Article Contributed on: 6/27/2008 10:21:38 AM
The team at Zuni (pronounced zoo-knee) Sign Company was hard at work June 26. Owners
Ed Bischoff and
Vicki Renfro have been in the business for 15 years after leaving corporate jobs.
Bischoff was a consultant for the US Department of Energy on hazardous radioactive materials and Renfro was an engineer for Hughes Missile Systems Group in Tucson, Ariz.
Their most recent work is visible in Morrison. The red flagstone sign welcomes visitors on County Road 73.
Bischoff said, "Jerry Smith and I talked about the project for about three years."
The slab was chosen by Bischoff from a quarry in Lyons and weighs 4,000 pounds. Vicki does the design work. They take photos at the site and a photo of the slab then superimpose the slab on to the location site to show the city what it will look like. The project was a contract with the city of Morrison.
"We install it with a crane. We will be doing a similar project at Addenbrooke Park in Lakewood, only it will weigh10,000 pounds. Bischoff sandblasts the lettering and design work at the site after the slab is placed. All the work is done in stages.
Bischoff said, "The biggest challenge? Not dropping it!"
These flagstone signs are a refrain in the portfolio of this small company with five employees.
We use Evergreen Crane Company to move the slab into place, he said.
To read Jerry Smith's story about the Morrison town sign, go
here.