History in the Making

Remembering our roots is not only nostalgic, but inspirational to recognize how far the industry has come. Just a bit of fun from our founding fathers!

Don't forget to drop by the Losberger booth
at The MATRA Conference and answer the question...  
"What year was Losberger Founded"
to be entered to win a
$100 American Express gift card.

Losberger US manufactures a "Palas" Portable Theater in Montreal

Summer 2013

25m wide X 55m long X 8m wall height  

(82' X 180' X 26')  

Losberger "Palas" tent structure is being well-used as a portable theater by French-Canadian singer-songwriter-entertainer and entrepreneur Gregory Charles.

Two locations were chosen for the debut performance in the Vintage Palas. The first, on the Quay Jacques Cartier in the Old Port area of downtown Montreal and the second (October) the show will open in Quebec City.  

The Palas theater boasts a full service bar area and offers comfortable seating for more than 1,000 patrons and guests. The intimate setting is what inspires Gregory Charles because it provides a perfect venue for his interactive style of entertaining.

The tent structure was designed with two interior 2nd floor mezzanines for VIP balcony seating and back stage green room activities, accessed by two 8' wide, 90° staircases. It features an 8' high roof parapet used as a signage wrap around the top of the whole building, artfully branding The Gregory Charles' Vintage Theater with black and white graphics. Half of the 26' high walls were clad with horizontally oriented glass panels and the other half with striking black PVC cassette hard wall. The double membrane inflated roof covers and the gable end covers were all fabricated using Verseidag Mills coated vinyl material, white on the outside and black on the inside to further enhance the theater atmosphere.

Gregory Charles originally envisioned.  

Installation and construction time, starting with unpacking nine 40' containers to finishing laying down the last section of drop-in cassette floor: 8 days. The installation team consisted of Losberger Germany's Thomas Ambacher - Installation Supervisor, and the installation company was Fiesta Tents of St. Laurent, Quebec, led by Richard Castonguay with his excellent crew of 7 skilled tent laborers.

What's Holding you Down?

We are a week after the IFAI Tent Expo 2013 and one of the main focuses this year was the new ballasting study. How do you make the decision to weight your tents? The ever-escalating cost of doing business as it pertains to weighting tents often drives business owners to make decisions towards “what they can get by with”.  IFAI has spent a significant amount of money over the years on studies about staking, and now ballasting. My question is, how many people have or will actually use these tools to make the correct decisions when it comes to weighting? Maybe it is the age old, "Well... I've been doing tents for 20 years and I know what is best" or is it more a case of, “My competition doesn’t use the correct amount of weight, so if I want to compete, I can’t either".   

 Our thought on this… If you think you cannot compete because your competition is cutting corners, We would say that your business cannot afford for you to do it incorrectly.  One accident resulting in an injury or damage to property will cost more than taking the time to ballast a tent correctly.  A message to all of us 'know it alls' out there... do you actually know better or have you just been lucky? If we do not teach the next generation to perpetuate our industry in a safe and professional manner, then we have no one to blame but ourselves.  Tools such as the ballasting study can be a valuable asset if the information is used as it is intended. Weighting tents is an on-going issue and should not be taken lightly… Get it?... lightly :)

Tell us your ballasting war stories!

How to use Ballast!

To Weight or not to Weight... that is the question. Unfortunately in this day and age, using alternative ballast to hold your tent down is more prevalent than ever. I had a customer that called me and explained that they had just installed their first tent using the stakes we provided with the initial purchase. What is curious is that this call came 4 years after they purchased the tent. This does not mean that they never rented their equipment. Rather it means, prior to this event, for 4 years all previous installations they used ballast. Tent weighting is always a hot button for debate, and now the IFAI Tent Rental Division has come out with a guideline and ballasting tool to help with the process. For information on the IFAI Ballasting tool visit  http://tentexperts.org/posts/blog/258

After you check out the IFAI ballasting tool let us know what you think...

Is this a helpful tool?

Will this give you the data that will help you and your local code official sleep better at night?

