By Elizabeth Landry
In high school, Matthew Ferguson was deeply invested in art, taking every available class in Auburn, NY. Initially aiming to become an art teacher, his path shifted when he began working at a local sign shop. Ferguson’s experience in the sign shop later combined with a short career in sales and managing wireless company stores like Verizon, where he delved into technology during the dawn of the smartphone era. The result of Ferguson’s varying experience was a fused passion for art and technology, which, along with a knack for problem-solving and customer service, led him to where he is today: Creative Director and President of A&M Graphics, a company he helped found in 2009 and of which he has been the sole owner for the past four years.
Located in Auburn, A&M Graphics has carved out a niche in what the team has dubbed “Premium Graphic Environments,” offering a full range of products and services from Vinyl Wall Murals and Wall Coverings to Dimensional Letters and Logos, ADA and Wayfinding Signage, Custom Displays and Exhibits, 3M DI-NOC Architectural Films, and 3M FASARA Window Films. On the other end of A&M Graphics’ business, the team has also proved themselves as the premier Vehicle Wrap and Fleet Graphics provider in the area. No matter what kind of service the team at A&M Graphics is providing, the central goal is always the same: to provide the highest quality of design, printing, fabrication, and installation as illustrated in their tagline: “design. create. deploy.” This tagline, along with the company’s logo, was recently trademarked by Ferguson and is all fueled by passion, creativity, and strong relationships with fantastic clients. According to Ferguson, this has been true since the very beginning of the business, which will be celebrating 15 years this coming fall.
“Since day one, we’ve forged a reputation for not just providing quality work but also continuing to set the bar for top levels of quality and service in what we do and what we offer. We’ve continued to build relationships based on these values, and that has really gotten us to where we are today,” said Ferguson.
Crafting Impactful Visual Experiences
Many of the different mixed-media services A&M Graphics provides come together to form premium graphic environments that transform entire spaces, including office spaces and whole campuses, and significantly boost a brand’s visual communication. Ferguson explained how the creativity, expertise, and passion behind the team’s large-scale graphic installations play a large role in how the company sets itself apart from competitors.
“We are so much more than just a sign shop or wrap shop,” Ferguson said. “We’ve really forged our own niche in the industry based on our passion for what we do with these premium graphic environments – centered around the creativity, time, and dedication poured into each custom project. Keeping the emphasis on creativity as part of our process and not just being a ‘feed the beast’ or ‘churn and burn’ kind of shop has always been our focus. We have definitely kept that credo the nucleus of our business.”
Ferguson and his team recently completed several large-scale graphic installations for the Pall Corporation, a global leader in filtration solutions, at its Cortland and Long Island locations. The A&M Graphics team worked with the Pall Corporation to achieve a vibrant, high-impact space at both locations, which features a mixed-media timeline of the company’s history and legacy. Designed, printed, fabricated, and installed by Ferguson’s team, the projects took many hours of labor and weeks of creative, high-end graphic design work, ultimately achieving the Pall Corporation’s vision through the use of varying shapes and thicknesses of acrylics and the stand-out effect of the DryTac Polar Chrome material.
Although the details and vision for custom graphic design projects can vary greatly from one client to the next, each premium graphic environment that A&M Graphics creates is intended to have a strong impact on those who enter the space. This aim remains true whether the space is intended to impress visiting clients or instill a sense of company culture with employees. Mike Durkin, Vice President of Client & Investor Relations for VIP Structures, which has been a client and partner of A&M Graphics in recent years, described how a similarly high-impact design with a very different strategy was achieved for a client in the healthcare industry.
“I toured the new Nappi Wellness Institute at SUNY Upstate Medical University, and in their MRI room, they have this panoramic image of the Adirondack mountains wrapping an entire wall that Matt and his team installed,” said Durkin. “Going to see a doctor and getting an MRI done can be nerve-wracking, but when you walk in the room and see this gorgeous image, I think it can really ease patients’ concerns – it gave me a sense of calm immediately. It’s such a better experience than walking into a room with a stale, blank white wall. A&M Graphics really listens and brings so much creativity into the solution to achieve the impact a client is hoping for. Their creativity, focus on what the client is trying to convey in the space, and delivery of a product that far surpasses expectations are what set Matt and his team apart from the rest.”
Upstate’s Nappi Wellness Institute is one of A&M Graphics’ marquee projects of the last few years. Led by project manager Todd LaFlamme, the team completed hundreds of wall murals, premium sign components, and art pieces throughout the five-story new construction in the heart of Syracuse. “SUNY Upstate and VIP Structures are two important relationships that we feel very fortunate to be able to service,” commented Ferguson. A&M Graphics also completed Wall Murals and Signage for VIP Structures’ new downtown home at “The Post.”
