Company History

Doing what we say we’ll do since 1934.

North American Signs was founded in 1934 by the late Maurice P. Yarger, as “South Bend Neon.” North American Signs is currently run by the founder’s grandson, John Yarger, who enjoys the active participation and counsel of the founder’s two sons, Noel and Tom Yarger.

For years, we specialized in neon signs for local General Motors, Ford and Chrysler dealers, as well as local department stores and retail businesses. As technology has changed, so has North American Signs. We were early adopters of plastic faced signs lit by fluorescent tubes and more recently have been an industry leader providing signs lit with energy-saving light emitting diodes (LEDs).

In the 1970s, North American Signs changed its focus to national and regional chain accounts and today serves industry leaders like Nike Factory Outlet, The Limited, OfficeMax, Barnes & Noble Booksellers, GameStop and Red Roof Inn. In retrospect, the shift to chain or franchised accounts was natural, as the retailing and service industries changed from locally owned facilities to nationally or regionally owned chains or franchises. At the time, however, it required a bold strategy and insightful leadership to extend beyond a local supplier to a leading national provider of managed signage programs.

The company is presently located in a modern facility on 13 acres directly opposite the regional airport, enabling us to reach our national customers in a convenient manner.

North American Signs’ industry leadership has been consistently recognized through the years. We were the first area firm to join the International Sign Association and have served on various committees and functions therein. We are a long time member and past president of the World Sign Associates, an association of signage industry leaders recognized for practicing and promoting the highest professional standards. The organization and the leadership team are honored to have been selected for several national, state and local awards, including the International Sign Association Kirk L. Brimley Distinguished Service Award which was awarded to Noel Yarger, company chairman, in 2012 for his many years of service to the sign industry.

Our philosophy is to treat each client as a partner, provide open and honest lines of communication, and consistently deliver the best service in the industry to our customers. We believe this can only be achieved if we take a good care of our employees by providing both exceptional training and a family friendly work environment.