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During the show we had the pleasure of meeting with Don MacKay, the outgoing President of the NGCOA and owner of the Muskoka Highlands Golf Club. Don thanked us for our participation and support of the NGCOA’s annual Golf Business Canada Show. If you didn't make it to the show and would like to learn about products that can help drive events to your course, please don't hesitate to ask us any questions.

Golfer image courtesy of pichart99thai / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

We often get asked what our most inexpensive (cheapest) dinnerware line is. There are many reasons that someone might be looking for cheap dinner plates. Sometimes it’s a rental company looking to do a large event without breaking the budget; others are organizations looking to purchase dinnerware for their lunchroom; others still are restaurants looking for cheap plates for large occasional events. Whatever the case may be, when a customer is looking for a cheap dinnerware line, our go to product is our Pearl White Dinnerware line. For years now we have offered our Pearl White Dinnerware line as our entry level, everyday value, dinnerware line. With the Dinner Plate starting at $1.80 and other dishes having a similarly attractive price point, it is easy to see why Pearl White is such a great choice for large events. If you are interested in adding an inexpensive dinnerware line like pearl white things that you need to consider are the quality of the dinnerware, and growth potential that it offers to your business.

Quality

One of the key features beyond price is the quality of porcelain that Pearl White dishes are made with. Our Pearl White Dinnerware is all made of A/B grade porcelain. A/B grade porcelain is the porcelain grade that many high end brands. Even our more expensive dinnerware lines use A/B grade porcelain. So then what’s the difference and why is Pearl White so much less expensive? The first reason is that Pearl White porcelain is missing the additives that our Quadrato, Hotelier, Ovali, and Polar White porcelain have. Porcelain additives like aluminum oxide make the porcelain stronger, more chip resistant, and therefore better suited to a commercial environment. As a result, Pearl White is closer to houseware quality, and it might not be the best option for a restaurant to use on a daily basis.

Growth Potential

One of the greatest features of Pearl White Dinnerware is the growth potential that it gives you. If you receive a request for an event with 500 people but you only have 100 Steelite plates, it may be financially difficult to justify purchasing 400 additional plates to win the event. If on the other hand you have the same scenario but with Pearl White Plates, suddenly it is an investment that you are able to make. This flexibility allows you to take on events that you may otherwise not be able to simply because the cost of the dinnerware is too high. It is also great for your customers because if a plate breaks, it is only $1.80 versus close to $20 for a Dudson or Steelite dish (depending on your supplier). This potential for growth is perhaps the most valuable asset of the Pearl White Dinnerware line since a relatively small investment goes a long way.

When purchasing new tables, many of our customers have difficulty choosing between NEW Wood Folding Tables and NES Reliable Plastic Folding Tables. We are often asked "Which tables are better?" in hopes that we'll be able to definitively tell our customer and potential customers which tables are better. The truth is that both types of tables have pros and cons that you need to consider before you purchase your tables. To help you make your choice, we will look at some of these positives and negatives of both tables, including weight, strength, cleaning, flexibility of use, and overall longevity.

Weight

Weight is an important factor if you are going to be moving around the tables on a regular basis. If you need to move the tables around with limited labour, then the advantage clearly goes to the plastic folding tables. For example, the 6-ft NES Reliable Rectangular Plastic Folding Table weighs in at a scant 30.26lbs compared to the NES Wood Folding Table which weighs 48lbs. Lighter tables help reduce the risk of injury and damage to the table when it is being moved. If you will not be moving the tables then the weight advantage is likely a non-factor for your purchase.

Strength

When it comes to strength it is really a dead heat. Both the NES Reliable Plastic Folding Tables as well as the NES Wood Folding Tables are exceptionally strong. Need some proof? Take a look at the two pictures below. One is our 6-ft NES Reliable Rectangle Plastic Folding Table and the other is our new 6-ft NES Wood Rectangle Folding Table. Both tables had two 35lb 6-ft rectangle skids and 22 8-ft NES Reliable Rectangular Plastic Folding Tables stacked on top of on them; This is a combined weight of over 1100lbs. At the end of the one hour test, both tables were folded neatly and put away with no evidence that the test had been performed on them.

Click to enlarge pictures.

Cleaning

Each product in this case has a different advantage for cleaning. The plastic folding tables are great for fast cleanup of spills. Since it is a flat surface that does not have bolts in the top like the wood folding tables have, you can simply wipe the top clean. With that said some people do find that over time the plastic folding tables pick up marks that are either difficult to get off or they are not able to get them off the table. This is not as much of an issue with the plywood tables because they can be refinished.

