“ Some clients are conscious of the challenges facing the supply chain and being proactive to ensure that they secure kit early and that does mean paying deposits now ,” says Thomas . “ Undoubtedly that ’ s the reason for a significant percentage of the additional enquiries , it is those organisers who realise that if they don ’ t get the ball rolling now then they will struggle later down the line .”
Like suppliers across the industry , Qdos is feeling the impact of Brexit and the pandemic on the supply chain .
“ Ultimately , you ’ re at the mercy of market forces and there ’ s very little that you can do about that other than manage the resources that you have effectively and be realistic about what you can achieve ,” says Thomas . “ We have had to turn jobs away and that really hurts – you never want to say no to a client , whether that ’ s existing or new , but equally you don ’ t want to commit to something and then not be able to deliver it well .”
When not able to meet all an event ’ s requirements , Qdos is trying to meet as many needs as possible and that means working more closely than ever with other suppliers to support the sector . “ Across the board we ’ re seeing more collaboration between our fellow suppliers who we might have previously been more wary of ,” says Thomas .
Headquartered in Dublin , Actavo provides an extensive range of event infrastructure , including staging , seating , event scaffolding structures , fencing and barriers . It employs more than 2,000 people and has sites in around 100 locations worldwide .
Among the company ’ s many projects
“ We have had to turn jobs away and that really hurts .”
– Qdos Event Hire MD James
is the St Patrick ’ s Day parade in Dublin , for which it has provided crowd control solutions including the installation of more than 4,500 crowd control barriers and 700 Heras fences .
Last year saw Actavo supply fencing and barriers in three stadiums and noncompetition venues in London , Glasgow and Copenhagen for the UEFA European Football Championship . The work included designing a bespoke Channel System queuing barrier to replace traditional crowd control barriers .
With the St Patrick ’ s Day parade unable to go ahead last year , Actavo partnered with Intel to work on a drone light show dubbed the Orchestra of Light . This included supplying Heras panels , crowd control barriers , acoustic panels to reduce noise levels , event marquees , and traffic management .
Actavo UK operations manager Emily Kenwood says the company has not only seen a significant rise in demand from event operators but that the enquiries are coming thick and fast , with clients keen to get orders confirmed and in the diary earlier than usual .
“ We are receiving orders for a lot of things , especially the more commoditised products such as fencing and barriers , much earlier than usual . Pre-pandemic , some of that wouldn ’ t come in until a few weeks before the event ,” she says . Kenwood is also finding that clients are focusing more on contractual aspects , such as payment terms , earlier in the process : “ People are asking about payment terms , cancellation terms , and when we will be asking for deposits . Previously , people rarely asked about cancellation , and payment terms tended to come a lot later in the conversation – usually once the job had been confirmed .
“ I am seeing a lot more openness on the client side about what their plans are and what their situation is . We are having a lot more face-to-face video calls at an early stage in the process whereas previously it would have been email exchanges until you met on site .”
Taking action While the rise in enquiries is warmly welcomed , Kenwood says that Actavo has not been immune to the widely experienced decline in staff and crew numbers across the sector .
She says : “ A lot of skilled labour left during the pandemic to work in other industries , so we ’ ve been getting our guys trained up in lots of different areas to try to cover some of that shortfall .
“ I have been speaking to local colleges and local universities to offer event management graduates fully paid roles during the summer . We are also working with colleges on apprenticeship schemes . I ’ m trying to bring people into the
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