Magnolia rental business booms, expands

Greg Dugat started Prestigious Event Rentals in his Magnolia garage three years ago, renting inflatables for children's parties. Now, he primarily works with corporations setting up events, festivals and camps at oil fields, growing his business to include offices in Houston, Galveston and Midland.

The company offers everything to stage a party or event, including tents, flooring and carpeting, air conditioners, tables, chairs, linens, dishes and even luxury mobile restrooms with hardwood floors, granite counters and flatscreen TVs.

"We don't want to be average," Dugat said. "We want to be the top of the line."

Dugat opened his 1,200-square-foot showroom and warehouse in Magnolia in February 2010. Business was good and kept growing, mostly with small residential parties and events in the area. In its first year, the company made about $650,000, he said. The second year, the business grew to include more corporate clients and higher-end events. Business doubled in 2011, with revenues of $1.3 million, Dugat said.

"I decided to become a more corporate and high-end event rental business," he said. "I stepped it up and sold the inflatables. That was very successful. We started doing a ton of events in Houston."

Soon Dugat decided to expand again. In January 2012, he opened what is now his main headquarters, a 42,000-square-foot Houston warehouse and showroom. The company, which finished 2012 making over $2 million, still operates the Magnolia office.

"We had a big chunk of the business in Magnolia and The Woodlands, so we decided to start growing into Houston," said Dugat, who is married with three children and two grandchildren. "We love Magnolia, but for us to grow we had to come into Houston."

The company sets up tents at festivals and events throughout the Houston area, including the Houston barbecue cook-offs, the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer, the Roundtop Antique Festival and Offshore Technology Conference. The company sets up events for large nonprofits and corporations in the Houston area, including large oil companies.

"We can do large scale events," Dugat said. "That's what sets us apart. We have everything you need."

Prestigious Event Rentals works on events with large corporate clients all over Texas and in other states, including California and New Mexico. The company opened offices in Galveston and West Texas in January to keep up with the explosive growth in those areas.

Prestigious Event Rentals has a $110,000 tent cleaning machine in its Houston warehouse, a chair cleaning machine and 30 delivery trucks. The company also offers luxury cars for rent, including a stretch limousine, party bus, luxury SUV and an executive towncar.

The company started a new division in January, PE Industrial and Emergency Site Development, which sets up camps for workers in oil fields and offers camps and other resources for areas hit by a natural disaster. The camps are large white tents with air conditioning that have beds, mobile showers, bathrooms and kitchen facilities.

The company now has 43 employees and is expecting to make $4.5 million this year, Dugat said.

"We really want to invest in our employees," Dugat said. "I really believe our success has been about relationships with both the employees and the customers. If you treat everyone as partners, you'll go a long way."

7211 FM 1488, Magnolia, 281-356-5867

• Hours: Monday-Friday 10 a.m to 5 p.m.