Blog posts from May, 2014

As the substantial portion of our customer base is comprised of party and event rental businesses, we understand the need to purchase products that allow for the most turns possible. Being able to continually rent out your products allows you a greater return on investment and more recurring revenue. Purchasing Chiavari Chairs is not a small investment to make, but a necessary one to cater to one of the more popular current event themes. Ensuring you are properly maintaining your investment will help ensure you can make the most of your inventory and increase the rental margins.

1) Purchase Chiavari Chairs based on the quality of the supplier.

Ensuring that the Chiavari Chairs you purchase are strong, durable and able to withstand a large load capacity will help safeguard your investment. Also, be wary of low cost Chiavari Chair suppliers – it seems cliché for me to say but many of our US competitors in particular have been known to push their manufacturing suppliers to cut the costs of their Chiavari Chair. Over time, this can only be done when shortcuts are made to the manufacturing process ultimately resulting in a reduction in the quality of the chairs over time.

2) As a Rental Company it makes sense for you to use Chiavari Chair Storage Covers to cover your chairs when not in use.

A banquet hall or hotel that uses Chiavari Chairs full time in their ballrooms generally do not need chair covers because there’s substantially less transportation and handling of the chairs which can cause wear and tear. Rental Businesses however, should consider using Chiavari Chair storage covers. Not only does this protective cover safeguard your chair during storage in the warehouse and transportation to and from events but it will greatly improve the aesthetic life of your chairs and reduce overall maintenance costs required to ensure your chairs are kept looking new. National Event Supply includes chiavari chair storage covers within the cost of their chair – but we also sell separately in case you bought from another supplier that didn’t include in your purchase.

3) Examine your Chiavari Chairs before every rental job.

Unfortunately due to the nature of the rental business, chairs can get scuffed up or scratched at an event – especially around the bottom of the legs. Wood Chiavari Chairs tend to show scratches more as the bare wood shows through once the coloured finish has been scratched. Scratches on Resin Chiavari chairs that have a similar colour to the exterior finish throughout the chair are less visible. That being said, touch ups can be performed on the chair by using a spray paint that matches with a clear top coat spray to help protect for future uses.

Hopefully this post will help make sure your Chiavari Chairs look like new for years to come.

We’ve been trying to address customer questions for a while now and one of the pain points that many customers who bought our folding chair dolly have experienced is the lack of ability to transport folding chairs utilizing the folding chair dolly from pavement to grass and back seamlessly.

The current wheels (see below) on the folding chair dolly are perfect for pavement but when you have 50 folding chairs on the folding chair dolly, it becomes a real nightmare to maneuver on grass.

Enter the folding chair dolly with “no air” wheels...

With heavy duty grooved wheels that evenly distribute weight, this cart easily transitions from grass to pavement with up to 50 chairs on it. The wheels are also what are coined “no air wheels”. Filled with foam instead of air, they will never deflate; making maintenance a breeze. The cart is priced at $175.00 CDN not including taxes or shipping.

We have been in the special event equipment business since 1992 and have naturally found an easy transition into restaurant supply and catering supply. Since introducing dinnerware and stainless steel flatware back in the middle of the 90’s we have become familiar with the best flatware suppliers in Canada so we’re able to better understand what the market wants in terms of the best flatware. Here are the best flatware suppliers in Canada for party rental companies, restaurants and caterers.

1. Oneida Flatware:

Oneida has long been a leader in the stainless steel flatware industry and as such can charge premium pricing with a solid brand name to back them. Oneida Flatware is manufactured by Oneida and sold through large department and big box stores, through restaurant supply stores such as Hamilton Store Fixtures, and other foodservice distributors.

2. Nella Cutlery:

Nella is a well-known Toronto restaurant supply store who manufactures restaurant equipment and distributes a number of other cutlery manufacturers including Winco, Vollrath, Tableware Solutions as well as our distributing our next supplier, Browne.

3. Browne Foodservice:

Browne & Co has been around for more than 50 years and manufactures stainless steel cutlery along with additional tableware products. They also distribute numerous US and European brands throughout North America.

4. Sysco:

Sysco is a global leader in selling, marketing and distributing food products to restaurants, healthcare and educational facilities, lodging establishments and other customers who prepare meals away from home. Its family of products also includes equipment and supplies for the foodservice and hospitality industries. Sysco sells 3 different patterns of stainless steel flatware in a 5 pc table setting.

Always make sure that when you’re buying the best flatware, you’re looking at the following:

• The durability of the product
• The value of the product
• The quality of the product
• The availability of the product

Monday morning started off with another container. The warehouse staff have been hard at work offloading it and getting orders ready for customers. This container includes a shipment of our cruiser tables – a staple to any standing cocktail reception or wedding.

Our wood cruiser tables have been out of stock for a little over a month so we are ecstatic to finally have them back in stock in time for the busy event season in Canada. Available in Square and Round Wood Table Tops of 24”, 30” or 36” dimensions, the cruiser tables can be purchased at a height of 30” high or 42 1/2” high. We also have the ability to buy all pieces of the cruiser tables separately in case you want to buy one table top and both a 30" high and 42 1/2" high pole or if you lose a cruiser table base in transportation or rental.

Last week we received another container in of our folding cocktail tables. Our cocktail tables have a plastic table top of 32” in diameter and can be purchased in a 30” high or 42” high table. They are dramatically easier to set up and tear down as they are folding and do not have the multiple parts a cruiser table has.

McCourt Manufacturing and Palmer Snyder have been industry leaders in plywood folding tables for years. When prospects come to National Event Supply to buy our wood banquet tables, we’re often asked who our competitors are. Without further ado, here’s a comparison between two of our competitors:

McCourt Manufacturing ProRent™ Banquet Tables:

• 3/4" plywood tables
• Bolt-through construction
• Vinyl bull nose edging t-style black vinyl or aluminum superedge for maximum durability
• Commercial grade plywood stained a medium oak colour
• Polycoat finish with 3mm thickness on top and 1.5mm on bottom
• Solid hardwood rails
• Legs are fully welded 16 gauge 1" diameter tubing with braces of 11 gauge stamped steel
• Standard leg style is wishbone
• Detent leg locks secure in the open and closed positions
• Leg finished with black powder coating
• Non-marring glides
• Table weight ranges from 19 – 100lbs
• 37 different sizes in a variety of different shapes
• Manufactured in USA and ships from USA
• 2 year limited warranty against manufacturing defects under normal use. McCourt will repair or replace (at their option) at no charge; customer assumes all freight

Palmer Snyder 200 Series Banquet Tables:

• 5/8" plywood thickness
• C Channel aluminum edges
• Space saver folding legs available for compact storage
• Gravity lock folding legs
• Walnut sealer stain
• UV polycoat
• 100% bolt-thru construction
• Low profile hardwood runners
• Standard 30" high; 29" and adjustable height options
• 25 different sizes in a variety of different shapes
• Table weight ranges from 23lbs – 80lbs
• Manufactured in USA and ships from USA
• Party Rental warranty on banquet tables is limited to one year

While McCourt Manufacturing and Palmer Snyder both have been making tables for years, we’ve done testing to see how strong our tables are – to ensure they’re the most durable for the party rental market. Check out how strong our 8ft rectangle wood folding tables are in this blog post.