Better off

 Over the last two weeks the prime time tv has been monopolized with the speeches from the political conventions. Both sides have their views on the world and both sides disagree on most topics. One topic that has been in the fore front for both sides is if America is better off today than it was four years ago.Let's boil this down even further and ask you, the tent renter if your business is doing better today than it was doing in 2008.  Let us know....

Borrowing is Stealing

I remember years ago, in my rental days, going to a sales call for a very elaborate wedding. After the initial introductions the client handed me a picture that the previous rental store had left behind and asked me if there was any way our company could do such an amazing event. I looked at the “fabulous” picture and said, not only COULD we do such an event, I actually DID the event in the picture. This was back in the days before iPads, so I took out my company brochure and showed the client the entire project, not just the one picture that the competition presented as their own.

With the advancement of technology, today it is much easier to search photos and event designs online. It used to take a lot of nerve to physically copy someone’s idea and pass it off as your own. The world-wide-web has made piracy more tempting, more anonymous and accessible to everyone. Unfortunately, in today’s world it has become a common business practice.

Example of Losberger photos used by competitors

How does your company deal with this issue?

Do you support companies that participate in such business practices?

Do you give credit to vendors when a photo is showing more than your product?

This is such a wide spread problem. I would appreciate any and all comments or share examples of your own!

When is it time to blow the whistle?

Nobody wants to be a “tattle tale” but when is it time to say something about an unsafe tent installation? We have all seen some installations that are not exactly by the book. In most cases the event goes on and nobody is ever the wiser. I am not talking about sour grapes because you lost a project to another company or a dirty tent but a true unsafe installation. At the end of the day any incident that occurs where people are hurt or property is damaged will affect all of us... you, your competitors, the industry. When should you speak up?


Check out these situations...

Hundreds of people under a Bail Ring tent that is installed with the king pole staked to the same 3 stakes holding the side pole.

Entrance tent with a less than 60lbs of weight holding it down for a week long festival?

Obviously, this is a touchy situation but we all stand to lose from inadequate safety.

If you saw these, what would you do?

Raw Goods Hard Facts

Hard Fact #1
According to Daily Finance July to December, 2011...
Cotton went from 84 cents a pound to $1.68... up 100%.
Crude oil went from $74.49 a barrel to $90.10... up 21%.
Corn went from $163.92 per metric ton to $251.02... up 53%.

Reality #1
In your world this means your Tommy Bahama shirt went from $90 to $120, your grocery bill is up $40 a month and the most obvious place most of us see this kind of movement is at the gas pump. But then again, it wouldn't round out a week without griping about the on-going cost to just get around town, let alone fuel your delivery trucks.

Cold Hard Industry Facts
Aluminum is up 18.5%
Vinyl components went up an astonishing average 130%
And again that 21% increase in crude


Industry Reality
Obviously, raw goods produced yesterday equal the products that service our Industry today.
How are you handling and preparing for the rising cost of doing business? Are you in tune with what is happening in the world around you? Tell us your ideas and share your feedback here.

Dennis Remsberg joins the Losberger US Team

Dennis Remsberg joins Losberger US as Rapid Deployment (RDS) Product Manager. Dennis is former Co-owner of Remsberg Tent and has been in the industry for over 25 years.

In the past, Losberger RDS has been proud to assist many world disasters from earthquake victims in China to tsunami survivors in Thailand. Under Dennis's full-time guidance, Losberger US will now have the resource to support and service all aspects of rapid deployment shelter needs from military to first responders.

Dennis will be based out of the Losberger US office in Frederick, Maryland and can be reached at dremsberg@losbergerus.com. We are priveledged to have such an experienced asset join our team. Please join us in welcoming Dennis.

Not So Easy

The not so easy install....
I have always said that putting a big tent in a parking lot was easy. Now that isn't always the case and I know a lot of you out there have had some challenging installs. Whether it is going over trees or installing up 30' in the air we have all had some interesting installations. Check out a few pictures of obstacles encountered by your tent brother en and if you want share some of your war stories on the blog......

