Texas is seeing the emergence of a major party rental player with the announcement last week that Arlington, Texas-based BRATT Productions has acquired the central Texas division of Houston-based Aztec Events and Tents, giving BRATT the Aztec outlets in San Antonio and Austin.
Aztec, included on the Special Events "30 Top Event Rental Companies" list, will retain its Houston operation. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The BRATT operation already had event rental operations in Dallas, Houston, Oklahoma City and Austin. BRATT president Brian Jenkins tells Special Events that the two Austin operations will merge.
The BRATT outlets are named for the cities in which they operate: Dallas Party Tent and Event, Oklahoma City Party Tent and Event, and so on. However, Jenkins said the Aztec brand will stay in place for now. "Aztec is such a strong brand here; we don't want to fool with it," he said. He added that his company plans to keep a "large portion" of Aztec staff in place. "There are great people here," he said.
The Aztec acquisition gives BRATT showrooms in both cities and a central distribution warehouse in San Marcos, Texas, located midway between San Antonio and Austin. That facility includes an 80,000-square-foot warehouse, office and showroom located on 12 acres of property, the company said.
Jenkins, who with partner Matt Crosby, who serves as vice president, founded BRATT 10 years ago. With the Aztec acquisition, the company's annual revenues are expected to hit $15 million, according to a company statement.
Company Plans Regional Growth
"This acquisition now provides the company with complete coverage in the four major Texas cities, and will now allow us to not only serve our local customer base, but also greatly help us in serving our larger customers having multiple locations in the major Texas markets,” Jenkins said.
Looking forward, the BRATT team is studying expanding regionally. With the new outlets on board, "We pretty well complete coverage in Texas and Oklahoma," Jenkins said. With partner Crosby," We are two people. We want to stay regional so we can be personally involved in the business."
The pair also operates Matthew-Brian Event Furnishings, a year-old company that sells tables and chairs. Its signature product is a patented "Stay Put Foot," which protects floors from damage.
