Executive Hire News › Archives › December 2008 › Executive Report : Undeniably upbeat

Executive Report : Undeniably upbeat

The events industry is retaining an optimistic outlook according to exhibitors that EHN met at the recent Showman's Show.

At 4,643, the visitor total may have been slightly below last year’s figure, but the overall mood was positive at the Showman’s Show, held in Newbury on 22 and 23 October. This was no surprise to exhibition organiser, Stephen Lance, of Lance Show & Publications. “There may be a downturn in the economy, but the events industry has come through difficulties before, such as the foot and mouth disease outbreak in 2001. It will bounce back again,” he told EHN. “People will continue to enjoy themselves with parties at Christmas and other times of the year. There may be some reduction in corporate hospitality but, on the other hand, many country shows and local events are firmly fixed in the calendar, and these will obviously continue.”

A further positive trend is that many event organisers are improving the quality of their facilities to meet higher customer expectations. Suppliers are responding with new products for them, and for hirers serving this market. Satellite Thal (www.satellite-thal.com) showed its new Maxim 3000 luxury toilet, with a stainless steel bowl and foot-operated fresh water flushing. The water filling inlet and tank drain plug are located at the rear for easy servicing. Also new is the Flexi 1200/800 service unit, which has a balanced ratio between waste and fresh water capacities (1200 and 800 litres respectively) to enable operators to clean and refill up to 30 toilets per day. The engine is housed in a cutaway under the tank for compactness.

Bruno Group Generators (BGG) UK promoted its generators and lighting towers, which it supplies to hirers such as A-Plant, Aggreko,
Mems Power Generation and J.F. Hunt. MD Chris Archer told EHN that “our off-the-shelf range of generators from 2-2500kVA meets 99% of applications, but we can also customise machines, such as narrow 250kVA units we made for A-Plant so they can fit two side by side on a lorry. Generators can be synchronised to give uninterrupted power and we also offer silenced Event Master models producing only 70dBA at 1m.”
BGG (www.bgguk.com) also displayed its compact Site Light 8000, a Network Rail approved lighting tower with four 1000watt metal halide lamps and a 9m vertical hydraulic mast, and which is designed for easy service access.

Seen supplying power for several exhibitors’ stands were DCA Ultra Silent generators from Arc-Gen (www.arc-gen.co.uk), which are amongst the quietest of their kind on the European market. 22 and 40kVA machines are available, with noise levels that are claimed to be up to 15dBA lower than similar models.

Arcotherm, a division of the Climate Hire & Sales activity of Hire Station, promoted its comprehensive heating and cooling line-up, including two new light-duty indirect fired diesel heaters. The EC22 and EC32 are rated at 67,000 and 95,000 Btu/hour respectively and have plastic tanks for damage resistance. Arcotherm (www.arcotherm.co.uk) says they are suitable for use in marquees, horticulture and general industry.

New on Thermobile’s stand was the IMA 150 heater, rated at 470,000 Btu/hour. The oil fired machine has a flue connection and separate external burner, and the company (www.thermobile.co.uk) says that the unit’s compact dimensions facilitate transportation and storage, as with other IMA models.

Taking centre stage on the lighting equipment hirer Brightlights’ stand was the new Ecolite P compact lighting tower from Taylor Construction Products (TCP). With the same square dimensions as a Euro format pallet, up to 20 can be loaded two abreast on a standard lorry.
Low-energy ceramic discharge lamps are claimed to use up to 85% less fuel than similar products and the machine consumes 0.5 litres of diesel per hour, giving up to 190 hours’ continuous run time. The hydraulic mast extends to 9.1m and TCP (www.tcp.eu.com) says that equipment like security cameras can be mounted to the mast and the controls stowed within the base of the machine.

Other hirers exhibiting included A-Plant (www.aplant.com), which promoted its broad events equipment offering, including temporary accommodation, lighting, generators, traffic control equipment and toilets. It aims to be a single source of supply. Rod Morrow, recently appointed as Sales Manager Events - National, told EHN “We provide genuine national coverage. Equipment is usually forward ordered, and our computerised control system shows its location and availability. A complete package can then be assembled. If customised items are required, such as artistes’ luxury changing facilities, we have the appropriate specialists in our team. Overall, the events season is lengthening.
It used to be just six months or so, but organisers are exploring additional markets and using indoor facilities to grow their market, and the outlook is positive.” •