TEMPORARY STRUCTURES
Rather than having festive ,
celebratory connotations , during the pandemic large tents and marquees became an integral element in the move to help the NHS , and more broadly the country , get back on its feet .
Instead of raising a glass or dancing to music inside a tent , these days people are more likely to be breathing into a face mask , standing six feet away from a stranger in a queue . Temporary structures used for festivals and sporting events have been transformed – seemingly overnight – into vaccination centres and even temporary morgues .
That , combined with staff redundancies and financial losses , have meant for a bleak period in the sector . But a sprinkle of events have taken place using marquees , tents and other structures – ones that suppliers will not be forgetting in a hurry . As for developments in the sector , never have the buzzwords ‘ pivot ’ and ‘ adapt ’ held so much significance , with many organisations having had to shift to provide different services for new clients .
An organisation that knows all too well about this change is Norfolk-based Made Up Textiles Association ( MUTA ), the UK ’ s trade association for temporary structures businesses .
“ The majority of MUTA members serve the weddings and outdoor events sector , so it has been an incredibly challenging year ,” says membership support coordinator Joe Chalk .
“ Our recent member survey indicated that more than 50 % of respondents have or plan to diversify . Fortunately , some MUTA members have been able to provide marquees , tents and structures for the NHS , local communities and businesses such as Amazon and Royal Mail that require additional space to accommodate social distancing measures .”
Among the companies that have provided services to
Despite the demolition of the live events industry over the past year , temporary structures have managed to maintain a strong purpose , and perhaps one more crucial than ever before . Access hears from some of the industry ’ s leading temporary structures suppliers about the impact of the pandemic on their businesses and how they are preparing for a return to a more traditional supply of work .
Words : Joe Gallop
the NHS is GL Events , which managing director Scott Jameson says has had to “ pivot complete away from events ”.
The company , based in Derby , usually specialises in supplying a range of events including conferences , sporting events and festivals , but its structures business has instead had to look elsewhere and “ see where the demand is ”.
“ We ’ ve got a couple of industrial business in the UK and they ’ ve been doing business as usual pretty much . They ’ re in construction rather than events so they ’ ve been okay ,” says Jameson .
However , he says its structures business has focused on NHS projects such as the Nightingale Hospital in Bristol , Papworth Hospital in Cambridge , and providing temporary facilities to the NHS for staff canteens and changing areas to enable people to socially distance .
Jameson says , “ We ’ ve also seen demand from the likes of Hermes , Amazon , DHL , who ’ ve gone through a real boom period last year and again need
The NHS has been an important customer
additional facilities for Covid testing or for canteen facilities to socially distance their drivers .”
Milton Keynes-based Impact Production Services ( IPS ) also shifted some of its focus to support the vaccination rollout .
Project manager Tom Warden says , “ We have worked on various contingency plans for local councils that have included solutions based on our staging and structures infrastructure . This included a proposal to use a Layher-based structure within an ice rink as a temporary morgue , which fortunately was never needed . We have also provided power distribution , cabling and cable ramp equipment on a dry hire basis
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