EESA steps into 2022 with positive winds of change for India’s event services fraternity
Active initiatives include the establishment of a monumental Joint Working Committee in partnership with the Karnataka Event Managers Association, and formal announcements of a price correction in cost of equipment rental & technical services, along with a no‐compromise stance on Miscellaneous Costs.
In a first of its kind move – members of the Event Equipment Services Association’s (EESA) working committee formally met with counterparts of the Karnataka Event Management Association (KEMA), and the two associations mutually agreed to come together to form a Joint Working Committee (JWC) with three representatives from each association, who will work together in effectively addressing the common concerns of the event management and technical services fraternities, while also acting as a unified voice in representing the entire event fraternity in Karnataka when communicating with the state government, chambers of commerce, and other key decision making offices.
KEMA nominated Mr Srikant Kanoi (Vice President ‐ KEMA, Director ‐ Ethereal Celebrations Management), Mr Pradeep Naik (General Secretary ‐ KEMA, MD ‐ Fuel India) and Mr Ashwin (Member EC ‐ KEMA, GM Marketing ‐ DNA Networks) to represent the association within the JWC, whereas EESA nominated Mr Vinod Bangera (Joint Secretary – EESA, Director – Systematic Inc), Mr Raghav R (Member – EESA, Director – LEDVISION), and Mr Shankar Devraj (Member – EESA, Director – Firstake Productions) to be the active participants within the JWC.
The JWC has already established a concise agenda to be worked on for the first quarter of 2022, with the key points including:
a) Establish a formal line of communication with Karnataka CMO, and engage in purposeful conversations that addresses the current state of the industry and culminate in meaningful support extended to members of the community.
b) Establish an efficient mechanism that assures consistent engagement with hotels and venues, and works to institute a concise SOPs with all venues in Karnataka that will be adhered by all concerned parties.
c) List pressing issues faced by technical services and agencies respectively, and engage in regular communication with the intention to achieve effective long‐term solutions through mutual consensus.
EESA President – Mr Felix Remedios – is optimistic about the JWC’s potential to breathe positive winds of change within the event industry, as he expresses, “The Joint Working Committee between KEMA and EESA is a monumental achievement that exemplifies the commitment and intent of agencies and technical service providers to come together as one united industry and work cohesively for the mutual benefit of both fraternities. We view this as the first significant step in standardizing the event industry in Karnataka, and consequently moving towards consolidating events and entertainment as a government recognized structured industry. We thank KEMA for sharing our enthusiasm and extending their unequivocal support in making the JWC possible, and we look forward to this initiative acting as a beacon of inspiration for the entire events industry across India.”
Earlier on in December of 2021, EESA also voiced the sentiment of the entire event equipment rental service and event technical service community, as they announced a price correction in the cost of equipment rental & technical services for live events, along with a ‘no compromise’ stance on miscellaneous costs which encompasses service components like transportation & logistics, Manpower, Crew Welfare, and Engineer Fees.
The price correction – which has come into effect from 1st January 2022 – emphasizes an incremental increase of 15‐20% of the prevailing rates, and has been collectively implemented in light of the fact that fees for equipment rental and technical services haven’t changed for several years despite the exponential increase in costs of essentials like fuel (thereby affecting transportation and logistical costs), raw materials (thereby affecting equipment procurement and maintenance costs), general sustenance (thereby affecting staffing, crew and professional service costs), general business overheads, and other crucial input costs.
On the other hand, EESA members have decided not to entertain any negotiations on the ‘Miscellaneous Costs’ owing to the basic understanding that factors like Transportation & Logistics, Manpower, Crew Welfare (Food & Conveyance), and Engineer Fees – all of which comprise line‐items under the Miscellaneous Costs heading in formal work proposals – are in fact, unavoidable expenses that service providers are incumbent to, irrespective of the scale and/or nature of the event.
“These announcements were made by EESA on behalf of the entire event equipment rental services and technical services community, with the view to foster a more secured future for our fraternity; and have been done so after careful deliberation of the on‐going situation. There’s been a conscious endeavour to minimize the impact of these decisions on our clients i.e. the event management community and our end clients; and we deeply appreciate the fact that our partners and clients have respected the sincere reasons driving these decisions, and have continued to actively engage in working together on planning for future events. We are thankful for their consistent support in empowering us to maintain the highest level of commitment in providing the very best technical expertise and infrastructure for events across the board” asserts EESA Vice‐ President Mr Santana Davis.
These concrete steps initiated by EESA have garnered praise and support from an overwhelming majority of members from not just the technical services community, but also the event management community – and looks to usher in a new era of a more cohesive, structured and secure business ecosystem for the event industry across India.
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