Nationally Recognized for Excellence
Among A&M Graphics’ clientele are manufacturers, contractors, architects, healthcare organizations, and the higher education sector, and the team is often brought into larger organizations’ projects early during the formation of architectural plans to ensure direct involvement from the start and a smooth result. Having completed numerous projects over several years for Central New York-based organizations such as SUNY Upstate University Hospital and VIP Structures, A&M Graphics has also begun to receive interest from national and even global organizations due to Ferguson’s drive to achieve and maintain important quality standards.
The company holds two certifications from 3M, which is considered the graphics industry leader and sets the highest bar of quality for graphic application businesses. Ferguson first earned A&M Graphics’ designation as a 3M Certified Graphics Company, which placed the company on 3M’s national registry, signifying that A&M Graphics is not only one of the best in the business but is fully insured and abides by certain business practices and a code of ethics. Later, Ferguson trained, tested, and received 3M’s Endorsed Architectural installer certification, which deems A&M Graphics a certified installer for 3M’s architectural line, including DI-NOC architectural finishes, glass finishes and window films. Both certifications were achieved at 3M’s global headquarters in St. Paul, Minnesota and they put A&M Graphics on the radar of national organizations that only look to 3M’s national registry for companies they can trust to provide top-quality, reliable graphics services. For Ferguson, pursuing these certifications was non-negotiable.
“We’re nationally connected with industry peers and always keeping our finger on the pulse with the latest and greatest technologies, materials, and techniques. We’re constantly finding the best methods and products to bring back home to our clients, and being 3M Certified is a big part of that, so obtaining the certifications for our business was very important. We pursued and earned these certifications, and they really show that A&M Graphics is committed to being among the best in our industry,” Ferguson explained.
Ferguson has now started taking this a step further, recently participating in industry training demonstrations for different manufacturers in Boston and Chicago.
People at the Heart of the Vision
Another way A&M Graphics is naturally expanding beyond Central New York is through Ferguson’s involvement within his industry on a national level. Whether by attending trade shows or simply connecting with his peers around the country, Ferguson expressed a passion for bettering the graphic industry at large.
“I’m very involved in my industry on a national level – not just for myself and my business, but as a way to advocate for our industry as a whole. I’m trying to help my peers both locally and nationwide by making sure we keep moving the goalposts as the industry expands and helping to grow it even further,” stated Ferguson.
Building relationships with industry peers in different parts of the country mirrors Ferguson’s value of strong relationships with both clients and members of his team, who he calls the “DREA&M TEA&M.” For Ferguson, it’s those genuine relationships and pride in his team’s excellence that really drive his passion for the work he does every day.
“At A&M Graphics, we’re all about relationships,” Ferguson emphasized. “Whether that’s our hometown relationships or the accounts we service nationwide. Everything is handled the same way – the right way – and we really enjoy the relationships we’ve forged and that we continue to forge. The relationships I’ve made with my amazing staff, who are more like family to me, are also what I enjoy the most about coming to work each day. They really are a dream team because they’re all professionals who have worked at a high level in the industry before we all came together and who work hard to produce spectacular outcomes that blow our clients’ expectations away.”
Future Expansion and a New Location
With great relationships to build on and new ones to be made, the future looks bright for A&M Graphics. The exciting next phase for the business will be bolstered by a brand-new facility being built in partnership with VIP Structures that is planned to be completed in the latter part of 2024. The new space will more than double A&M Graphics’ current square footage, which will allow the company to add additional team members as well as increase the amount of equipment in fabrication and installation areas. The facility will also sit on a plot that allows for future expansion. Ferguson stated that the new location will be an important next chapter for the company.
“The new space is going to be really impressive, and it will be unlike anything currently in our area. I couldn’t be more excited about where the company is headed and about what the new space will allow us to do,” said Ferguson.
Certainly, with a leader like Ferguson and a focus on providing high-value premium graphic environments for its clients, A&M Graphics will continue to find success in the future. As Durkin described Ferguson, “He’s a natural-born leader, and it’s clear that his team is all-in on delivering his vision for the company. With Matt and his team, there really is an art form to the design, the production, and the installation they provide. They really do care about the impact of the end product and not just mass-producing for the sake of closing a product order. That’s why I’m really excited to continue to work together and see what we can accomplish.”
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