Access All Areas February 2020 | Page 50

FEBRUARY | SECTOR FOCUS AMAZING YEAR Arena at Masters Snooker Arena’s golfing prowess visit at www.airclad.com as well as a couple of new products for the large premium hospitality market. In addition to this, we have also recruited a number of key personnel into the business, so we are feeling confident about 2020 and beyond,” says Simon Coulter, AirClad’s director of communications. “We have an extensive range of structures more targeted at premium brand events, and the hospitality side is something we are really looking to exploit in 2020 with the launch of a new product called the AirClad X XAPE, a new modular concept that offers uninterrupted long views, by providing three glazed sections, an elongated front fascia and two sides.” The demands relayed to AirClad, meanwhile, have been diverse. “We have a really eclectic range of clients that we work with, from agencies, brands, event owners, locations 50 to overseas partners, so we have a really diverse number of conversations. They are always looking for something new and exciting, which is where we believe AirClad stands out. “The key thing for us is knowing our strengths, where we sit in the market and the position we command. We are pretty confident in this, so we handle it all with inspirational, purposeful design, that brings architecture to the edge of the events industry.” Elsewhere, Arena Structures has broadened its structure product range and bolstered its interior design team. “Arena are winning some fantastic new hospitality business, recently delivering the Masters Snooker event which is a fantastic example of innovation. We created a fully bespoke 100sqm stunning temporary structure to host 50 premium hospitality guests, inclusive of full interior fit out, viewing platform, bespoke furniture and lighting. In addition to the 20,000 grandstand seats for the event,” Andrew Lawson, Arena’s managing director of structures told Access. It didn’t stop there. Arena 2019 was a memorable one for temporary event cover specialists Amazing Tent Co, and 2020 looks set to be another busy year for events. As outdoor event cover experts, The Amazing Tent Co supplies festivals including Latitude and Creamfields, to corporate events and college balls for top universities like Cambridge and Oxford. “2019 was a very busy year, with a wide range of events and clients requiring temporary event cover,” said Richard Fookes, from Amazing Tent Co. “Many of those clients have booked temporary event cover with us again for 2020, from Electric Castle Festival to Woburn Abbey Garden Show. “A high number of our event clients book with us every year, due to our high levels of customer service and the quality of the equipment we supply. But we’re also seeing new events pop up in our diary,” he added. “Particularly smaller niche festivals that are new to the scene, and we’re doing more college balls – so it’s exciting to see the event industry still thriving.” Amazing Tent Co has Europe’s largest stock of Saddlespan tents – a unique and versatile type of temporary event cover. NEPTUNUS’ HOSPITALITY FOCUS The hospitality sector remains a key part of the Neptunus portfolio, and 2020 sees an important new addition to the company’s client list, The Lawn Tennis Association. Neptunus will be supplying a flagship hospitality structure at Queens Club for the prestigious Fever-Tree Championships in June. This year will be the first of a five-year contract with the LTA for Neptunus, following success in a competitive tender process after impressing the LTA with the ultra- modern and high-tech Evolution technology. “This is a very high-specification temporary structure which has the look and feel of a permanent building. It will have internal and external mezzanines with a spectacular wooden decked roof-top garden for the hospitality guests which will provide unrivalled viewing to the practice courts as Neptunus’ bespoke angled mezzanine takes guests as close to the action as possible. The Fever-Tree Championships are a superb opportunity for us to showcase the style and flexibility of our Evolution technology in a sporting environment,” says Neptunus’ managing director Ben Keast (interviewed on p62). Neptunus will once again be supplying Twickenham for England’s Six Nations Rugby fixtures against Ireland and Wales; Ascot Village; and RHS Chelsea Flower Show in May in the beautiful Jardin Blanc facility.