Underfoot essentials for your next event
Company: Coir Store
Telephone: 07884 303082
Website: www.coirstore.co.uk
Event: Bloodwise Blenheim Palace Triathlon
Description: This hugely popular sporting event is Britain’s second biggest triathlon. Every year over 7,000 triathletes take part, with first timers accounting for more than half of the field. Not only does this event raise thousands of pounds for charities, but it’s also a great opportunity for many of Britain’s top athletes to hone their skills
Area supplied: 550 sq m
Product used: M4A4 Herringbone coir matting
Details: Starting with a 750m swim in the Great Lake, the competitors enter a ‘transition area’. The M4A4 Herringbone coir matting we supplied is laid onto the pathways to protect the athletes’ feet as they run from the swim out to the transition area.
The route between lake and transition area is long and meandering, so it’s not always possible to lay a full 12m length. Fortunately the matting is easily cut to shorter and more appropriate lengths. Being 100% natural and extremely durable, it gives good traction for the runners even when wet. Capable of withstanding thousands of feet means previously supplied mats will be used again for this year’s event!
Customer feedback: “We use the matting for both the Bloodwise Blenheim Palace Triathlon and the AJ Bell London Triathlon. In both cases it is used to protect athletes’ feet as they run from the swim out to transition. Because it is such good stuff and hasn’t worn out, we do not need any more for this year.” Clayton Payne, senior operations manager, IMG UK.
Company: GT Trax
Telephone: 07950 043159
Website: www.gttrax.co.uk
Event: Green Man Festival
Description: Music festival
Area supplied: 7,122 sq m
Products used: Power Tracks 20 and Power Tracks 40
Details: The Green Man festival is one of the UK’s leading music festivals, with 20,000 people attending last year.
The festival is held in the Brecon Beacons where the weather can be unpredictable and quickly changeable. The organisers have been increasing their usage of temporary trackway over the years as the event has grown. The festival site management team has been using the lighter duty Power Track 20 panels for many years. However, in 2017 the organisers tripled their overall use of plastic trackway which, for the first time, included the installation of the Power Track 40 heavy duty roadway panels.
The organisers decided to increase the number of Power Track 40 panels as the system was an equal to the aluminium trackway used in the past but manufactured from recycled and recyclable material; this helped to satisfy their own environmental ethos. Power Tracks 20 panels are manufactured from the same material. Consequently the organisers reduced the amount of aluminium panels and increased the use of plastic panels used.
A team of four GT Trax operatives set up camp on the site for four complete days, installing both the Power Tracks 20 and 40 panels, using a combination of site forklifts working alongside a ‘Multi One’ installation vehicle. Power Tracks panels were manoeuvred into place using a Hiab lifting crane attached to a GT Trax HGV. For safety, the crane was remotely operated away from the vehicle.
The panels were removed over three days following the event and the project was completed without incident, on time and in accordance with the organiser’s instructions. There were no missing items.
Customer feedback: Harriet Johnson, procurement manager, Green Man, said: “When choosing a supplier, it is a quality product and personal customer service I look for, that is why GT Trax is our favoured trackway supplier year on year.”
Company: Regent FloorStak
Telephone: 01215 266060
Website: www.floorstak.com
Event: Showman’s Show 2017
Description: The UK’s premier exhibition for the event industry
Area supplied: 9 sq m
Products used: Regent FloorStak Support and Levelling System, Demountable Entry Platform, Adjustable Balustrade System, and Modular Step System
Details: In October last year Regent provided the elevated entrance for the Röder HTS Höcker stand at the Showman’s Show in Newbury. Incorporating Regent’s new Ajustable Balustrading and Modular Step System, the finished product made an impressive entrance to the Röder 15m x 10m clearspan tent, which was also supported by the FloorStak Support and Levelling System.
The installation of the whole entry platform was achieved in a little over an hour with just two operatives. All of the Step System components are standard parts, so it is possible to create a staircase of up to 2 metres. Regent also produces a “landing platform” for use with the Modular Steps so that it is possible to create a 90 degree turn, or even a 180 degree turn if two landings are placed side by side.
The Balustrade System features sliding adjustable connecting brackets to accommodate small variations in spacings, and can be used either with free-standing posts (as in this example) or between structure legs. Optional “wing” units are available which make the system usable with 5m and 3m tent structures.
The Step System and Balustrades are designed to satisfy UK building regulations.
Customer feedback: Giles Hill, UK director of Röder HTS, declared that he was very happy with the result – “another example of Regent bringing practical, innovative products to the events market.”
