DIY

Perhaps the best way to introduce our installation service is to describe a scenario where a client does this part themselves. There are probably aspects that the inexperienced exhibitor didn't even know they needed to consider.

If you've just read our service section on delivery, you'll know that using couriers can be a bit of a lottery; that stress-avoidance is not inherent in their use. Maybe you only receive your hardware the night before the show, so you don't have time to even look at it. Maybe there was a mix-up or delay that means it has to be shipped direct to the event, where you must now try to intercept it in a car park somewhere in a massive exhibition hall complex on the morning of the show itself. It's on a pre-9 delivery, but the show starts at 10. Exhibiting should not require prayer as part of its preparations.

But let's assume for a moment that being super-organised, you finalised and took delivery of your exhibition stand a few days in advance. You now have all the hardware in your office and you've even set up the stand in your reception area as a practice run. You feel confident you can install it at tomorrow's show, so you pack it carefully back into its hard cases and slot them into the cavernous boot of your MPV.

Maybe this is the first time you've attended a big event, let alone been an exhibitor at one. So you've researched where the correct car park is and you have your paperwork in order, you know your time window for the install, and you're pretty sure you can build the stand in an hour if you get into the hall bang on time. You hope that the electrics will all be set up in time by the event organiser, and that they'll come up through the carpet in the place you need them to. You hope that your leaflet handouts don't get delivered to hall 3, because you're in hall 5 and that's a 40-minute walk, the last half of which would be carrying a 25kg box of leaflets. You hope that the current WiFi speed will not remain at 0.1Mbs when you paid through the nose for 2Mbs.

Funnily enough, being experienced at exhibition planning and having a few under your belt makes you more wary, not less. Even in an almost perfect scenario, you're banking on nothing going wrong with any element of the install. But even if everything goes like clockwork, you've still effectively taken your eyes off the prize. You've spent the hugely important hours just before a show running around sorting stuff out, building stuff, lugging heavy things around. You've not been getting yourself into the best headspace for the event and you've had no preparation time, so you can't hit the ground running when the doors open.

Busting the stress with Rounded Edge

We understand that the re-usable nature of some of our hardware systems lends itself to clients doing installs themselves. Part of their appeal is often their portability and ease-of-use, plus the ability to keep the same hardware and swap in new graphic panels for a new product launch or venture. We know that buying a flexible system means you can mix-and-match in different stand spaces.

But however small or large your stand, most of the factors mentioned in the DIY section above are consistently in play during your preparations for the event. It can be a heavy burden on what already has the potential to be quite a stressful day. Your exhibitor team can benefit hugely from being able to focus on the show itself.

So even if you have a natural aptitude for DIY, we can offer a stress-free alternative for those events where you just don't want the distraction. Or if it's your first event, or your first time with a new hardware system, you can benefit from watching us install your stand so that you know how to DIY next time.

Moreover, using Rounded Edge for your installation and breakdown means that you can rely on the equipment arriving at the right place, at the right time, all in one piece, and with an expert. We'll build your stand quickly and with the minimum of fuss and get it all looking great, just how you imagined it. Most installs suffer from at least one or two unforeseeable complications to overcome (like the fluctuating moods of on-site electricians). We can deal with those on-site as part of the service.

Bigger builds

There are some builds that you simply can't attempt yourself. At bigger events, more prestigious shows or any stand that includes heavy or custom build elements, you'll need to draw on our installation experience to get all the hardware to the show, construct it and get the stand ready in the often short build windows afforded before the event.

Big builds often involve several vans full of equipment and require a dedicated install team with the specialist skills and experience to put it all together. We'll organise everything and ensure that the optimum number of bodies are on the ground to get the work done in time. Furthermore, after the show has finished, you'll need a similar level of resource to break the stand down and take it all away, on time and without damaging it.

What you're getting with our install and breakdown service is genuine expertise, not just a bunch of grunts lifting heavy stuff for you. The team is as invested as you are in producing the best stand possible, and some or all of our installers will have been heavily involved with the collaborative design process, so they'll really understand what you need, where everything goes and why; in short, what the aims and desired functionality of the stand actually are.