Flexibility of Use

In terms of overall usability, the plastic tables come out slightly ahead of the plywood tables. Why is this? As I have already mentioned, the plastic tables are lighter than their wood equivalents, which makes them easier to manage. Additionally, they can be used in doors and outdoors. While the plastic folding tables will deteriorate over time if left outdoors, the deterioration will occur over a significantly longer period of time. Additionally if you wipe the tables dry after it rains this deterioration will be delayed further.

Overall Longevity

For overall longevity, wood folding tables are king-- although the wood table may not remain the size that you originally purchased. Many of our customers love that they can sand the tables, apply a new coat of varnish, and effectively have a brand new table. What happens if you break the corner? The 8-ft x 30” rectangle will simply become a different size, perhaps a 8-ft x 18” Training Table or a 6-ft x 30” rectangle. While plastic folding tables also last a long time in a rental environment, you are not able to refinish and reuse them in the same way that you can with the plywood tables.

So which type of tables should you buy? It’s really a personal preference. You need to decide what is important to you, so that you get table that's best for you on a day to day basis. At the end of the day, as long as you purchase a high quality table, we don’t think there is a bad choice between the two. We have many customers that wish that they switched to Plastic Folding Tables earlier and others that swear by the Wood Folding Tables. If you have any other questions about folding tables or any of our other products, please don't hesitate to ask us a question!

Top Image courtesy of Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

A few weeks ago Michael posted a blog article discussing all the tradeshows that National Event Supply will be exhibiting at over the next 5 months. One of those trade shows is the Golf Business Canada 2012 Conference & Trade Show put on by the National Golf Course Owners Association Canada (NGCOA). This year the trade show will be held at the beautiful Deerhurst Resort in Huntsville Ontario on November 15-17th 2012. In anticipation of the trade show we thought we would highlight some benefits of being a member of the NGCOA Canada.

The first benefit of being part of the NGCOA is government relations. Often small businesses struggle to have their voice heard, and organizations like the NGCOA help change this. There are other organizations like the CFIB that help small businesses lobby the government, but they focus on ALL small business issues, not just issues specific to golf courses. The NGCOA focuses on key issues that you, as a golf course owner, are facing. These issues range from fair property tax assessments, to liquor allowances on golf carts, to pesticide use within golf course operations.

Another great benefit provided by the NGCOA to its members is the Golfmax Purchasing Program. The Golfmax Purchasing Program is a volume discount program negotiated by the NGCOA with numerous leading golf course suppliers. These discounts typically allow you to recover your membership dues through savings from golf course suppliers you might already do business with. The NGCOA has agreements with over 60 leading golf course suppliers to help ensure there is a discount available for most of the products that you will need to purchase throughout the season. The NGCOA has even included a handy savings calculator on their website to help show you the value of this purchasing program.

The final benefit offered from being a member of the NGCOA is that they focus on growing the sport of golf. The NGCOA is responsible for creation of Take a Kid to the Course in an effort to expand the demographics that the sport of Golf appeals to. They have also launched Get Golf Ready in 5 Days which is a naturally branded adult development program with two real goals. These goals are to bring new people into golf in a fast and fun way as well as to get former golfers back into the sport. What makes this program great is that it is offered to NGCOA Canada members totally free of charge. Having this initiative in action at your course can get new golfers onto your fairways helping improve your financial bottom line.

If you are interested in more information about the National Golf Course Owners Association Canada, please visit their website http://www.ngcoa.ca. If you have any questions for National Event Supply, and how we can help you improve your business revenues please don’t hesitate to ask!

Image courtesy of pichart99thai / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

National Event Supply has been selling our NES Reliable Resin Chiavari Chairs and NES Reliable Crystal Chiavari Chairs for over two years now. We've loved them since we first set eyes on the sample chairs from the factory, and our love has not ebbed as time has passed. From the simple elegance of the white Chiavari chairs to warmth of the Mahogany Chiavari chairs, there's a lot to love. It's not just us that loves these chairs; Visitors to our trade show booths in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Toronto, and Montreal have also taken a shine to them.

Recently we wrote a little about the history of the Chiavari Chair (quick summary; They're old and Italian), and did a comparison between wood Chiavari chairs and resin Chiavari chairs. In this video, the last of the three videos from the Canadian Rental Service show in Toronto, Dennis talks about our Chiavari Chairs, explains why they're so awesome, and shows off a stunt he's been doing at trade shows since we got the NES Reliable Crystal Chiavari Chair.

This is the last of our Canadian Rental Service trade show videos. If you found this video interesting and informative, and you have seen our other two vides, you can watch Dennis talking about tables here, and talking about National Event Supply here. We'll be doing some more videos that show off the strength of our Chiavari Chairs and other products again in the neat future. In the meantime, if you have any questions about our NES Reliable Resin Chiavari Chair, our NES Reliable Crystal Chiavari Chairs, or any of our other products, please don't hesitate to ask us any questions that you may have!