Our History

In 1955, George Lay decided to quit his job designing neon signs for Wichita’s leading sign company to start his own sign painting business. Of course, his former boss was convinced that George would return, so he didn’t hire a replacement for several months. But George proved him wrong.

Through the 1950s and 1960s, George Lay expanded his sign painting business to include highway billboards across Kansas. At the time, highways had two narrow lanes, speed limits were “reasonable and customary,” and the Chevy V-8 was the hot car. George Lay’s billboards proved a great way to advertise to people on the go. As America became more and more a nation of commuters and travelers, billboards grew to become a dynamic, cost-effective method of communicating to these individuals, and remain just as effective today.

With his billboard business thriving, George Lay once again expanded his business. Because Wichita was the headquarters for several large, independent oil marketers, his company began designing and building signs for hundreds of gas stations, as well as for other commercial businesses in the region. Continued growth in both the demand for electric signage, as well as the technology that supports this advertising method, have placed George Lay Signs in the forefront of this growing industry.

Today, over fifty years later, George Lay Signs Inc. provides innovative signage solutions to a variety of local, regional and national clients. George’s business has grown from a small sign shop offering hand-painted window and truck lettering to one of the region's premier electric sign and outdoor advertising companies.