Call it an actual sign of the times.

A sign company founded in Raleigh five years ago, Capital Sign Solutions, has expanded to Wilmington, starting by hiring a local employee and opening a small office a couple weeks ago on Oleander Drive.

Capital Sign Solutions officials are looking for a larger space in the Port City to open a full-service retail operation by the first quarter of 2017, said Matt Sullivan, a Wilmington resident who was hired to serve as the firm’s regional business developer.

“I have been part of the Wilmington business community for close to 15 years, and I am pleased to be part of bringing Capital Sign Solutions to this market,” said Sullivan, who joined the company after a career in real estate investment, property management and sales.

He said the firm "provides the highest quality signs and service to customers ranging from national insurance companies to local mom-and-pop businesses.”

Sullivan said Capital Sign Solutions is a turnkey sign company, offering concept-to-installation services and placing an emphasis on protecting the brand of clients.

Recent local clients, he said, include Wilmington-based pharmaceutical firm PPD in downtown Wilmington. Sullivan’s company retrofitted all of PPDs exterior signs with a new lighting system and has also completed local projects for Rise Biscuits Donuts and Wine & Design.

“We think this area is full of opportunity,” Sullivan said.

Capital Sign Solutions has 27 employees in Raleigh, and has grown 30 to 50 percent each year since owner Patrick Mills started the firm in 2011.   

“Capital Sign Solutions is already doing business in Eastern North Carolina, and because Wilmington is thriving, it makes sense for us to have an established presence in the region,” Mills said in the release.

Sullivan said he expects to be working with companies in and around Southeastern North Carolina, including Brunswick and Pender counties, to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. 

"We really want to develop this market," he said.