Crane install over trees

Floor install 25' in the air

Post your most interesting install!!!

Super Bowl 2011

The Super is not only the largest annual sporting event in the US, it's one of the largest tent projects too. Check out the time lapse video provided by Taylor's Rentals of Fort Worth!


This year's Super Bowl had many weather challenges. Share your weather war stories here...

Ha averiguado la nueva traducción española en el sitio web de Losberger US?

In an effort to celebrate the diversity of our customers, Losberger US is happy to announce the addition of Spanish translation to the new website.

Gracias por usted continuó el negocio!

Visit Here

Losberger US Launches New Website

Losberger US along with global subsidiaries undertook the massive project of revamping the corporate websites. In an effort to consistantly communicate the Losberger brand you will see that all the sites now have a common design. There are more downloadable files for product data sheets and expanded picture galleries!
www.losbergerus.com

Please let us know what you think... Post your comments here!

AZTEC - LOSBERGER

UNIVERSITY

OCTOBER 20, 2010
10:00am-3:00pm

hosted by

ALL OCCASIONS EVENT RENTALS

Hands on Product Demonstration
New Products
Q & A with Industry Leaders
All Occasion Facility Tour
Lunch Provided
Prizes and Giveaways including a Flat Screen TV!

To register, please visit www.aztectent.com/alu or contact:

Aztec Tents
Biff Gentsch
biff@aztectent.com
847-778-3581
or
Losberger US
Dave MacArthur
dmacarthur@losbergerus.com
812-490-4982


For more information visit Aztec Tent's Blog

Tents at the Flip of a Switch!

When my son asks me what I do for a living, I tell him that "I Do Tents". He then quickly responds that he wants to do exactly the same thing when he grows up (grin). My response is always..."why don't you design a tent that doesn't need people to install it." He smiles and says "no problem". Well as technology moves forward I may need to come up with a different challenge for him.

I had the opportunity to attend two European trade shows earlier this month. The first was in Germany and catered to the Fire and Rescue Industry. The second, in Paris was specifically for military. What was blatantly obvious at both events was that tent technology is evolving as quickly as some of the new-style tents can be installed. Losberger has had a Rapid Deployment Shelter (RDS) division for about 7 years now and until this month I never really had a full grasp of the possibilities and applications of this product line.

We have inflatable tents that are used by relief groups to create 100-bed field hospitals in less then an hour. We have the AMD unit that is trailer mounted. At its largest size can deploy a 3,600 sq/ft shelter, complete with power and HVAC in about 30 minutes and 4 installers. Losberger US has been actively perusing this market in the US and will be stocking the TAG NG inflatable shelter at our Frederick facility come this fall. I challenge you to think outside the normal tent next time an emergency situation presents itself. I also recommend browsing www.losberger-rds.com for inspiration for your tenting solutions. The product range is vast and an applications plentiful.

Most Importantly!
I learned that other parts of the world really know how to host a trade show. The Losberger RDS booth in Paris was complete with catered hors d' oeuvres and never ending Champagne. All that and the coolest toy giveaways too! Check out the Photos.

Island Boys Do It Right

Some Days On The Job Are Harder Than Others... Last month I had to take one for the team and travel to Bermuda while Dave MacArthur and Brian Kordek managed a job on the Wyoming plains. Tough I know.

It's Not Always About SIZE...
I sometimes hear that rental companies are concerned that the size of their market is not large enough to support structure type tents. Undercover Tent Rentals begs to differ. Bermuda is an island that is 2 miles wide and 26.2 miles long, with a population of 65,000. A market that is clearly defined where the white sandy beaches meet the Atlantic Ocean. Owners, Mark Bell and Ross Morbey saw a need and more strategically, an opportunity to add a 25 meter wide uniflex structure into their inventory. It was successfully integrated immediately and became the talk of the island. What us main landers would call challenges, Undercover's colorful crew handled seamlessly.

