I love Las Vegas. Every time we return, it’s even more spectacular than our last visit. The same can be said for the party division of The Rental Show. It’s bigger and better every year.
This year, the magnificent Mandalay Bay Hotel and Convention Center was the venue. This was my 34th convention in a row, and I’m always amazed that, after all these years, our vendors still come up with new and innovative products every year. In order to save space, I will not repeat the products I mentioned in the February at-show issue of RM, but I urge you to review that column (see p. 212). Here are the additional products I like:
Action Lighting — They have a wide selection of lighted signs for all occasions including Easter bunnies, Mardi Gras masks, Christmas silhouettes, Halloween pumpkins, St. Patrick’s Day motifs, birthday signs and Independence Day silhouettes. They also carry electric palm trees, perimeter lighting, decorative patio lighting and new baby announcements. www.actionlighting.com.
Adapt/AirPac — The PortaPac series is a relatively economical way to cool a tent without having to call in a cooling company. These portable air conditioners come in four sizes — 3, 5, 8 and 10 ton. It is a perfect solution for your large hot spots including tents and special events. This is a high-end rental. Why not retain that revenue instead of farming it out? www.coolestspot.com.
Agile Displays — This company supplies those large, LED signs, up to 6 by 10 ft., that you frequently see by the road to warn of traffic delays. However, their product displays graphics as well as text. It can be static or animated. With some imagination, it can be a real attention-getter for anything that needs promotion including large parties, benefits, and town events. www.agiledisplays.com.
AlloyfoldNZ — I’ve been pushing this chair for several years. Its aluminum frame is light and takes the abuse. Some of the largest renters in the country are using it because the labor and space savings are enormous. The big news this year is that the product is now being manufactured entirely in the United States. Freight savings and rapid delivery time are significant advantages. www.alloyfold.com.
Best Event Products — The huge platters and bowls in white, black or aluminum impressed me. They also have a great selection of chargers. The concentric glass plate in various colors was an eye-catcher. www.besteventproducts.com.
Blue Ridge Mountain Cookery — The hitch-mounted portable grill is a complete party package whether you are having a family gathering or a tailgate party. It features stainless-steel construction, aluminum tubes that plug into your pickup or SUV hitch, total burner output of 28,000 Btu and a 24-in. by 16-in. grill surface to accommodate larger gatherings. The aluminum tubes fit easily in the lid for storage. www.classiccookers.com.
Buffet Enhancements International — This firm is a one-stop shop for all items that will be useful on a buffet including chocolate fountains, beverage displays, ice displays, seafood displays and acrylic granite food trays. www.buffetenhancements.com.
Chillin’ Products — The company known for it’s portable chilling table introduced flameless, waxless, heatless, long-lasting candles for votive applications. The company also distributes a unique product called the submersible FloraLyte. It’s only 11/4 in. in diameter and 1 in. high, and has a battery that lasts as long as 48 hours. Setting them amongst the ice in Chillin’ Products’ ice table produced a neat effect. www.chillinproducts.com.
Cosco Home and Office Products — All forms of poker, especially Texas Hold ’Em have become wildly popular. This parent of Samsonite chairs and tables makes professional poker tables, both a 48-in. round and a 96-in. oval with folding legs. They also have a 10-year warranty. Included are poker chips, World Poker Tour playing cards, a dealer button and instructions. www.coscoproducts.com.
Eureka! — This venerable tent manufacturer is providing a tremendous service to rental dealers by devoting space on its Web site for  free advertisement of surplus tents and parts or even chairs, tables and other items that party dealers may want to buy or sell. Only certified Eureka! Tent dealers can list products, but anybody can buy. www.eurekatents.com.
Event Equipment Sales — The firm has a product that maximizes storage space with the inter-stacking racking system called the Mega Mover. It is designed and engineered to store and transport equipment easily. Forklift stirrups make these carts an excellent choice for high volume equipment transport and storage. Its weight capacity is 2,000 lbs., and the carts can be stacked three high.
They hold up to 164 vinyl, folding chairs and 90 wood or resin folding chairs. The product has been available for three years, but didn’t attract much attention until they stacked them three high at The Rental Show. www.eventequipment.com.
