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| RAYDEO ENTERPRISES, INC. - Ball Ground, GA - September, 2003
The sign business was booming in the 80’s as neon had gained popularity with business owners and the company focused more on custom sign-operations utilizing a variety of materials such as acrylics, aluminum, steel, brass, neon and sometimes fiber optics. Peter, who specialized in the technology aspect of the business focused on the electrical and sometimes audio aspects of the business. John utilized his unique selling skills to form marketing strategies and typically accepted jobs that were particularly different and sometimes even considered “weird” by consumer standards. …”People are always looking for a competitive edge, something that no one else has so their store stands out above all the rest,” said John during a 1989 interview with the Marietta Daily Journal. “They are looking for something that no one else has seen before.” Other sign firms were into standard designs and layouts thus those clients with new and sometimes different ideas would seek out the Mercure brothers for their specialty projects. Because of its ability of utilizing a wide variety of materials, Raydeo Enterprises soon established a repertoire as being a custom specialty sign & fixture shop. In collaboration with several local and non-local designers and architectural firms, the company established a relationship with Turner Broadcasting and set out to create custom fixtures as well as signage for one of their retail outlets known as The Braves Clubhouse at North Point Mall. The work included the creation of acrylic and neon baseball players that decorate the store. In 1990, the Mercures entered into a partnership with a local artist and formed Ikon Industrial Imagery, and became involved with the Fernbank Natural History Museum in Atlanta. There, the company truly became a family affair when it was joined by two more brothers, Jim & Ron Mercure, as well as, several other family members and began an effort in creating a Fantasy Forest which was to become a "hands-on" entertainment and learning center for children of all ages.
In 1994 Raydeo was approached by a local designer, Gary Aldridge, for a coffee station project which would be located in the World Trade Center in New York City. This project was to be installed only two years after the first bombing of the World Trade Center. As a measure of caution, The Port of Authority scrutinized over details of the project and created strict guidelines such as non-flammable and non-toxic materials for the construction of this project. It was prefabricated and erected at Raydeo’s shop to allow proper fitting and sure framing before it was disassembled and shipped to NYC for erection. The New York Coffee Station store was installed in the World Trade Center in five days and it became the world’s highest volume specialty coffee store in 1995. Raydeo developed and manufactured 38 coffee shops for The Coffee Station. Each Store was uniquely designed. For a typical store, Raydeo’s shop fabricated all of the store fixtures, signage, menu boards and such, often including pre-plumbed and pre-wired cabinetry. This approach allowed stores to be fixture–fitted within days, instead of weeks. As the company’s development grew throughout the 90’s, Raydeo branched out into commercial artwork and teamed up with Baker Interiors, a local interior design firm, to design and manufacture several unique projects including a hands-on wall of children from around the world located at the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. Each figure exhibits the music and clothing of their culture and provides an interactive format for children visiting the hospital to remove and play the instruments. In 1999, Raydeo teamed up with Morton Gruber & Associates, an architectural firm, to create and develop the casework, displays, signs and interactive items for a retail store called The Cookie Farm. A farm silo serves as display cases, as well as the main serving counter, a 10’ tall windmill beckons passing shoppers with sounds of farm animals, set off by proximity sensors and enclosed handmade mechanical animals (who flap their wings and move about). With the advent of the new millennium, Raydeo Enterprises has developed into a restaurant and retail development corporation specializing in custom made fixtures. Such projects as The Tap Room, located in downtown Atlanta, GA, incorporates Raydeo’s ability to encompass a vast diversified selection of materials such as mahogany, brass and brushed aluminum as well as backlit fabric awnings in the creation of this store. Also included in this arena is the Village Tavern in Alpharetta, GA encompassing approximately 7000 feet of pre-finished custom ash moldings, 6 ash bar tables, 800 linear feet of ash wainscot, approximately 200 square feet of solid surface counter tops, an ash hostess stand and three wait stations.
Through out the years, Raydeo has established itself as an integrated production and installation house of custom metals, cabinetry, signage, and art, Raydeo is able to build multimedia designs in a synchronized & coordinative manner -- An easier path to a better product. Now celebrating its 1 year anniversary since moving into the new and improved Ball Ground Division Resource Center, Raydeo is more equipped and capable than ever. We’ve added in a host of new equipment and software applications including Cabinet Vision and Alpha Cam for millwork designs and automated manufacturing. A Komo VR510 CNC Router machine center for high speed precision cutting and milling to support all its divisions.
Our metalwork shop added an overhead crane and advanced material management resources, not to mention 35% more space. We can handle projects 5 times our previous capacity. Believe it or not, we even had room to build out our offices to add staff and resources to better serve you.
Raydeo has completed projects in 38 states across this great nation. In addition we are certified in a multitude of product categories and all of our products that contain electrical apparatus, proudly bare the UL label. We handle quality products such as Cambria, "a natural quartz product", Corion, Surrell and Avonite counter tops, as well as most other natural stone products. We work with fine finishing products like Mohawk, Akzo Nobel, Mathews, PPG, Minwax and Luminore finishing materials. These are just a few. Let us know of your special requests. The company is comprised of talented artists and craftspeople that pride themselves on creativity and precision. This is what sets Raydeo apart from its competitors. Each project can be customized to unique specifications. Become a part of our history, give us a call and let us get started on your next project. THE PLAYERS OF RAYDEO ENTERPRISES, INC.
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