▲Lavastar helped produce a building wrap for The Lazari Building in Mayfair, London 29 www.signlink.co.uk Issue 263 - February | March 2026 50m rolls in the day, and then before we leave just load up another one.” The variety of projects and investments shows that Lavastar has gone from strength to strength in the last few years, even enduring the pandemic, which had a huge impact on projects. Looking back since the company was founded, Kelsing says: “We have had steady year-on-year growth. We are not a turnover focused company; our ambition is to focus on growing the profit of the company but ensuring our standards and service don’t drop. If our services and standards start to drop a little then we take a step back, change, and then move forwards again. We started in a small 4 x 5m room and ten years later we now have an office that is futureproof and somewhere we can call home forever.” Lavastar is a great example of enduring quality and dedication leading to growth and consistency, but how did this signage and visual solution specialist come about? Expanding Year on Year Lavastar was formed in 2015 after Kelsing, who previously worked in ecommerce, wanted to use his knowledge of graphic design and marketing to move into a more creative and people-facing industry. After selling shares in one of his online stores, Kelsing purchased a small Roland printer and in his own words – “off we went”. When it comes to the values and ethos of Lavastar, Kelsing comments: “We want to be seen as very responsive and delivering high attention to detail. One of our USPs is that our account managers carry out the role of what other sign companies might assign to three plus positions. “Our account managers have the ability to survey, quote, artwork, book in install crews, and help oversee installations. We have found this allows us to streamline the management of jobs quickly and remove errors by eliminating a job having to move through multiple parties.” So far the biggest challenge for Lavastar has been ensuring consistency in standards, especially as the company has grown. As a team, Lavastar acknowledges the level of experience and care that account managers need to have in order to handle important clients. This has been a particular focus when handing over clients from old managers to new ones, as not only is the company’s reputation at stake, but also the relationship with that customer. When it comes to what Kelsing is most proud of, he highlights the “unbelievable projects” the company has worked on, which have all challenged the teams’ skills, especially as Kelsing didn’t have a background in the signage industry. “I’m just really proud of how far we have come in ten years […] I think with the sectors we are in, it means a lot of our work is put in front of millions of eyes in major cities. To see the public engage and appreciate it is an amazing feeling.” As for the future, Kelsing adds: “I think we will welcome continued steady growth. I have always felt we are quite prominent as a company in one or two industries, and I would like to expand into a couple of other areas to spread our services. It would make us a more robust business if for example the property market went through a challenging period. Luckily through the pandemic we were very busy, but we all saw what happened to companies with all their eggs in the event and exhibition industry.” Lavastar is another example of a signage business with humble beginnings, starting just ten years ago with a small Roland printer, and now creating enormous graphics for major buildings in London. Whether this acts as inspiration to do better, justification for the strength of the industry, or a chance to reflect on what can be done differently, it’s hard to deny companies like Lavastar are indicative of the spirit and determination the signage industry is known for. I love the people we have at Lavastar – we have a really tight team who I think all really enjoy what they do and take pride in what is produced ▼The company surveys, quotes, creates artwork, and installs projects in the UK as well as additional work overseas COMPANY SPOTLIGHT | LAVASTAR
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