New FlagTrax Street Flag System Allows For Rapid and Less Costly Changes

Consort introduces FlagTrax®, a whole new genre for street-side communication. From the wonderful folks (us!) who first brought colorful street banners and durable hardware to communities across North America, comes our newest outdoor system for providing information, color and festive delight to exciting places like your town or special event.

The new genre is Street Flags, as opposed to the ever-popular Street Banners that we see in thousands of communities. So, what really is the difference of a street banner versus a street flag? To us, a street banner is like our standard light pole banner that is stretched top and bottom with our BannerFlex hardware. It’s typically a vinyl digital banner or a screen-printed acrylic marine fabric banner.  Great system, durable, super longevity and all good. They are installed using bucket trucks and the banner is changed using the same trucks. See the video here.

A FlagTrax Street Flag is similar as it’s installed on the same type of city or shopping center light pole but once it’s installed using a bucket truck, all the flag changes can happen from the ground, saving thousands of dollars every year on a typical municipal street communication program. And, the fabric is generally a light weight dye sublimation or nylon flag material that waves, glows and flutters in the breeze.

How does it work? The secret to the system is a track that is mounted vertically onto the pole or wall into which a flexible “Push-Pull™” rod is inserted that carries the banner or flag up to the final mounting height. Access to this tamper-proof track can be mounted at shoulder height for maximum convenience or the six or eight foot level above the ground where added security may be required, alleviating the need for anything more than a small step stool.

Street pole banner changes in urban areas, in particular, are normally expensive and difficult with traffic concerns, as bucket trucks weave their way around, sometimes stopping traffic or diverting it with traffic cones. FlagTrax changes can be done by one person at any time of day in just a matter of minutes, often saving up to one hundred dollars per change in some of the larger cities. An additional benefit is that it will encourage more changes, more often, allowing event organizers greater flexibility to promote more events within a city, significantly adding to the sense of the area’s vitality and activity.

Because Consort’s Kalamazoo Banner Works Division has been the pioneer and innovator with street pole banner hardware since 1983, FlagTrax fits our core expertise perfectly. Our KBW BannerFlex® hardware literally is the standard of the industry and we are constantly researching new concepts. So, we were excited when the patented FlagTrax system was presented to us by the New Zealand inventors, Nexus Developments Limited, and we were given the opportunity to be the exclusive North American manufacturer and distributor.

Street Flags can now be economically and quickly changed from the safety of ground level without the hassle of bucket trucks or traffic management concerns. Roger Lepley