Modulex

THE MODULEX HISTORY

1963. Modulex was established as an independent company in 1963. That year, Architectural models were the first Modulex product introduced into the Danish market. The following year this product was launched in England and Germany.

1965. Due to the sales of Architectural models being lower than expected, in 1965, the production and sales of the models were switched to an Industrial layout. It turned out that demand for this product was considerably higher than for the first product, which created a solid basis for the future development of Modulex. In 1966 and 1967, the Control board was introduced. This product did not sell very well initially, but in the following years, Modulex A/S built a software kit for this product which increased sales. In 1972 another planning product was introduced: Pocket boards. Encouraged by the success of planning systems, Modulex started developing a new product line: Sign Systems.

1974. After 2-3 years of development and market research, Modulex introduced the first sign system, which would later be known as Interior 10. This was a highly flexible sign system made of components and knop foil. At that time, the assortment did not comprise permanent signs. In 1974, the new sign system received the coveted ID prize, awarded annually to the best Danish design. From 1975 to 1976, two new planning systems were introduced: T-cards and Follow-up files.

1976. The sign system introduced in 1974 was finally named Interior 10. On top of that, permanent signs were included in the assortment, and Modulex now had its first total sign system, which would turn out to be trendsetting for all sign systems in the market. Having sold signs for some years, Modulex realised it was not enough to produce interior signs. There was also a need for exterior signs, which Modulex could not yet deliver.

1979. The exterior sign system developed to match this need was known as Exterior 500 and today remains the largest and most cost-demanding project since the start of Modulex in 1963. As a consequence of the Exterior 500, the number of special aluminium profiles rose from 18 to 31, and the number of panels rose from 45 to 96. The total number of articles in the assortment increased from 121 to 189 (excl. accessories).

1982. The signage of the seventies was defined by plain information, the signs were black, and the text font was Helvetica. The signage of the eighties, however, turned towards colours and new typefaces as more customised signs were requested. To meet this demand, the Interior 20 permanent sign system was developed. 1982 was also the year in which Modulex entered the Middle East market. To meet the market requirements, an Arabic component system was developed, which used components and knop foil like the first Modulex system models. In 1983, this component system received the IG prize (a sister award to the ID prize) for the best graphic design. In 1982, a new planning system was launched. This system was known as Plancopy.

1983. Despite having a busy year in 1982, Modulex introduced another novelty in 1983: Interior 20 Flex. Some years later, this product would become, together with the Interior 20 system, the dominating sign system in many markets.

1984. In 1984, Modulex launched a sign system that gave designers and architects unprecedented possibilities within graphics and design. This new sign system was the Interior 30. Many years of intensive market research and development preceded the introduction of this system. With the Interior 30, Modulex now had the broadest assortment within the sign trade industry and could now offer individual sign solutions tailored to the specific needs of each consumer. In 1984, a new business unit was created within Modulex. The technological development within electronic communication made it natural to develop and market signs with electronic text. Digital signs had many advantages regarding the maintenance and updating of text. Inspired by Interior 10, the first digital product –EDS 700 –was introduced. As this chronology covers “mechanical signs”, the extensive development of electronic products, which took place in the following years, will not be covered.

1988. In 1988, the Interior 20 launched in 1983/84 was revised to conform intensified market requirements, e.g., lockable signs.

1991. In the autumn of 1991, Modulex launched a new sign, a monolith system named Manhattan. It was a success from the very start. The system was developed to be an impressive and impactful sign for companies and other prestige projects. Manhattan made it possible to construct signs in more than 700 ways from only 15 standard panel dimensions. Manhattan was one of the first systems of its kind on the market. In September 1991, Modulex was certified according to ISO 9001 after many years of work with a quality system.

1992. A special line of products was developed for the North American market based on two products, Interior 10 and Interior 20. The new product line was developed to comply with a law requiring raised letters and Braille on all door signs. Since 1974, the injection moulded number and letter components were the only method for flexible texting of signs. This method was under pressure from modern digital technology. Electronic text processing systems were integrated into all personal computers, enabling the manufacture of signs with paper inserts as the basic element of the flexible text. At the end of the year, Panorama was introduced, a very flexible door sign displaying text by means of special paper and a software program. The customer could write the text on his own computer and thereby update all his door signs in a quick, easy, and low-cost way.

