By Joey Gomez
As one of the oldest, largest, and most trusted general equipment rental companies in South and CentralTexas, Rental World sets the bar even higher, brandishing elite status within the industry.
Rental World is the first to receive elite industry certification in South Texas, and counts itself among those distinguished professionals who build upon a wealth of knowledge within their industry. Graduating from the Certified Event Rental Professional (CERP) program, developed by the American Rental Association, Rental World President Angela Wolf has achieved one of the party and event rental industry’s most esteemed accomplishments. She completed the Foundations of the Party and Event Rental Industry, Tabletop Design, and Everyday Ware washing disciplines in May. It’s called CERP certification. It’s through the American Rental Association. Their certification is geared towards the event and rental industry. “It fits very nicely with what we do,” said Rental World President Angela Wolf.
Wolf is the first person in the Rio Grande Valley to achieve this certificate, and the closest city with a CERP individual is Austin, TX. There are nine disciplines to choose from. The one discipline that everyone has to choose is Foundations of Party. The curriculum is pretty rigorous. It takes up to 18 months to complete. The content is very specific to the rental industry. From terms they use, you get to use the correct terminology for everything. It is recognized globally. There are people who are from England who are CERP certified. It’s a way that validates your skill in the industry you are in.
“With the CERP certification, it means we are professionals. When you go to a doctor, you want them to have some kind of license or screening process that they have gone through before treating you. Well, this is our documentation saying we have gone through the rigorous curriculum,” she said. “We have knowledge about what we are doing, and you can trust that we will be doing the right thing for your event. Similar to a doctor or a dentist, you want them to have credentials.”
Rental World specializes in large complex events such as weddings, festivals, fundraisers, and galas. As the foremost experts in planning, company leaders say that attention to detail and a vast array of products sets the company apart from its competitors. We just finished with the Big Bang Salsafest in Three Rivers, as well as the air conditioned VIP tent with full décor at the George Strait concert in Hidalgo and the tenting, staging, and AC for the Toby Keith concert in Pharr.
The Three Rivers event moved to a new site in 2014. We began planning and design more than 6 months prior to the event. We downloaded satellite images of the new site, checked for changes from actual site versus the satellite, and performed a full site layout to scale in cooperation with event organizers utilizing our PartyCAD software. We were in the middle of a park with limited power and lighting and had to squeeze in multiple stages, dance floors, festival booths, restrooms, and a full ride and inflatable entertainment zone. With the event in the heat of the summer, we installed over 40 fans and misters to help keep patrons as cool as possible given the budget. As with any event we help design, we considered event flow, entrances, exits, power, lighting, sanitation, sound travel, service lanes for event personnel, parking, and budget. All these variables and more went together to formulate the best plan and design to meet the event’s unique needs.
These drawings are an enormous help in ensuring that everything fits and that the event flows properly. An events specialist can also attend committee meetings and make drawing changes on the fly that everyone can instantly see via one of our computer projectors. This added service is a great meeting facilitator, helps focus everyone on your event’s objective, and shortens the planning stages. “Rental World has been around a long time. I married into it. My background is not rental. My background is UTB, and I was a professor there,” Wolf said. So, it was totally different. I came to work for the company after the split. I started about a year ago. I looked into the CERP certification and thought that this is what I needed to get up to speed and feel confident about what I was talking about.”
The CERP program builds a strong knowledge base of the equipment rental industry that cannot be achieved elsewhere. “Becoming CERP certified demonstrates the commitment these individuals have to the rental industry and to their customers,” said Carla Brozick, ARA senior director of education and training. “They have taken the time to learn industry best practices and become experts in their chosen field. This is a tremendous service rental professionals can offer consumers who are looking for expert advice when planning their special event.”
The American Rental Association in Moline, Illinois, is an international trade association for owners of equipment rental businesses and the manufacturers and suppliers of construction/industrial, general tool and party/event rental equipment. Rental World now has eight additional employees who are currently undergoing CERP certification.
“We are more than just construction. We have that niche in the market where we also specialize in equipment rental and party or event equipment rental. We also do the design of any event,” Wolf said. “We really are the best of both worlds.”