FSB Press Release Issue date:  Tuesday June 24 2008   WOLVERHAMPTON BUSINESS – FINALIST FOR TOP AWARD  Macey and Bond Marquee Company Ltd, based in Wolverhampton, are one of five Central area finalists for the British Small Business Championship Awards (BSBC) to be held on Thursday 26th June 2008 at The Welcombe Hotel, Stratford-upon-Avon.  BSBC was founded by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) in 2002.  It is the only national awards scheme solely for small businesses. Its aims are to celebrate and heighten the profile of UK's small businesses.  Sara Murphy, MD of Macey and Bond, started the company with her father in 1993 and the company has gone from strength to strength.  Most importantly the client base has continued to grow with interesting and highly prestigious accounts; the most recent of which was to supply the marquees for the official opening by the Queen together with senior members of the Royal Family, leading politicians and officials, at the National Memorial Arboretum last November (2007).   Despite suffering a major setback in September 2005, when a fire in the unit next door spread to Sara’s unit and completely gutted everything, including almost all of the company’s stock, plus its vehicles and business records, the company bounded back.  Even during the intervening period not one customer was let down as, even whilst the fire brigade was dampening down the ashes, Sara was contacting customers with short term bookings to re-assure them that their bookings were secure and would be satisfied to Macey & Bond’s high expectation levels.  On Thursday, Macey & Bond, plus the other five BSBC 2008 area finalists, will be competing for the coveted title of Small Business Central Area Champion 2008, winning a cash prize of £1,000 to be spent to the benefit of their business.  The winner will then go forward to compete against the other five champions from across the UK, for the title of national champion 2008 whose prizes include £10,000 also to be spent on their business.  Karen Norris, Staffordshire and West Midlands Regional Organiser for the FSB said:  “BSBC is an excellent celebration of what makes British small businesses amongst the best in the world.  The drive and determination shown by people like Sara to succeed, often against mounting odds, demonstrates a professionalism and commitment which continues to provide the backbone of our local economy.  We wish Sara and all the finalists the very best of luck!” ............................................................................................................................................................... PR Feature, March 2007: Midlands Businesswoman Of The Year Has Received Further Recognition For Her Strong Determination Left to right: Ian Dawson of Kayospruce who sponsored the Business of the Year Award, Sara Murphy of Macey & Bond, Paul Murphy of Macey & Bond and David Ramus, President of the Performance Textiles Association Wednesfield based marquee hire company, Macey and Bond whose Managing Director, Sara Murphy is current Black Country Businesswoman of the Year, has won UK Marquee Business of the Year. The award was given by the Performance Textiles Association in recognition of the company’s excellent recovery from a major fire in September 2005, which completely gutted its premises and destroyed all the marquee stock and vehicles. Despite such devastation the company was operating from new premises with new stock in just 11 weeks; even though it had only been able to obtain a small interim insurance settlement and was still having to haggle for the balance, months later. The Health & Safety Officer and Marquee Inspector assigned to judging Macey & Bond stated that it was one of the best and most organised marquee companies that they had inspected. Since it was taken over by Sara in 2001 in conjunction with her father who unfortunately died in 2002, Macey & Bond has built an envious reputation amongst its contemporaries for the most stringent of health and safety standards and levels of training amongst its erection teams. In turn, this has won it many prestigious contracts, including working with the BBC, Birmingham City Council and many blue chip companies.   The company also provides marquees for weddings and special occasions and is able to support this with the organisation of catering and entertainment. Bookings are already up for 2007 on 2006 levels and Sara, in her capacity of chair person for industry group AIM (Association of Independent Marquee Hire Companies), is currently working on promoting marquees for winter functions as they offer space, décor and warmth that matches the best of any function room interior, with the added flexibility of location and personal tailoring.    So far the company has been providing prestigious winter events at local hotels and stately homes over the Christmas period and they are looking to build on this by promoting this expertise to other venues looking to offer winter events, including public attractions, hotels and sports clubs. 32 year old Sara lives in Bloxwich and is married to Paul who is a Director and works within the business.  Both attended the Performance Textiles Association’s gala meal at Telford’s Park Inn Hotel and were completely surprised with the award, especially as this is not the first time that the company has been a recipient.  Sara first won Business Person Of The Year Award during 2002, in recognition for the excellent recovery from the industry devastation caused by the Foot & Mouth disease and then being able to drive the business forward after the sudden death of her father during the following year. PR Feature, December 2006: Business Woman Rises From the Ashes to Scoop Prestigious Local Business Award.
Sara Murphy, Managing Director of marquee hire company, Macey & Bond was formally recognised for her bold achievements at a recent Midlands business awards ceremony.
In September 2005 the Wolverhampton based company went up in flames when an arson attack in the unit next door spread into its premises. The fire completely gutted the unit, which at the time held the company’s complete stock of marquees and trucks. Determined not to let this put an end to all her hard efforts, Sara grafted long hours to satisfy the bookings that she already had and to maintain the company’s market presence so that new enquiries and bookings continued to come in. At the same time, unwelcome pressure was received as she had to wrangle with insurance companies, who doubted the amount of stock that she claimed to have within the unit. Despite these set backs, after only 11 weeks the company was back to full operation with a new replacement unit on the same trading estate and most importantly new state of the art stock. Taking the “Every Cloud has a Silver Lining” approach, rather than replace stock on a simple “New for Old” basis, Sara completely re-assessed her stock needs in line with her business goals and purchased a different stock base to that of her competitors, thus giving added competitive edge. Sara then briefed her long time marketing agency to capitalise on this within a direct mail combined with tele-marketing campaign. The net result: The Company’s largest turnover to date. Impressed by her grit and determination, plus her ability to kick the trend of 80% of businesses failing to recover from a major disaster, Sara’s marketing agency, Sammy Rose Management Services nominated her for Black Country Business Woman of the Year. The competition, organised by Inspirational Women, a part of Black Country Chamber of Commerce, attracted a record number of entries and Sara was up against high calibre competition. As such she did not believe that she would come out on top. However the judges were impressed by her commitment, drive and team leadership and as such awarded her the prize of business Woman of the year for Wolverhampton and then, Business Woman of the year Black Country. The 31 year old married business woman has had to bounce back from other previous set backs to the business; firstly in 2001 when the Foot & Mouth outbreak prevented many outdoor events from taking place and as such resulted in the company’s turnover falling by 50% and then, a year later when her father and business colleague unexpectedly died. This left her running a business within a male dominated industry. As such she had to work hard to gain the respect of customers, suppliers and even her own erection staff, who made the assumption that she could not possibly understand the technical aspect of the business. As well as coping with these trials, Sara has never lost her focus on making her company one of the best when it comes to marquee provision and service. In addition to priding themselves on providing a high quality product, the company backs this up with a stringent approach towards health and safety. Site staff are trained to NVQ level III, for Events In Temporary Structures and the company were one of the first marquee hire companies in the UK to gain this qualification. This attitude has rewarded them with exclusive contracts with a range of major corporate companies, including the BBC. Deservingly this is not the first time that Sara and her company has been recognised for their excellence: In 2004 the Pertexa marquee inspector recognised Macey & Bond as one of the most well organised companies he has ever visited and, in the same year the company’s trade association MUTA marq named Sara Industry Person of the Year. Despite all the celebration and recognition that has come with these acknowledgements, Sara keeps her feet firmly on the ground knowing that she cannot achieve without support from family, staff and suppliers. When she collected her award for Black Country Business Woman of the Year Sara said, “This has been an incredible year for Macey & Bond, with the business continuing to grow and develop. I am extremely proud to have won Black Country Business Woman of the Year and would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their support”.

