Party Reflections, based in Charlotte, N.C., has acquired Party Makers Event Rentals, Greensboro, N.C. “The combined efforts of our two companies will create a much stronger and more capable entity with a clear growth strategy for the future. Both of our customer bases will benefit greatly from the combined resources,” said Dan Hooks, CERP, president, Party [...]

Photo courtesy of CORT Events and GK Photography. CORT Events, Chantilly, Va., the trade show and event division of CORT Furniture Rental, has relocated its Orlando warehouse to a larger facility that the company said will enhance its ability to serve trade shows, exhibits and events in Orlando and southern Florida. “This larger warehouse is [...]

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) final rule banning noncompete agreements — issued in April 2024 and set to take effect Sept. 4 — has been blocked. A federal judge in Texas has barred the rule that would ban agreements commonly signed by workers not to join their employers’ rivals or launch competing businesses. According to Reuters, [...]

Robert (Bob) J. Mastromatteo, 78, Brewster, Mass., died Aug. 12, 2024. Mastromatteo was an entrepreneur at heart, starting a lawn company, co-founding a chemical manufacturing company, and eventually establishing Party Cape Cod in 1984 with his wife, becoming the Cape’s first one-stop party retail and rental supplier. Thoughout the 40 years of growing Party Cape [...]

Aggreko, Houston, has introduced two mid-node — 500 kW/250 kWh and 250 kW/575 kWh — battery energy storage systems (BESS) to its Greener Upgrades line of temporary power options. The new storage systems are designed for on and off-grid applications while also enabling reduced emissions, energy consumption and costs, the company said. Both batteries are [...]

Robert “Bob” MacFarland, 91, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, died Aug. 12, 2024. MacFarland — who served as the 28th president of the American Rental Association (ARA) in 1989 — became involved in the rental industry in 1963 when, after spending 10 years in the construction industry, he opened R.H. MacFarland in Halifax. MacFarland helped organize [...]