The 2014 Rental Show is fast approaching with less than 2 weeks to go! We're excited to be in the Party/Event Rental section in booth 2937. Click here for an easy to print map of how to find us!

We're going to be at the show exhibiting our dinnerware, cutlery, plastic/wood folding tables including our new Rhino table line, plastic folding chairs, white resin folding chairs, chiavari chairs, glass & crystal stemware and our new line of linens.

Stop by the booth to:

• Check out our show special pricing available on all products
• Enter your name into our Show Draw for the chance to win 10 6-ft folding tables (in your choice of wood or plastic)
• View our videos on how much weight our folding tables and chairs can hold

If you're going to the Rental Show for the first time, or want a refresher, here are some tips and tricks to ensure you get the most out of your time down in Orlando.

The team looks forward to seeing you at the show!

One of the things I love about TED Talks is they allow us to step outside our everyday working lives and learn from others experiences. Often times, doing this can cause light bulb moments that can be translated and applied back to your business. Check out these two TED Talks from chefs that change the way you think about food and waste.

1) Chef Dan Barber: How I Fell in Love with a Fish

For the past 50 years we've been farming the sea like we were clear cutting forests. Chef Dan Brown thought he was lending to the sustainability movement by cooking a fish he felt good about selling. A fish that was farm-raised to the supposed highest standards of sustainability. But upon doing further innocent questioning, Chef Barber fell out of love with said fish. Until he happened upon another fish. A different fish, first experienced by him in the South of Spain and despite being really overdone was still amazingly delicious. Chef Barber talks with humour about his love affair with only two fish in his lifetime and the future of good food. He definitely provides food for thought.

2) Arthur Potts Dawson: A vision for sustainable restaurants

Chef Arthur Potts-Dawson shares an interesting perspective about his personal vision for drastically reducing restaurant waste; an industry he argues is one of the most wasteful industries in the world – creating recycling, composting, sustainable engines for good food. Chef Potts-Dawson details how he’s managed to create a restaurant that minimizes waste by some innovative tactics as well as time tested ones. Once he got that restaurant off the ground he decided to play with an idea of creating a restaurant that has a no-carbon footprint which he’s accomplished quite well. He’s now extending his quest to create The People’s Supermarket – all in the name of getting food out to a broader spectrum of people and connecting communities in London, England to rural growers. Chef Potts-Dawson quite humbly shares how environmentally conscious businesses are not only doable but profitable in a quest to be more responsible in this world.

Next to the Chiavari Chair, the most popular event chair for weddings would be Wedding White Folding Chairs. Party and event rental companies, hotels, banquet halls and caterers often start their search off for these chairs asking what different variations of white wedding folding chairs exist and how much do white wedding folding chairs cost? This blog post will detail the range of cost (if buying from a Canadian event equipment supplier) and styles of white wedding folding chairs and the reasons for the cost variations.

White Resin Folding Chairs

White Resin Folding Chairs will have the highest initial cost because they use more expensive materials and are the most labour intensive to produce. Their prices will again vary greatly depending on the quality of chair, the volume you want to buy, and the cost to ship. White Resin Folding Chairs range in price from $29.00 CDN - $41.00 CDN. These chairs are the most popular in terms of aesthetics.

Wedding White Plastic Folding Chairs

Wedding White Plastic Folding Chairs are the least expensive white wedding folding chair option. This is mainly due to the fact that the cost of materials and production for a wedding white plastic folding chair is cheaper. There are numerous pricing components when purchasing wedding white plastic folding chairs that influence the cost – the materials being used in the plastic folding chair frame and whether the chair is sold on volume discount levels or at a set price. The average wedding white plastic folding chair will cost between $14.95 to $17.75 CDN, depending on the quality of the chair and how strong / durable the chair is. Plastic folding chairs can hold between 400 – 800lbs. Typically, with all types of plastic folding chairs, the larger volume of chair you buy, the lower the cost of each chair.

White Fan Back Plastic Folding Chairs

White fan back chairs cost slightly more than wedding white plastic folding chairs because the chair (while made of the same materials as the plastic folding chairs) has a more labour intensive production associated. These chairs are more aesthetically appealing than the traditional wedding white plastic folding chair but the cost difference tends to make them a less popular chair with the price sensitive wedding crowd. The average white fan back plastic folding chair ranges in price from $15.00 – $19.00 CDN depending on the chair quality and volume discounts.

Shipping costs on Wedding White Plastic Folding Chairs, White Fan Back Plastic Folding Chairs & White Resin Folding Chairs:

The shipping costs of these chairs usually run $1.50 – 8.50 per chair depending on the size of the order (shipping costs tend to decrease based on volume), where it is shipping from and where it is shipping to. The shipping costs do not vary based on the type of chair purchased but solely on volume, weight and shipping location. Nationally based suppliers to the hospitality industry will have multiple warehouses across the country to provide better shipping rates coast to coast.

Last year, we started making videos where we stressed tables and chairs to the breaking point. We've tested our 6-ft NES Reliable Rectangular Plastic Folding Table and our 8-ft NES Reliable Rectangular Plastic Folding Table. We've put an 8-ft NES Rectangular Wood Folding Table to the test. This year we hope to test some of our round tables to show just how strong they are. We're also going to be testing some of our competitors' table to see how they stack up against the tables that we offer.

Today we're going to be putting a Lifetime Table to the test. Lifetime manufactures and sells tables, chairs, and a host of other products. We're going to be testing the Lifetime 6-foot commercial plastic folding table and comparing it to our NES Reliable 6-foot Rectangular Plastic Folding Table. On paper, the Lifetime Table looks to be the stronger table as it is rated for 2000 pounds of weight evenly distributed across the top, while our NES Reliable 6-foot Rectangular Plastic Folding Table is only rated for 1000 pounds. However, in a previous stress test, the NES Reliable 6-foot Rectangular Plastic Folding Table managed to hold over 2500 ounds before failing. How will the Lifetime folding table stack up against our 6-foot commercial plastic folding table? Let's find out!

Image courtesy of Grant Cochrane / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

With any company dealing in the foodservice industry – whether it be catering, banquet halls, golf courses, restaurants trying different plating options, hotels with meeting space or party rental companies – picking the right platters for food presentation is important. You want to ensure you’re presenting aesthetically pleasing food while ensuring your inventory / material costs for the platters doesn’t affect your bottom line. Add in the breakage, potential stacking or transporting issues and it can be a bit overwhelming.

This article presents an easy to view list of the pros and cons of melamine platters vs. porcelain platters.

Melamine Platters:

• Durable
• Break resistant
• Can scratch with use of sharp objects on the surface (like knives)
• Commercial dishwasher safe
• Lightweight
• Can withstand temperatures from 32°F to 220°F (0°C to 120°C) – ruling out baking / food preparation in them
• Non-microwavable
• Potential long term health risks (jury still out)
• Easy to stack
• More expensive to purchase due to material cost

Porcelain Platters:

• Durable
• Breakage occurs more frequently due to the nature of the material
• Scratch resistant
• Commercial dishwasher safe
• Heavy in comparison to melamine
• Oven safe to 400°F
• Microwave safe (unless porcelain contains metal detailing)
• Can become cumbersome to stack
• Less expensive to purchase than Melamine
• Can look better longer

As you can see, porcelain platters and melamine platters both have their place at a buffet or party; neither one can be ruled out as “better” than the other – it generally comes down to how the purchaser plans to utilize the platter and personal preference.