{"id":22643,"date":"2026-04-06T23:16:48","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T23:16:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nzsda.org.nz\/?p=22643"},"modified":"2026-04-06T23:44:23","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T23:44:23","slug":"presidents-post-april-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nzsda.org.nz\/index.php\/2026\/04\/06\/presidents-post-april-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"President’s Post – April 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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President's Post - April 2026<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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There\u2019s a real buzz building at the moment – and if you\u2019ve been anywhere near the conversations lately, you\u2019ll have felt it too.<\/p>

Sign Expo is coming, and the stands are nearly sold out. We\u2019ve got all the familiar faces we know and trust, alongside a wave of new exhibitors bringing fresh ideas, new tech, and a different kind of energy. It\u2019s shaping up to be something pretty special.<\/p>

Add to that the launch of the Young Signee of the Year, plus a strong lineup of demos, speakers, and events designed to bring people together, and I believe this will be one of the most anticipated expos we\u2019ve seen in a long time.<\/p>

And for me, that\u2019s what stands out most.<\/p>

Even with everything going on in the background, economically, globally, and in the day-to-day pressures of running a business, there\u2019s still this willingness in our industry to show up, connect, and invest in where we\u2019re heading.<\/p>

No matter where you are in the country, this is one of those moments in the calendar that gives more back than it takes. The conversations, the ideas, the reminder that you\u2019re part of something bigger than your own workshop – they matter.<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

From the Pump to the Production Floor<\/h3>

I\u2019ve been following closely what\u2019s happening in Iran, and the impact it\u2019s starting to have closer to home, especially when it comes to fuel.<\/p>

The key message from our government at the moment is: There\u2019s no fuel shortage, but prices are likely to stay high. New Zealand is currently sitting in Phase 1 of the Government\u2019s fuel response plan. Supply is stable. There\u2019s no immediate cause for alarm.<\/p>

But for us as business owners, the real pressure point isn\u2019t availability. It\u2019s cost. Because fuel doesn\u2019t exist in isolation, it flows through everything. Freight goes up.
Material costs follow. And before long, vinyl, acrylics, and other petroleum-based products we rely on start shifting in price too.<\/p>

We saw it at the pump first – Almost overnight, petrol increasing by over 35%, diesel by more than 87%. Now we\u2019re starting to see that same pressure filter through the rest of the business. A few dollars here, a small increase there, but over time, it builds.<\/p>

And that\u2019s where the challenge sits for us as signmakers.<\/p>

Because we\u2019re in a trade where pricing isn\u2019t always straightforward.
We quote ahead. We commit to timelines. We build relationships on trust and consistency.<\/p>

So when costs change after the fact, or faster than we\u2019re used to – it creates tension.
Do we pass it on? Do we absorb it? Do we wait and see?<\/p>

If I\u2019m honest, I think many of us default to carrying it ourselves, at least for a while. Not because it\u2019s the best move, but because it feels like the easiest in the moment. And there\u2019s always that quiet hope in the back of our minds that it\u2019s temporary.<\/p>

But over time, that approach catches up. Margins tighten. Pressure builds.
And what started as a small decision becomes something that affects the whole business.<\/p>

Wars and global disruption aren\u2019t new, but each one brings its own ripple effects. The key in a time like this isn\u2019t to panic but to be intentional.<\/p>

We don\u2019t need to react dramatically. But we do need to stay aware of what\u2019s happening around us. Because even without moving beyond Phase 1, we\u2019re already operating in a much higher-cost environment.<\/p>

So what does that mean for us, practically?<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

What can we do to ride this wave?<\/h3>

For me, it comes back to a few simple, grounded things:<\/p>

Firstly: Know where you stand.
<\/strong>Not where your pricing was six months ago, but where it is now. Costs have shifted, and if we\u2019re not keeping pace, we\u2019re the ones filling the gap, and that hurts margin.<\/p>

In our business, we\u2019ve adjusted our quote validity from 30 days to 14, with a note around unstable global conditions. It\u2019s not about fear, it\u2019s about fairness. And the reality is, no one expects you to be out of pocket. And if they do, they may not be the right customer in a season like this.<\/p>

Secondly: Communicate.
<\/strong>Customers don\u2019t need a deep dive into global fuel markets, but they do appreciate honesty.<\/p>

On larger projects, we\u2019re now purchasing materials upfront and working with staged progress payments. It protects cashflow on our side and gives customers certainty around pricing during the project.<\/p>

It\u2019s a win-win.<\/p>

Thirdly: Look for efficiency, not shortcuts.
<\/strong>This isn\u2019t about cutting corners. It\u2019s about tightening systems. Combining orders to reduce freight. Grouping installs to reduce travel. Minimising double handling. Small improvements, but they add up.<\/p>

And maybe most importantly\u2026<\/p>

\u00a0<\/h3>

Don\u2019t carry it alone.<\/h3>

One of the strengths of the NZSDA has always been connection. The ability to talk shop, share challenges, and learn from each other without ego. If you\u2019re feeling the pressure, chances are others are too.<\/p>

And sometimes the best ideas, or even just clarity, come from a conversation you didn\u2019t realise you needed.<\/p>

At the end of the day, this isn\u2019t just about fuel. It\u2019s about resilience. It\u2019s about protecting the businesses we\u2019ve built, the teams we lead, and the standards we hold ourselves to as an industry.<\/p>

We can\u2019t control global prices. We can\u2019t control supply chains.
But we can control how we respond.<\/p>

And that brings me back to where I started.<\/p>

Because while there are pressures out there, there\u2019s also something else building at the same time. Momentum. An industry that\u2019s still growing. Still investing. Still innovating. Still showing up for each other.<\/p>

The upcoming expo is proof of that. It\u2019s a chance to step out of the day-to-day, reconnect with why we do what we do, and see where things are heading, not just through challenges, but through opportunity.<\/p>

So I\u2019ll finish with this:<\/p>

Back yourselves, and back the industry. Make the trip. Have the conversations. Support the people who support you.<\/p>

Because if there\u2019s one thing I\u2019m confident in, it\u2019s this:
We\u2019re better when we show up together.<\/p>

Cheers,<\/p>

Logan Sutton
NZSDA President<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s a real buzz building at the moment – and if you\u2019ve been anywhere near the conversations lately, you\u2019ll have felt it too.<\/p>\n

Sign Expo is coming, and the stands are nearly sold out.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":21191,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22643","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nzsda-updates"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nzsda.org.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22643","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nzsda.org.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nzsda.org.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nzsda.org.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nzsda.org.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22643"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/nzsda.org.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22643\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22647,"href":"https:\/\/nzsda.org.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22643\/revisions\/22647"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nzsda.org.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21191"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nzsda.org.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22643"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nzsda.org.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22643"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nzsda.org.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22643"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}