Under the Big Top

June 2010 Newsletter

Improve the Speed and Efficiency of Tent Stake Driving and Pulling

When devising ways to improve the efficiencies at the jobsite, one sure way is to reduce the time and labor associated with the driving and pulling of tent stakes. There are few job site tasks that compare to the time it can takes to drive all of the necessary tent stakes for a safe and secure tent set-up. It is not uncommon that because of the time and manual labor required to driving and pulling stakes that work crews tend to cut corners and place an insufficient number of stakes for a safe set-up.

Teeco Solutions manufactures tent stake driving and pulling equipment that effectively reduces the number of workers required to both drive and pull tent stakes. To learn more about how Teeco equipment can benefit your operations check out the video library on our web site at the Teeco Video Library

All the Best

Improving the operating efficiencies of tent rental operations
When considering ways to improve efficiencies and streamline operations, there are a number of steps that you as a tent rental operator can take to reduce costs and improve operating efficiences. The following are but a few ideas to help better manage operating expenses and improve bottom-line performance.

Inventory Management

• Purchase bulk tent tubing - Consider purchasing frame tent tubing in bulk. Your staff can easily cut and drill tent tubing as needed. It is not only cheaper to purchase tent tubing in bulk; you'll find that it represents an effective approach to maintaining a more flexible inventory.
• Purchase frame tent fitting in bulk - This too will help to keep inventory costs down and deliver a more flexible inventory.
• Purchase tops for short life cycles - On the smaller frame tents, consider taking an approach of short life cycles on the tops. You can purchase a lower quality top, realize rental income off it for a year and half and then sell the top as a complete tent with tubing and fittings. If timed correctly, you can yield the original cost back in the sale alone, to say nothing of the rental income earned off the tent during the year and a half of use. You can have a larger inventory of these smaller size tops (normally the bread and butter of many operations) to keep the majority of top inventory looking new. Following this strategy, one can afford to pay less attention to taking meticulous care of the top which tends to drive up the cost of caring for inventory.
• Maintenance of small tops - Contrary to popular belief, you can save considerable labor when striking a small top to just drop it in the mud, the labor savings alone in shortening the time in the field and then throwing the top in the washer when returning to the warehouse will make for a net gain.
• Managing large top inventory - Larger tops on the other hand are another matter, especially pole tents. The resale market for larger tops is not very good. Additionally, larger tops are more susceptible to wind and having a large top that is able to stand up to difficult weather conditions is a top that you'll want to keep in inventory.
• Market your tent inventory ¬- Let it be known in your community that your business has tents for sale. Typically, churches, Boy Scouts and other non-profit agencies are great prospective outlets for small used tops.

(Check out our white paper library for more information on ways to improve tent rental operations efficiencies at Teeco Library).

News from the Front

In April of this year, Teeco Solutions launched its first joint service offering with 12 of its customers. The Tent Washing Services program represents our interest in exposing more tent rental operators to the value of mechanizing the manual and moving from manual tent washing to the machine washing of tent tops. Adding to our list of customers participating in the Tent Washing Service program are:

A Able Rents - Cleveland, OH website
Traube Tent Company - Columbia, IL website
If you're a Teeco Solutions customer and interested in promoting tent washing services click on the following link and let us hear from you. fromthefront@teecosolutions.com

Stain Eliminator Promotion - For a limited time, Teeco Solutions is offering a special Buy 3 and Get 1 FREE promotion on its Stain Eliminator product. Check out the details of the offer on our website by clicking on the following link.
www.teecosolutions.com/stain-eliminator-offer.asp

If you have a story to share with us about your operations, please drop us an email at fromthefront@teecosolutions.com or visit our blog at www.teecosolutions.com/blog.asp