Blog posts tagged with 'event venues'

We introduced our NES Reliable Plastic Folding Tables in Toronto more than 6 years ago and the response we have been getting from our customers has been truly amazing. While we have always known our tables are of substantially better quality than you will find with Canadian Tire folding tables or Walmart folding tables, we have never really done a good job of communicating this to our customers.

I realized that we needed to do a better job explaining why our tables are better than those you'd get at a big box store when I received a call from a prospective customer asking for some detailed information about our 3ft square plastic folding card tables. This gentleman insisted that the legs for our 3ft square plastic folding card table should NOT have legs that fold in pairs. He said he had purchased a Canadian Tire Folding Card table that had legs that fold in pairs and he said "the table was crap." Knowing that our NES Reliable Plastic folding tables were not the same 'crappy' quality as you might find at Canadian Tire, I proceeded to try to explain over the phone just how great our folding card table is. Needless to say, this gentleman never bought and I decided we had to do a better job of showing the strength and capabilities of our 3ft Square Folding Card tables. We did this when I tried to break our 3ft Square Folding card table by loading it with more than 1,100lbs of salt on top of the table.

We have done this and other stress tests to show what it takes to break our plastic folding tables. In each of the tests that we have done, we have never indicated what the weight rating was for the tables. When we realised this, we decided it was time we put together a list of the weight ratings that we have for all of our plastic folding tables.

We believe the capabilities of our NES Reliable line of plastic folding tables are comparable to the commercial quality of Lifetime folding tables and better than Costco folding tables but have not done any of our own in-house tests yet. Stay tuned over the coming weeks and months as we start to do some stress tests on Lifetime folding tables, Costco folding tables, and of course Canadian Tire and Walmart folding tables.

We know we’ve been talking about summer for a while here at National Event Supply, but can you blame us? Summer is filled with sunshine, nights spent sipping drinks on the patio enjoying a cool summer’s breeze, and spending weekends at a friend’s cabin on a lake. Summer is all about the outdoor event, and although the spring buying season is winding down, we’re still receiving new products and new stock at our Vancouver and Toronto warehouses.

This week we received a shipment of our fantastic resin Chiavari chairs, crystal Chiavari chairs, and Chiavari chair cushions at our Toronto Warehouse. We’ve written about our Chiavari chairs in the past, providing a little bit of history into the design of the chair and explaining why we think our Resin Chiavari chairs are incredible. We’ve also shown how strong our chairs really are, and shown you one of Dennis’ trade show tricks.

On the resin Chiavari chair side of things, we have a fairly good supply of black Chiavari chairs, mahogany Chiavari chairs, silver Chiavari chairs, and white Chiavari chairs. We will also be receiving an additional container of Chiavari chairs the fourth week of July which should replenish our stock of gold Chiavari chairs. All of our Chiavari chairs ship from our Toronto warehouse to locations across North America and come with a two year warranty against material and manufacturing defects.

On the Chiavari cushion side of things, we have lots of fabric cushions in black, white, or ivory in stock. We also have vinyl cushions in black, white, and ivory in stock as well as plywood-base cushions available in black and ivory. The fabric and vinyl Chiavari chair cushions all feature Velcro ties, while the plywood base cushions attach to the chairs with Velcro strips. If your cushions are beginning to look a little beat up or tired, now is the perfect opportunity to make your chairs look like new!

Day 1—Start date June 8, 2013

We frequently get asked questions regarding the strength and durability of our products. And while we can provide you with answers to most of the questions that you may have, sometimes it's better to show you. That's what we're doing now; we're pushing our products to their limit, and testing them until they fail. That's why we've started a new long term test involving our tables! This test will be similar to other long term tests that companies have done to showcase the durability of their products. This test will be a long term outdoor durability test on our 4-ft NES Reliable Rectangle Plastic Folding Tables and our 4-ft NES Wood Folding Tables. What really happens to a NES Plastic Folding Table when it is left outside? What about an NES Wood Folding Table? How do they compare? What happens when it rains, or snows, or hails, or when the sun is shining, or when it’s hot out, and what about the cold!? Our test tables will experience all of these situations over the course of the next year, right here in Toronto.

