (with her husband Jeff joining as co-owner in 2004). Its product portfolio consists of physical custom signage and printed goods — decals, banners, industrial aluminum street and construction signs, vehicle wraps and magnets, wall murals, artist canvas, and custom prints — produced using vinyl application technology, aluminum sub-strate manufacturing, and in-house graphic design.

The underlying production capability centers on digital printing equipment (including a Gerber Edge acquired in 1994), vinyl application across diverse vehicle substrates, and aluminum manufacturing with reflective vinyl for municipal signage. Revenue is generated almost exclusively through one-time sales of custom-produced physical signage; pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed, with customer acquisition occurring via a Squarespace-hosted website inquiry form, phone, email, direct office visits, community organization involvement, and word-of-mouth referrals. The company sells primarily to local small and medium businesses, secondarily to government and municipal clients (City of Missoula, State of Montana), and increasingly to individual consumers purchasing personalized interior decor. Big Bear Sign Co. maintains active Facebook and blog presence, holds a 2018 Boy Scouts of America Community Partner Award, and has donated over $100,000 in cash and in-kind contributions since 2001, but has no disclosed funding rounds, no public financials, no app or software platform, and no AI or API capabilities.

Name

Big Bear Sign Co., Inc.

Legal name

Big Bear Sign Co., Inc.

Website

https://bigbearsign.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1970

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Big Bear Sign Co., Inc. is a family-owned custom sign shop in Missoula, Montana, producing decals, banners, vehicle wraps, industrial signs, wall murals, and canvas prints for local businesses, municipal clients, and individual consumers in Western Montana.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Custom Sign Manufacturing

NAICS

Sign Manufacturing (33995), Sign Manufacturing (339950), Indoor and Outdoor Display Advertising (54185)

akta.pro primary industry

Wayfinding, Signage & Environmental Graphic Design (BPAHAKAN)

Keywords

• Custom sign manufacturing
• Vehicle wraps and graphics
• Vinyl decal printing
• Industrial street signs
• Custom wall murals

Headquarters

HQ city

Missoula

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Custom Signage Products: One-time product sales of custom signs, banners, decals, vehicle wraps, and related signage. Products are tailored to individual customer specifications and requirements.
2. Custom Printing Services: Custom printing services for interior design including artist canvas, wall murals, and wall decals. Products are created to customer specifications for personal or business use.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Big Bear Sign Co. is a family-owned sign shop that designs and manufactures custom physical signage products for local businesses, government clients, and individual consumers in the Missoula Valley region of Montana. Core offerings include custom decals, banners, industrial aluminum street signs, vehicle wraps, vehicle magnets, wall murals, artist canvases, and custom prints produced using vinyl application technology, professional printing equipment, and in-house graphic design services.

Product overview

Big Bear Sign Co. is a family-owned sign shop offering custom signage, printing, and graphic design services. The company operates as a traditional sign manufacturing business rather than a software platform—its product portfolio consists of physical products including decals, banners, industrial signs, vehicle wraps, artist canvases, wall murals, and vehicle magnets. These offerings are produced using sign equipment and vinyl application technology, with custom graphic design services provided as part of the production process. There is no unified software platform or digital product—each offering is a distinct physical product or service category.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Decals

Quantifiable outcome

• Served Missoula Valley for 48 years
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights2 records

Broad incumbents

• YESCO: A large-scale sign manufacturer specializing in illuminated signage, billboards, and large-format commercial signs; overlaps with Big Bear's industrial sign work but operates across a much broader geographic and capability footprint.
• Vistaprint (Cimpress): A mass-market custom printing and signage platform under Cimpress serving SMBs with signage, banners, decals, and promotional products; competes on the standardized side of Big Bear's product portfolio at vastly greater scale.

Direct peers

• Signs.com: An online custom sign retailer selling banners, decals, vehicle wraps, and yard signs directly to businesses and consumers; comparable product catalog but competing through self-service e-commerce rather than inquiry-based local quoting.
• SpeedPro Imaging: A national large-format printing and signage franchise specializing in vehicle wraps, wall murals, banners, and window graphics — closely aligned with Big Bear's vinyl and large-format production capabilities but with standardized national systems.
• Wrapmate: An online vehicle wrap platform connecting customers with vetted installers for partial and full vehicle wraps; comparable to the vehicle-wrap portion of Big Bear's offering but with a national digital ordering model.
• StickerGiant: An e-commerce custom decal and sticker manufacturer serving businesses and consumers; comparable on the custom decal/promotional sticker product lines that constitute a portion of Big Bear's portfolio.
• Fastsigns: The largest sign and graphics franchise in the U.S., offering custom signs, banners, vehicle wraps, and decals directly comparable to Big Bear's product mix, but operating via a nationwide franchise network at substantially greater scale.
• Signarama: A global sign franchise offering custom signs, vehicle graphics, banners, and digital displays with a product portfolio that directly overlaps Big Bear's range of offerings.
• Image360: A signage and visual communications franchise providing custom signs, vehicle graphics, and branded environment solutions; shares Big Bear's mix of interior/exterior signage, decals, and wraps at comparable small-business scale.
• Allegra Marketing & Print: A print, signage, and marketing services franchise offering banners, vehicle graphics, signage, and direct mail to SMBs — directly comparable in customer base and product breadth.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/bigbearsign

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Big Bear Sign Co., Inc.