Industry Trends

When it comes to tent events in the state of Ohio, O'Neil Tents and Party Supplies does our best to stay on top of what is current. We strive to offer what it is our customers need to make their events as successful as possible. We do this through attending various trade group meetings as mentioned in our previous blog post, but also through trade publications.

One of the best tent rental publications available is called In Tents magazine. In Tents is a comprehensive source for all aspects of the rental business. From sales ideas to best accounting practices, In Tents covers it all. One piece we always look at though is the project spotlight (please follow the link at the bottom of the page to view). The project spotlight section shows what our peers have been working on and shows the direction the industry is headed.

Another great section is the Trend Watch. Whether its how to get the most out of you tent liner, or creative ways to light a canopy, the Trend Watch keeps O'Neil Tents on the cutting edge of tented events in Ohio.

Project Spotlight: http://intentsmag.com/events/projectbriefs
Trend Watch: http://intentsmag.com/events/trendwatch

Why Join Trade Associations?

Whether you work in manufacturing, insurance, or some other area, chances are that there is an association of trade professionals for your field. These groups meet sometimes monthly, other times annually to discuss current events, trends and issues that may affect your company or the way your company operates. They aren't cheap to join and the meetings are definitely not free. So why join?

O'Neil is a member of 3 rental related groups. We are members of the International Special Events Society (ISES), the Industrial Fabrics Association International (IFAI) Tent Rental Division, and the American Rental Association (ARA). We join these groups for a couple of distinct reasons.

First, trade groups help keep us on the cutting edge of the event industry. Groups like ISES pull together professionals representing many disciplines like production companies, party planners, caterers, photographers, etc... When all of these people get together they talk about what's next in their profession. They let us know where the direction their markets are heading. This is helpful to O'Neil because we can take their feedback and see how or if we should change our product offering to accommodate the newest trends.

Joining a group that is more industry specific like the Tent Rental Division in IFAI still provides cutting edge information. The main benefit here though is that we can judge if we are up to par with other companies that we may or may not be competing against. By comparing our operation with other industry specific companies, we can benchmark things like:

1. Do our installation practices need improvement?
2. Are our safety precautions are up to date?
3. Is our manufacturing operation as efficient as it should be?
4. Is there equipment that we should be using that we currently are not?

Different than the first two organizations, the ARA brings together rental companies from all aspects of industry. Where the Tent Rental Division only includes tent companies, ISES only involves event planners, the ARA includes companies that rental heavy equipment, furniture, heating and cooling, and many more. This group helps to offer perspective into the way our business is structured, the way we work with end users as well as other companies, and different ways to look at the rental process from a business perspective.

Each of these organizations is important to the way we do business. Over all, they help us to make sure we're on our game in terms of what we're doing. But when you break down the individual benefits from each group, they are each rewarding in unique ways for O'Neil.