PR Feature, December 2004:
Macey and Bond Covered More Events in 2004

Despite the damp Summer, bookings for marquee company Macey & Bond continued to rise, as their exclusive range means that even when it is wet and cold outside, the inside can reflect the most glamorous of occasions.

The company’s success in this area has been marked by a string of events during 2004, which has enabled the company to diversify into additional market places.
Firstly the company’s managing director, Sara Murphy was given ultimate recognition by her industry colleagues, when her Trade Association Performance Textiles named her industry business person of the year back in March 2004.

Secondly, during the Spring the company moved into larger premises to accommodate their growing stock, which included the acquisition of larger span structures and interiors. This has enabled the company to begin supporting major launch events where larger structures are required to accommodate equipment for new product launches etc. The structures also offer organisers of events, where large crowds are expected, the facility to house these numbers within a single area.
Two of the first users of the new marquees were the BBC for their Antiques Road Show and London College for their 3 week enrolment period.

The company pride themselves on following the most stringent of health and safety procedures in the industry and as such, are able to work with key corporate names including the NEC and Birmingham City Council. They continue to pioneer new policies in this field in order to keep any risks to both their own staff and their clients’ users to an absolute minimum.

The company are currently progressing their winter programme, which has included providing the marquees for the Christmas Fayre held at Shugborough hall during the first weekend of December.

They are also in the process of overhauling their web site, which will include full details on health and safety policy and a users guide to hiring a marquee. In the meantime if anyone requires more information on marquee hire, then they should contact Macey and Bond on 01902 630007

PR Feature, April 2004:
Female Honours in a Man’s World

Sara Murphy, Managing Director of Macey & Bond Marquee Company Ltd, was given ultimate recognition by her industry colleagues when her Trade Association Pertexa (The Performance Textile Association) named her industry business person of the year.