1993. To sidestep the copies which had been made of Exterior 500 and place Modulex in a leading position again, a new exterior sign system with curved shapes was developed: Pacific. The new Pacific design was an alternative to Exterior 500 and similar systems. It was not only the curved shapes that made it different but also the fact that the free-standing signs were mounted on one post only. Finally, the larger sign surfaces could be combined according to customers' wishes, offering possibilities for new and exciting ways of texting. In the fall of 1993, Milano was launched; an interior sign system mode of 100% aluminium. Milano gave new possibilities for cooperation with designers and architects as it was now possible to work with form, colour, graphics and material. Because of the thickness (only 7.5 mm) and a wide assortment of panels, Milano aimed to comply with market demands on small, light and elegant sign solutions.

1994. Since the introduction of the panning system in 1966, there had not been any significant changes in the assortment. Therefore, there was a need for drastic modernisation. In May 1994, a new planning system was introduced in which colours of components and knob foil, graphics and headline of components and all formats of the planning boards were changed. At the same time, it was decided that the old assortment should be maintained for three additional years.

1995. In 1995, there was a small change in the Milano sign system to make it more competitive.

1996. During 1995, it became clear that the Manhattan sign system would not become the expected sales success it had been predicted. Moreover, the number of special orders was rather high, making it difficult to maintain reasonable profitability on the product line. Therefore, as of 1 January 1996, the marketing of Manhattan was stopped. It was decided to offer supplementary articles for a period of 5 years. In week 3 of that same year, the Pacific Exterior range was extended to include monoliths and post and panel signs with large surfaces. Moreover, projecting and double-sided parking signs became part of the assortment. It turned out that there was a heavy demand for signs with a curved front (Panorama and Pacific Exterior). In March 1996, the first phase of Pacific Interior was introduced, a sign system with curved panels mounted on injection moulded frame members. The first phase of Pacific Interior comprised directional and identification signs for wall mounting.

1997. Resulting from a general unsatisfactory situation in Modulex operations, a rationalisation project called COSI (concentration and simplification) was initiated at the end of 1995. The project continued during the whole of 1996 and gave place to many new initiatives. Among other things, it proved that the Modulex product range was very extensive, resulting in a complicated administration.

There was a clear need for simplification! All these considerations led to an integration of Modulex' oldest product Interior 10 with Interior 20 under the name Interior 10-20. Most article numbers from Interior 10 were cancelled, while the best products continued in Interior 10-20. This change took place on January 1st, 1997. In March 1997, Pacific Interior became a complete sign system. New panel widths, suspended signs, table signs, projecting signs and paperflex signs in various sizes were introduced. By developing Pacific Interior to a complete sign system, Modulex became well prepared to meet the market demands for curved shapes.

1998. In March 1998, Quadro was launched. Quadro was a simple sign developed for the identification of persons outdoors or at a workstation. The sign could display 4 different messages simultaneously, hence its name. This product was meant for dynamic environments where people would come and go or for persons with hot-desking functions. September 1998 brought changes to the Exterior 500 sign system introduced back in 1979. Over the years, E-500 had become “the world’s most copied sign system”, and as the assortment had obvious deficiencies, there was a heavy demand for an update of E-500. Aiming to cover these deficiencies and outdistance competitors, a completely new concept to replace the E-500 was introduced –Compass –that incorporated large ID signs, projecting signs and centre panels. New sign types and several new leg types were introduced. Additionally, the new legs could also be used as a part of the surface on which text and graphics were applied.

1999. The year started with a change of our texting rules that should be used for all product lines and by all countries. At the same time, a collection of sign examples with various text and graphics was developed in cooperation with external designers. The examples should serve as help and inspiration to the sales force and were given the name SignSpiration. In June 1999, Modulex was ready to introduce a completely new interior system: Infinity. The system had been developed in the USA but was adapted and further developed for global promotion by Modulex. The heart of the product was a perforated steel plate with aluminium panels and accessories with numerous built-in applications. Flexibility and exciting possibilities of form, colours, graphics and material become the key Infinity words, which placed the system at the top of the Modulex product hierarchy. In August, the Pacific Exterior line was extended with large monoliths available in sizes up to 10.5 metres. The product was named Maxi. By the end of the year, Pacific Interior was extended with a new appearance: Corona. Until then, Modulex had only offered panels in painted surfaces. However, specific customer groups such as hotels and conference centres asked for signs with a brass and steel look. Therefore, Corona was introduced, offering 0.7 mm specially treated aluminium plates with brass and steel look.