Specialty Fabrics Review October 2021 - 34

Michael Lubas, co-owner of
The secret for me was
to go all in once we
made the decision. Not
everyone completely
embraced the vision,
so I had to be the
head cheerleader and
push it through.
Chip Breitweiser
Industrial Shadeports Inc.
Vermont Tent Co., a full-service tent
and event rental business in Essex
Junction, Vt., moved his business
in 2019 for the same reason. At his
previous location, five miles from
where he is now, he operated out of
two warehouses; the main one, with
a showroom and office, was 17,000
square feet and the second, five miles
away and used for storage, was 10,000
square feet. The company also had a
dozen 8-by-40-foot storage containers.
" We'd been out of space for years,
even after adding the second warehouse
and containers, " says Lubas. " Now we
have one 60,000-square-foot location, no
storage containers and all the employees
under one roof, which is huge. "
STEPPING BACK, DECIDING
More room is a primary motivator
for most, but there are other reasons
to pick up shop. For Dan Hooks,
president of Party Reflections Inc.,
a five-location, special event rental
production company headquartered
in Charlotte, N.C., moving has been " a
necessary evil " for the company during
its more than 63 years of operation.
In January 2020, it moved from
a 22,000-square-foot building in
Greensboro to one about a mile away
that is 40,000 square feet. In late
February 2020, it moved the Charlotte
operation from a 115,000-squarefoot
facility on 6.5 acres to one that
is 185,000 square feet situated on 15
acres. Although in both cases space
had become an issue, one of Hooks'
main objectives was better positioning
the team for success.
" When you start making
adjustments to your operations
because of the facility you're in, you
must step back and decide where to
invest your money, " he explains. " We
believe the proper facility will give
the company the best opportunity to
succeed in the future. We're always
looking for ways to improve the
operation, and that includes a larger,
better facility. "
Hooks had some concerns about
the Charlotte relocation. Although this
operation had moved five times over
the last 50 years, all had been within
a two-mile radius. The new location
was 10 miles away. Hooks worried
that some employees-and some
customers-might not follow. This
proved unfounded.
" We discussed the potential move
A move undertaken in the spring of 2019 to a building that had once housed a go-kart track
and roller skating rink allowed Vermont Tent to upgrade its dishwashing facility, add a fullservice
laundry, expand the warehouse space and offices, along with designing this new
2,000-square-foot showroom. Photo: Vermont Tent Company.
34 SPECIALTY FABRICS REVIEW / October 2021
with key employees and waited for
feedback from the rest of the team, " he
recalls. " There were no major objections
and we felt it might even make it easier
for some employees, and also easier to
find potential new employees in the
area we were moving to. "
As for customers, since the
company delivers about 80 percent

Specialty Fabrics Review October 2021

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