Specialty Fabrics Review June 2020 - 21

technology and equipment, and he prefers
to outsource the digital printing. "We're
still old school and I'm trying to keep it
that way," he says. "Modern technology is
great, but it's also a hindrance. Too many
people rely on a computer. I still draw with
my scale ruler."
He says his biggest business strength
is his honesty. And while he may be
surrounded by fame and fortune, he
credits his upbringing for his ability
to stay grounded.
"I always was taught by the people
around me to never forget where you've
come from. That's very important," he
says. "Treat people with respect. Be honest
and be yourself. Don't make out that you
are something that you are not."
Greenwood extends that philosophy
to employee management. Currently,
the company has 15 employees, including
a couple based in Europe.
"It's not all about the bottom line at
the end of the day," he says. "You need the
people around you. Without them you are
nothing. People forget themselves when
they start seeing the money."

REALITY CHECK
If being paid to be on location at some of
the biggest events around the world sounds
glamorous, Greenwood is quick to describe
the reality of working on live events.
"You devote your life to it," he says.
"It's not a thing where you can just have
a vacation. There's always something going
on all over the world, all over the country.
Just because it's Christmas doesn't mean it
stops. This year I had Christmas Day off,
that was it. Long hours, and it does affect
your family life. Take the Super Bowl, for
instance. We were coming in at 4 in the
morning until 10 or 11 at night every day.
No weekends off."
Despite the travel and long hours,
he says that he loves the challenges his
clients send his way and that he has a good
life at the helm of a unique company.
"I'm honored to be a part of this
crazy industry and to know the people
I've known over the years," he says.
"I just love what I do."

What are the
biggest challenges
of working in the
live events industry?
Timeline and weather, always.
When it comes to, for instance,
the Super Bowl [LIV in Miami],
we had one month to pull
everything off, and we were
covering nine structures. I was
there for 15 days. You pull your
hair out because every structure
is custom. Each one was different;
nothing was the same. My shop
pulled many long hours, and after
a long day we get in a van and drive
down there, because we have stuff
to take down with us at the last
minute. And, of course, you spend
time on location, putting them in,
making sure everything is good
and doing last-minute tweaks.

Jill C. Lafferty is senior editor
of Specialty Fabrics Review.

Snapshot
BIG PANELS FOR THE BIG SCREEN
Stage Tops USA manufactures and installs fabric products for the biggest
and most high-profile events around the world. The work the company did
for the Doha Tribeca Film Festival in Qatar in 2011 and 2012 exemplifies
the company's capabilities on a world stage. For those events, Kevin
Greenwood, owner/CEO of Stage Tops, and three employees worked on-site
for nearly 60 days to cover multiple structures, including an entrance
structure that measured 150 feet wide and 200 feet tall. To accomplish
the task, Greenwood shipped containers of equipment and fabric to Qatar,
including Verseidag vinyl, setting up a workshop on the road. "Because of
the size of the structure, we had to go there and build on location because
there were a lot of unknowns," he says. "It was a challenge due to the size
and the timeline we had on it. I think to date that has to be the biggest
structure we've ever covered. There was nothing small about it."

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