During the presentation ceremony it was acknowledged that Sara was given the award because of her remarkable endeavour, self will and determination to pull the business through a number of set backs, in a mainly male dominated industry.
Macey and Bond was severely affected by the foot & mouth outbreak in 2001, which Sara and her father worked hard to recover from, majoring on providing a high quality product backed with ultimate service. Then just over a year ago Sara’s father died suddenly which was a major personal tragedy for Sara and her family and a blow to the business.

After receiving the award at the ceremony Sara said “Usually you are forewarned of being nominated for an award, or at least told you are on a short list, but nothing was said and I had no inkling that this was about to happen. I wish my father could have been with me to receive the award, he would have been so proud.”

Sara and her husband Paul who works alongside her in the company, had returned from a trip to Australia earlier that day and so were severely jet lagged. However that did not stop them celebrating well into the night.

Macey & Bond offer a range of marquees for family and corporate occasions and as one of the founder members of AIM (Associated Independent Marquees) also have access to one of the largest equipment stocks in the UK. Macey & Bond particularly specialise in large events, offering marquees and internal specifications to suit the client’s requirements. One of the events they cover is the annual Christmas Fair at Shugborough Hall, where their marquees provide different theme areas, including an exhibition marquee and an entertainment marquee, to name just two.

Macey & Bond pride themselves on providing a high quality product supported by a professional quality service. This is backed up by their commitment to health and safety, the company insist that to try and give ultimate protection, their site staff are trained to NVQ level III, for Events In Temporary Structures; Paul Murphy being the second person in the UK to gain this qualification. This attitude has rewarded them with exclusive contracts with a range of major corporate companies and to a point where the Pertexa marquee inspector Mike Bunting recognised Macey & Bond as one of the most well organised companies he has ever visited.

Never complacent the company also, post the Foot and Mouth problems, invested, with support from Business Link, in on-going marketing support to ensure that they are proactively pursuing new corporate business opportunities. This is backed up with extensive regional advertising to attract private parties and weddings.

Due to their expansion into larger structures to cater for more prestigious events, Macey & Bond have recently relocated to larger premises in Wolverhampton.

PR Feature, February 2003:
Health & Safety is Paramount

The marquee industry, with the help of M.U.T.A. (Made Up Textile Association) are confirming its positive commitment to on site health and safety; some operators see it as a necessary evil and subsequently only meet the minimum needs. However M.U.T.A. members, and one marquee company in particular, are committed to bucking the trend and, as a result, have secured some highly prestigious contracts.

Walsall based Macey & Bond are committed to identifying and meeting all health and safety concerns, so that they provide care for their employees, their clients’ employees and any subsequent users of their marquees.

The company demonstrate this commitment by presently being only one of three marquee hire companies in the country to have erection staff qualified to NVQ level 3 in Events and Temporary Structures. This achievement is giving them access to securing some of the most prestigious contacts around, as more and more major names such as the NEC envisage that in the foreseeable future, contractors will only work with marquee companies whose staff carry this qualification.

In addition Macey and Bond have developed a product service that responds to the needs of such major clients, in terms of marquee types and internal requirements. One of their most recent large events was to provide a complex of marquees for the Shugborough Hall Christmas Festival.

The complex comprised of an entrance; exhibition hall for crafts demonstrations and stalls; food hall promoting festive foods and wines and included a cookery demonstration area; and finally a catering and dining area that in addition featured a theatre area for seasonal acts.

Accordingly to Sara Murphy, the company’s business development director, the greatest challenge was to design a layout that would fulfil the client’s expectations by meeting all of these varying needs, comfortably holding the numbers expected and bearing in mind the catering activities would be safe.

The layout took 4 days to erect and 3 days to dismantle. Being winter, it had to contain all the comforts of indoors, particularly with reference to heating; with durable practicality, as many people walked across muddy car parks on their way in.

Consequently inside there was a combination of wooden floors and carpets, the latter being colour coordinated to define different exhibition areas. This was complimented with drapes and a range of lighting, varying from exhibition spots to chandeliers.

Finally there were staging areas and facilities for TV crews. To ensure that all went to plan; before, during and after the event 2 event organisers were constantly on hand to respond to on-going needs. During the 4 days of the show, 10,000 people attended. The project was such a success that Macey and Bond are already working with Shugborough Hall on planning this year’s event.

Before then the company have to work through a comprehensive diary of Spring, Summer and Autumn events, that vary from intimate weddings through to major product launches.