At Plato, we love a great celebration and are lucky enough to play a part in many fantastic events. There is, however, one celebration that we strive to be a part of each year, and that’s the Hire Awards of Excellence.

Today, we’re going to be talking about our experience as a Hire Awards of Excellence repeat finalist, the importance of being SafeHire© certified, and why you should be looking for the award certification next time you need event hire equipment.

We are excited to announce that Plato Catering Hire is the 2021 WINNER of SafeHire Event Equipment Hire Company of the Year!

It’s been a very difficult year for a lot of us. Our industry has been closed down and events have been the last thing on anyone’s mind.

That’s why I’m extremely proud of the team and the feat that we’ve managed to achieve after spending the majority of the year in lockdown.

So, folks, it looks like we’ll be doing a lot more dining outside this year and beyond.

How wonderful!

In fact, it’s hard to think of a better way to eat with friends, family, and business colleagues. Once the warmer months arrive, everyone always scrambles for any available outdoor space, therefore why shouldn’t we make alfresco dining more of a habit?

The government has told us all that we can bring our households together this Christmas for a maximum of five days. Many people are delighted to be able to see much-loved family and friends. But, for some people, it’s still too big a risk.

The events industry is licking its wounds right now but there’s an air of excitement as we finally spot the green shoots of our industry, thanks to the relaxation of lockdown and new guidance being introduced.

The summer of 2020 will certainly go down as one of the quietest summers in our 20+ year history, but summer 2021 is looking like a cracker so there’s some real hope and excitement building here and in the events world.

At Plato we’ve remained positive throughout lockdown. What else can you do when your industry is decimated by a global pandemic? Aside from all the seriousness of the virus and the global crash, there have been many positives (like cleaner air, more family time and reflection) and we, like many in the events industry, have held on to that.

For years, the hire industry was crying out for quality standards. As with many industries and sectors, the world of hire needed a benchmark and a symbol for those within it to show that they care about the quality and outcome of their service.

That’s why the creation of the Hire Association Europe (HAE), and the Event Hire Association (EHA) has been so great for the industry. The Hire Awards of Excellence celebrate the highest quality in the hire world and this helps to push the standards up, giving greater services and products to all.

We are pleased to announce that we are 1 of 3 companies nationally shortlisted for the SafeHire© Event Hire Company of the Year 2020 'Hire Awards of Excellence' and the only Midlands based catering equipment hire company.

Over the past two decades we’ve seen a lot of changes in the world. We’ve also been through a lot of changes ourselves. Like any industry, ours has moved on, and the way we do business has changed dramatically since we started out.

It was New Year’s Day 1999. The world was recovering from a great night of fireworks and parties, and somewhere in rural Warwickshire Stuart and Lynn Slaughter were out for a New Year’s Lunch.

We are pleased to announce that we are 1 of 3 companies nationally shortlisted for the SafeHire© Event Equipment Hire Company of the Year 2019 'Hire Awards of Excellence' and the only Midlands based catering equipment hire company.

When you’re hiring for an event, you’ll no doubt have a big list of the items you need to hire to make it a real success. You’ll also no doubt have a budget and a preferred list of suppliers. All that needs to fit into place.

We have just been awarded the prestigious SafeHire certification.  SafeHire has been developed by Hire Association of Europe/Event Hire Association  for the hire and rental industry with the assistance of BSI.