Farley Technologies — This company showed the cutest product at the show. It’s an inflatable waterpark lagoon with Power Paddler polyethylene boats that kids can propel by hand, turning levers connected to paddle wheels. It’s designed for kids over 3 years old. It is safe, unsinkable and comfortable. This will be the hit of backyard parties, school carnivals and company picnics. www.farleytechnologies.com.
Fatboys Foodservice Equipment — Surprisingly, we rarely see burnishers displayed at the show. But this firm demonstrated a good one. It dries, polishes and sanitizes up to 8,000 pieces of flatware per hour. It utilizes only one employee and no chemicals. (352) 624-9040.
Fred’s Tents and Canopies — Fred has just about everything needed in tents, installation equipment and accessories. He even makes garages and shelters. His latest innovation is a clear vinyl curtain, attached with Velcro that serves as an emergency fire escape door. If you can get this past the fire marshal, it will be an easy, inexpensive way to meet the code. Get his catalog. It is very complete. www.wemaketents.com.
FullScale Event Productions — Inflatable shelters of all sizes from 500 sq. ft. to over 6,000 sq. ft. are this firm’s specialty. Since center poles are not required, the space is used more efficiently than a pole tent, and frames are not required. The units fold up into a small package that can be carried in a pickup truck. Uses range from mass decontamination and crime scene preservation to product promotions at outdoor events. www.fsep.net.
Galasource — This company carries just about everything a party rental dealer could need. Just take a look at their Web site. Rather than the usual chocolate fountain, the booth featured a fountain with white chocolate toffee. It was quite an effective display. The wide array of food preparation equipment was also impressive. www.galasource.com.
HM Smallwares — In its first year of exhibiting at our show, the company displayed a nice selection of costumes, wigs, hats, makeup, masks, accessories and novelties. (800) 361-1060.
Immediate Tablecloth — This company brought a full line of 2-in. check linens in many colors. They are using a spun polyester fabric for tablecloths that feels, creases and is as absorbent as cotton. This fabric is a boon to the industry. And the fabric is available in 50 colors. (800) 524-2588.
Intertex — This firm makes blowers for inflatables. I know. There’s nothing fancy about blowers. But these are very quiet with a low amp draw. They are available in regular and high-output models. Their triangular shape makes them easy to stack. (877) 800-2247.
Jomar Table Linens — The iridescent crush is a stunning fabric that is available in all sizes of linens, chair covers and ties. This is an easy-to-launder fabric — cool wash, low dry and no iron. Fabric content is 75-percent rayon and 25-percent polyester. They also have developed a very easy way to drape overlays. It uses beautiful handmade clips that will give you a true decorator look. They are available in many styles including holiday themes. (866) 390-1444.
LinenPro Designs — These designs are comprised of elegant embroidery, hand appliqué, chain stitches, patch-work and cut work. The fabrics are machine washable and dryable, low maintenance and durable. They are unique to the linen rental market and will add elegance to the finest of affairs. Not only do they design and manufacture these ready-made table and chair linen collections, they are also capable of creating custom products with your own concept. Exclusivity of product is available with minimum order requirements on several non-cataloged lines.
I couldn’t believe how inexpensive these gorgeous linens are. www.linenpro.com.
Maximizer/S.E.C. Sales Group — Along with their usual huge selection of products for tent and party rentals, they displayed electric and battery-operated candles that look amazingly real, and can be easily adapted for tent poles. They also have huge Chinese lanterns that are ideal for decorating a tent. www.secsalesgroup.com.
Maywood Furniture — I liked the crushed aluminum bar and cocktail tables for a different look. They also manufacture professional 36-by-96-in. oval poker tables in both standard and deluxe models. They displayed the Chiavari chair that is enforced with a metal rod for strength. www.maywood.com.
McCourt Manufacturing — The company displayed two new entries this year. They are making a vinyl schoolroom table, and two models of an attractive stacking chair load tested to over 900 lbs. and 1,500 lbs. www.mccourtmfg.com.