More Structure Myths...
Because of the limitations in roadways, a smaller vehicle is necessary to manage the island terrain. These vehicles handled the size and weight of the load perfectly with a few additional trips. A forklift was unavailable so a crane on a landscaping truck worked just fine. These are perfect examples of assimilating to your surroundings.




Put Your Excuses Away...

Where there is a will there is a way. AND usually with that will comes great opportunity. Tell us your install challenges and we'll help find a creative solution.

PRO EM wins with 15 meter at the 2010 Winter Olympics

The Olympic games, held high in the mountain ranges of the Canadian province of British Columbia, brought us many exciting and wonderful moments. For the 2010 Winter Olympics, the Canadian government chose a two-story Losberger Emporium Tent installed in the center of the Olympic action. PRO EM under Exhibitgroup/Giltspur hire, orchestrated the Canadian Governments pavilion that would welcome the world.

The tent was a meeting place for Politicians, Canadian athletes, fans and representatives of the media. The strict security controls and checks made this an extremely difficult project. Vince Budetti, PRO EM, reports: "The tent was subject to the highest levels of security, which meant that there were constant delays. While the tent was being erected, it became increasingly clear how tense the situation on the site was: teams of experts searching for bombs, the police, and blocks of streets which had been sealed off - all these were everyday occurrences throughout the installation.

Despite challenges PRO EM expertly approached the project and executed the Emporium 2-story 15m x 30m flawlessly.

Check out more PHOTOS

And the Winners Are...

Losberger exhibited at The ARA Rental Show earlier this month and what a positive way to begin the year. Traffic was consistent and attendees were excited to discuss upcoming projects and ideas.

We decided to have a little fun and create the Apples to Apples Video Trivia Challenge. It was met with a lot of enthusiasm to say the least. Each day a question was asked and you needed to watch a short video to retrieve the answer.

Congratulations to the Winners!

Day 1

$100 AmEx Gift Card: Jon Howarth of ATent for Rent Dedham, Massachusetts

$50 AmEx Gift Card: Frank Penecale of Parties and More Bensalem, Pennsylvania

Day 2

$100 AmEx Gift Card: Frank Cane of Scranton Rent-All Throop, Pennsylvania

$50 AmEx Gift Card: Andy Nolan of Chattanooga Tent Company Chattanooga, Tennessee

Day 3

$100 AmEx Gift Card: Erin Shean of Classic Party Rentals San Diego, California

$50 AmEx Gift Card: Steve Frost of Stamford Tent Stamford, Connecticut

Thanks to everyone for playing. A special call out to George Smith of Mahaffey Tent Memphis, Tennessee who managed to come in 3rd place all 3 days!

Much Ado About Haiti. How Can We Help?

Heavy on everyone’s minds of course is the disaster in Haiti. How we can help? What supplies are needed? How do we connect with the disaster relief teams? It is devastating to us all when something like this happens. Our industry can be impactful to the recovery process- shelter is second only to water and food for survival. So many challenges and questions arise from a situation such as this. Disaster is random, unpredictable and inherently unique to its own which inevitably sends everyone scrambling for custom solutions on short time frames.

How (if any) support has been given from the US tenting industry? What can we do collaboratively? Should we rally inside our organizations, host fundraisers, get on a plane and address issues from the disaster site?

Any and all ideas would be helpful. We anxiously await your stories and suggestions!

Where do we "grow" from here?

Socially responsible, professionally supportive, open to learning, mentoring for the future. These are some of the objectives that will help us all achieve a higher level of business within our industry. That said, where do we "grow" from here?

We want to facilitate an open discussion to engage, brainstorm and collaborate for the greater whole. We have a lot of questions, ideas and random thoughts not to mention, there is a lot going on in the world. All of which inevitably throws our industry into a state of flux. By keeping communication fluid we hope to get your (and our) wheels turning.

So... here we go. We invite your comments, disagreements, ideas and inspirations. Follow us here and we promise to not disappoint. Cheers to 2010 and the christening of Tent for Thought.