How Do Event and Exhibition Companies Store Their Stands and Equipment in Between Shows?

A show booth can be on the show floor for three or four days. It sits in storage for the rest of the year, and how it is stored determines if it comes out ready to build or if it needs repairs the week before an event.

Dubai boasts a packed events calendar with big trade shows at Dubai World Trade Center and Expo City Dubai and a constant flow of corporate events, launches and weddings, mostly during the cooler months. For the companies that build and supply these events, storage is part of the business, not an afterthought. That is how the well organised ones get around.

What Needs Storing?

The list is longer and bulkier than most people expect: modular stand frames and wall panels, printed graphics and fabric backdrops, flooring and carpet rolls, counters and furniture, lighting rigs, screens and audio, cabling, flight cases, decor and props. Much of it is awkwardly shaped, some of it is fragile, and just about all of it is expensive to replace.

Why a Spare or Office Unit Doesn’t Work?

Many event companies start off by storing their equipment in the office, a small unit or the back of a van. That works until the business takes on a second or third client.

Standard rooms don’t fit long frames or tall panels. Stacking ruins graphics. With two jobs running, nobody can find the right crate.

The next step should be to move everything into secure business storage solutions provided by a warehousing company, where the space is designed for large items and the equipment is monitored when the team is out on site.

Prepare Equipment for Storage:

Most damage occurs at the end of a show when a tired crew is packing down in a hurry. A small routine prevents it.

• First clean and dry everything. Dust and moisture left on the panels and fabric will cause marks that will be difficult to remove later.
• Rolling graphics and fabric printed; do not fold. Creases often get set.
• Pack screens, lighting and audio equipment in flight cases or original boxes.
• Identify each crate by client and stand, not just content, and number the crates for each stand.
• Take a picture of the assembled stand and keep the pictures with the packing list so any crew can rebuild it.
• Write down repairs needed before storage, while there is still time to do them.

Keep Away from Heat and Humidity

UAE summers can be brutal on event material. Heat can warp panels and laminates, weaken adhesives on vinyl graphics and shorten the life of electronics.

Humidity can affect fabric, carpet and printed surfaces. Summer is also the quiet season, and the equipment is usually left idle during the worst of it. If it is printed, electronic or upholstered, it is worth the extra money to keep it in climate- and humidity-controlled storage.

Prepare for a Fast Load-Out

Event work has tight-build windows. That’s just as important as keeping it safe, especially when a venue might give a contractor one day to load in. That is possible in a few practical ways with a dependable warehouse for storage.

Trucks load directly at dock-height loading bays without carrying frames down ramps.
Racked storage ceiling height: so tall panels are stored vertically, and nothing is buried beneath other stock.

• Arrangements for known retrieval with a notice period to prepare goods.
• Transport by the same provider, so collection after the show and delivery before the next are handled together.

A venue location with good road access to the main venues and to Jebel Ali Port for imported equipment.

Fit Your Space to the Calendar

Storage needs in this industry fluctuate. There’s less to do in the summer months when the season is winding down and the gear is moving from one site to another, so stocks tend to grow. A fixed annual lease involves paying for vacant space in the high months. Month-to-month terms allow a company to take on more space in the off-season and then scale back when the equipment is out on jobs.

The Bottom Line

Stands and equipment earn money for a few days at a time and then wait the rest of the year. Proper packing, proper conditions and storage where they can be loaded out quickly protect the investment and save the crew hours before every show.