Monoflo International — This company has a wide line of plastic storage and transport and space saving collapsible containers. “True Form” ergonomic carrying handles are designed for safer lifting and reinforced tie holes minimize lid damage. The multi-fingered lid design provides tamper-resistant security and the traction bottom surface prevents slippage on conveyors. An optional recessed cross-strapping lid adds security, solid nesting stops allow increased stacking height of empty containers and textured labels are easy to remove. www.miworldwide.com.
National Public Seating Corp. — They exhibited a folding chair that incorporates the strength of an all-steel chair with the benefits of a plastic chair. The seat and back are made of molded and contoured, color impregnated, polypropylene plastic with special edging to enable stacking up to 80 in. high. These are made for the utmost safety of your clients. The chairs have a 7/8-in. round tube frame with two U-shaped cross braces — each one is attached to the main frame with two rivets on either side. The chairs also have double hinges and V-shaped stability plugs. www.nationalpublicseating.com.
Paper First Affiliates — If you are interested in adding disposables to your inventory, this is a good way to go. It is an organization of independent party stores that combine their buying power to obtain the best pricing on product, and to develop unique promotions. (877) 472-7371.
Pitchburst/Whirlwhims — This is a low-risk water game — the water falls, people don’t, so there are no size, age or physical restrictions. You can play with confetti in the balloons or “slime” or flour or any fun fillings instead of water. It can be used anywhere, and even plays well indoors when it’s cold. It easily fits in a minivan, SUV and most sedans, and sets up in just five minutes. “Pitchburst Game Faces” have interchangeable banners for birthday parties and baseball. www.pitchburst.com.
Progressive Pro — This company always comes up with so many new products that it’s hard to select which ones to report on. I liked the chocolate fountain because it is made by Spring, a premium manufacturer of food-service equipment. The large Melamine tray and serving pieces look like china. I have never seen a larger selection of chargers. Their glass racks have a very attractive price. Don’t forget to check out the ingenious folding chafers. www.progressivepro.com.
Region Welding — This long-time family-owned company has a great line of grills for feeding medium to large groups. They feature a continuous flow, updraft design for even, slow fuel consumption and effortless high-heat cooking. www.regionwelding.com.
SCO Medallion Healthy Homes — Sometimes you run into a situation where a foul odor can ruin the site of a party. Medallion’s Ozone Shock Treatment uses proprietary ozone generators that produce high levels of clean ozone to cleanse indoor air and surfaces, and a methodology that ensures the safety of residents. Problems that are eliminated using Medallion’s ozone technology include mold, yeast, smoke and chemical smells, and other odors. www.medallionhealthyhomes.com.
Spacewalk Interactive — This firm has many, many inflatables to choose from. However, I was struck by the huge football goal posts in the booth. Although the game is fun, they used it as a huge billboard to attract attention. I thought that this is an excellent second rental opportunity for the product. www.spacewalksales.com.
TEECO Products — This company is recognizable by its clever ad that shows a man sitting inside a tent washer. This year, they introduced the Bullfrog tent tractor. It raises and lowers center poles, drives and pulls stakes in difficult surfaces such as asphalt and concrete, and delivers any type of equipment to remote sites where delivery trucks can’t go. (877) 712-9172.
Tentwares — This firm has everything you could possibly need for installing and accessorizing tents. Their catalog is a must-have for a tent rental company. Battery-powered exit lights, multi-outlet extension cords and light pole brackets are examples of the hard-to-find products that they carry. I liked the circular LED lights that fit around tent poles and create a washed light rather than a glare. They also have expanded into other party items such as grills, tables and chairs and bars. Hank Hufnagle was there with the latest version of PartyCad, but I’ll review that in a future column. www.tentwares.com.
Visibility Solutions — This is a one-stop shop for all sorts of advertising rentals such as helium blimps, product replicas, dancing inflatables, mascots, inflatable costumes, pop-up canopies and much more. This year, they showed Tower Tubes to advertise grand openings, sales and specials. Most of the products can be customized with your client’s logo. www.visibilitysolutions.com.
These are the items that I felt are winners. If I saw something that you didn’t see, investigate it so that you can keep your inventory current and unique. If you saw something that I didn’t see, please let me know. Meanwhile, let’s look forward to The Rental Show next year in Orlando Feb. 6-9!