Our goal with these tests is to see how our NES Reliable Plastic Folding Tables and our NES Wood Folding Tables (Plywood Folding Tables) hold up when they are left outside for extended periods of time. Both the plastic folding table and plywood folding table have been placed side by side to ensure that they experience the same conditions over the months to come. I will provide updates on the condition of the tables and a brief look at the weather in the weeks and months ahead. At the end of the day we hope that all of these tests will help you choose the right table for your application.

Previously, we've written about the costs of two different products that National Event Supply carries: plastic folding chairs and plastic folding tables. Today, I'm going to tackle another of our popular products, our wood folding tables. So how much do wood folding tables cost? Like with plastic folding tables, we need to look at a number of factors that go into the cost of a wood folding table. These costs include the plywood used, the quality of the table legs, how the table is distributed, and input costs for the table. Due to these factors the prices vary dramatically with an 8-ft Rectangular table ranging in price from $70 to $189.

The type of plywood used in the wood folding tables varies and as a result so does the price. There are four popular plywood choices that are often used for wood folding tables: Birch Wood, Luan Wood, Yang Wood with Birch veneer, and Yang Wood with Luan veneer. While these are most popular, there are also other plywood choices that you may come across. Additionally, there are imitation plywood folding tables that are made from press board or chip board and then covered in a thin layer of plywood to mask their true identity. In general the best material is Birch Plywood followed closely by Luan Plywood. Luan is generally slightly less expensive than Birch and can be sanded and refinished multiple times without any issues. In contrast, tables with a veneer finish typically can only withstand one or two sandings and refinishings before you wear through the veneer layer exposing an uneven second layer.

Much like with the plastic folding tables, the prices of wood folding tables often fall victim to the issue of distribution. The distribution model is great for many different businesses however it does not ensure the customer receives a competitive price. This is the case because distribution models force the customer to buy from a company that is farther downstream from the factory. An example of a business like this for wood folding tables is Midwest Folding Products. The benefit that Midwest Folding Products has is their product range which is larger than most and since they are a known entity; you have a better sense of product quality.

Another factor that affects the cost of plywood tables is the input costs involved. These costs include labor, raw materials, and shipping. While the manufacturing of most plastic folding tables have been moved off shore, there are still several successful manufacturers of wood folding tables in the USA. Many of these manufacturers sell directly to the end customer which generally allows them to offer competitive prices. One of their advantages is being able to offer a wide variety of products with a relatively short waiting time. As talked about in the plywood section, materials have an effect on the price. High quality materials cost more which increases the price of the table assuming all else is equal. As a result while the table may look the same as a more expensive product, it may not stand the test of time as well as a more expensive table if the materials are not on par.

May has been a busy month for National Event Supply, increasing our product lines further in dinnerware with 6 new pieces of porcelain. Check out the articles below we’ve been reading to catch up on the industry during the evenings.

Social media can be a great way for events to raise attendee energy and increase the buzz associated with the event. But what happens when confidentiality concerns trump social sharing? Check out this article entitled "Antisocial Behavior: When Event Professionals Have to Block Social Media" to hear special event experts explain how they shut down social media postings when necessary.

Photo by Austin ImageWorks

New trends are emerging that are doing away with the traditional weddings of days past. Special Events magazine wrote an article about the new modern trends popping up and the portions of the wedding trends going bigger and smaller than their mother’s event. Check out the article "Wedding Trends: What's Going Big/What's Going Small" to learn more.

The biggest question in hiring and maintaining a sales workforce often is how to pay them. The answer, however, is that there is no one right answer. While there isn't a universal prescription for sales compensation out there, there are several ideas about what can be done. Check out this article from Rental Management magazine, "Sales Relationships" to hear how other rental companies are dealing with sales compensation.

Success in the restaurant business can be elusive. What's more, success means different things to different people. Regardless of one's definition of success, the basics in the restaurant industry never change. Check out restaurantcentral.ca's article on the top 20 factors for success in the restaurant business.

Shelley Provost, a columnist for Inc Magazine, wrote an article on what she believes is 4 unique working styles: Doing, Leading, Loving, and Learning. The best teams have a balance of all four styles. And the best organizations have many well-balanced teams who are confident in their working style and understand the necessity of divergent types or work. So, what's your style? Check out this article "4 Unique Working Styles: What's Yours?" to learn more.