Reeves Media Sells Turks and Caicos Out of Home Plant

Island Displays has sold its Turks and Caicos out of home plant.  Insider talked with owner Patti Reeves about the sale.

Patti give a short overview of the history and scale of your Turks and Caicos plant.

My husband had been going to fish and dive for lobster in the Turks and Caicos Islands  for years, and honestly I had never heard of it.    So when I started going I noticed that there were no signs there.  He encouraged me to write up a business plan and submit a proposal to the government.  We had recently been on a mission trip to Indonesia, where I saw signs that were located in the median of the highway, and I thought that was a neat idea.  So we submitted the proposal in 2004, and then in 2006 we finally  heard back that our plan was approved.  (that’s Island time for you!).  So we put together our “A” team of professionals from the US — including Selective Structures; Formetco; and Outdoor Installations –  and chartered a plane and flew them all down there to build the signs.  When they went up my phone was ringing off the hook, I had all 32 faces sold out within about  3 months.    It was a lot of fun.

Who bought your out of home plant?

It has been sold to local entrepreneurs Stan Hartling and his son Benjamin Hartling.

What interested them in the plant?

The Hartling name is well known in Turks and Caicos, and they already  own many other businesses on the island.  As belongers, they already have great experience doing business with the government there and have established suppliers and providers.  The billboards make sense for their expanding footprint in the Caribbean.   Ben has a lot of great ideas, and has the opportunity to expand the business by going digital as well as adding new inventory.

Were any brokers involved or did you originate the sale yourself?

When we first decided to sell (about 2 years ago), I spoke  to the broker agents  in the US, but they either told me it was too small or our expectations were too high.  At one point we actually had a deal through Marty Williamson, who did a nice job for us, but then a Hurricane came through in 2017 and that got everyone nervous, even though the signs stood strong with very little damage.    One thing that struck me as unusual is that none of the brokers  wanted to come down and see the plant in person, they pretty much have a pool of resources in the US and don’t go outside their comfort zones.   So after exhausting my hand with US based companies, I started to think about the companies that are already doing business in TCI.  Once I turned my focus to TCI Nationals, I had 2 or 3 companies all interested at once, as well as a few from the surrounding Caribbean islands.

What’s next for you?

Well, I’ll be turning 60 near year so I’m thinking ahead about a retirement strategy.  I still have Reeves Media in Atlanta, and have made a great hire with TG Shaw who now is VP of Sales.  I expect that Reeves Media will continue going strong, as we fit a unique niche market and business is good.  In my free time I enjoy our thoroughbred horse racing stable, as well as time with family, and travel.

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