Vern E. Messner founded the Cleveland Porcelain Enameling Co. in 1936. He first set up shop in a garage and offered porcelain enameling services for stove parts and also produced porcelain advertising signs. Within six months he had the financial backing he needed to relocate the business to its present location in Cleveland's Slavic Village neighborhood. The workers were Polish & Czech immigrants who lived in the area.

 

During WWII, Standard Signs turned its porcelain enameling to treat aircraft parts. In 1955, Vern began to make porcelain enameled safety signs. The Cleveland Porcelain Enameling Co then became Standard Signs.

 

Now led by the third generation of Messner's, Standard Signs is one of the nation's leading manufacturers of porcelain enameled signs. We continue to produce porcelain on steel in our Cleveland factory in Slavic Village.