Company: Paull’s Matting
Telephone: 01935 822204
Website: www.paullsmatting.co.uk
Event: Glastonbury Festival
Description: Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts
Area supplied: 4,200 sq m
Products used: Coir and polyprop matting
Details: It’s not everyday you get asked to cover an area the size of a football pitch at one of the most prestigious music festivals in the world. Especially one we’re so proud of, as it’s only up the road from where we are in Somerset. So when we got the call asking if we could provide a large quantity of coir and polyprop matting in time for the festival at the end of June, we wanted to pull out all the stops.
Coir is not always easy to source at the height of the festival and marquee season, but we like to keep our stock levels high for this very reason. Polyprop however, the tough, durable and washable alternative, can be even harder to source, so we were delighted to solve their problem and supply the festival with their matting needs.
It’s not the first time we’ve worked at Worthy Farm. We’ve had a long relationship with Mr Eavis through our sister company Yeo Paull, which in it’s day was one of the biggest marquee companies in the UK and provided a lot of the tents for the show – so we know how muddy it can get and why you might need that much matting.
We worked closely with the event organisers to ensure the goods were delivered on time to meet with their busy schedule. Sadly none of us managed to get tickets to see the matting in use, but we’re delighted to once again be part of such a historic event right in the heart of Somerset.
Customer feedback: Jaz at Glastonbury Festival said: “You guys have been superb! Paull’s Matting were very accommodating and managed to fulfil a large order for us. My contacts were easy to deal with and I look forward to using them again in the future for our needs.”
Company: The Structure Group
Telephone: 01444 831 456
Website: www.tsg.uk.com
Event: Derby Day, Epsom Downs Racecourse
Description: With winnings of £1.5m, this June race meet has one of the biggest pots of prize in money in UK racing
Area supplied: 1,250 sq m
Products used: HeavyDeck system
Details: Since 2011 The Structure Group (TSG) has been extremely proud to be a part of the Derby Day held at Epsom Downs Racecourse.
Each year TSG has used its HeavyDeck system to utilise the difficult terrain below a 25m x 50m marquee structure, creating an elevated surface more than 3m in the air. The marquee includes an outdoor 250m2 balcony area and offers race goers pillar-less views unlike anywhere else at the racecourse, across the grounds right through from the starting post to the finishing line.
HeavyDeck is a tried and tested, sustainable and modular system that creates absolutely no waste or environmental damage pre, during or post event. It is extremely fast to install and not only creates a perfectly level platform but once in place has the ability to create modular buildings up to four storeys high based on a standard 5m x 5m grid, which can be hugely beneficial to innovative design prospects.
TSG also has the in-house engineering capability to create bespoke and tailor made items with an approved and experienced supplier list. The design options available are truly endless.
Customer feedback: TSG delivered a rapid installation time with extremely competitive pricing allowing the Epsom Downs Racecourse to increase its capacity temporarily and offer all a great day out.
Company: S2T Group – PERFO Ground Reinforcement
Telephone: 01992 522797
Website: www.perfo.co.uk
Event: Stuttgart Regional Agricultural Festival
Description: Main Agricultural Show of the South Western German State of Baden Württemburg, which coincides with famous the Cannstatter Volksfest held in Stuttgart
Area supplied: Approx. 2,000 sq m
Product used: PERFO-EQ TIles
Details: The Landwirtschaftliches Hauptfest takes place in Stuttgart in South West Germany over nine days in late September/early October to coincide with the popular Cannstatter Volksfest Beer Festival. It showcases machinery, structures and a wide range of solutions employed across the agricultural sector, from rearing livestock to working the land.
A large part of the showground is covered with gravel and not ideally suited for pedestrian traffic, pushchairs or those with mobility issues. For this reason the organisers were looking for a product that could be quickly and easily deployed as a walkway on the gravel surface for the duration of the event to provide a more suitable and comfortable surface for pedestrians, especially for wheelchair users and children’s buggies etc.
Another requirement was that the product could be removed quickly after the show and would take up little storage space when not in use, as the operators of the Cannstatter Wasen showground planned to use it for other events held at the venue. S2T Group’s PERFO-EQ system of interlocking plastic tiles was the ideal solution, meeting the client’s requirements.
Customer feedback: After a trial in 2010, the operators of the showground were suitably impressed and the PERFO-EQ product has since been used at subsequent events to great effect. Furthermore the PERFO-EQ interlocking plastic matting was also used to provide a walkway when part of the showground was temporarily transformed into a reception centre for refugees arriving in Southern Germany after fleeing the conflict in Syria.
