{"id":96350,"date":"2019-03-20T16:00:32","date_gmt":"2019-03-20T15:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=96350"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:23:14","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:23:14","slug":"this-is-where-they-build-stands-for-in-the-theil-building","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2019\/03\/20\/this-is-where-they-build-stands-for-in-the-theil-building\/","title":{"rendered":"This is where they build stands for in the Theil building"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you have been in the Theil Building lately, the chances are, you will have seen EFR Business Week\u2019s stand. It\u2019s a purple stand with a large globe made of foam rubber, which reflects the week\u2019s theme, #TheNewWorld. The stand even comes with a built-in Wii console, thus allowing the members of the committee and any students – who happen to pass by – to play a game of tennis or golf. We are only in the sign-up period just now, but all in all, the stand will be here for six weeks, until the end of EFR Business Week. \u201cWe also use this stand as an information desk during the event,\u201d EFR Business Week President Indy Broekman explains.<\/p>\n

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The stand of EFR Business Week in the lobby of the Theil building<\/span><\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAysha Gasanova<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Rain and gales greet us when we arrive at the Coenecoop industrial park in Waddinxveen, a 45-minute drive from Rotterdam. Aad Verboom, the owner of Beaufair, comes and greets us at the door. It is his company that typically creates the larger stands used by Erasmus University\u2019s study societies. He immediately takes us to the first floor, where he is still in the middle of a brainstorming session with representatives of a pharmaceutical company. \u201cGenerally, I don\u2019t have to attend such discussions, but this one is quite important,\u201d says Verboom. \u201cThey want a stand with a built-in app for a fair, and I need to make sure everything will work.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Aad Verboom (left) in the middle of a brainstorming session <\/span><\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAysha Gasanova<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

The first floor is the company\u2019s showroom. It is full of stands, company logo panels, reception desks and roll-up banners in various colours and sizes. This is where Beaufair displays examples of its products. On the one side of the room is a white-and-pink stand, replete with a tall white table and chairs in retro style. On the other side is a large, standing light poster on which screen shots of TV shows are printed. The room also features several small LED light boxes, two of which have photos of Rotterdam\u2019s Market Hall on them. In the middle of the room sits a long conference table where Verboom is closing off the meeting he was in. \u201cWell, see you soon, then,\u201d he says to the clients, giving them a firm handshake and a friendly smile.<\/p>\n

Reusable<\/h2>

Verboom then gives us a tour of his company. The ground floor is home to the workshop, which is where the stands are constructed. The company annually creates more than 150 large stands for all sorts of fairs all over the world, and this is where the magic happens. \u201cIt obviously depends on the design and its measurements,\u201d he explains. \u201cBut generally we\u2019ll construct the basis of the stand here, and then we\u2019ll finish the job on site.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Colleague Mark is working on a stand<\/span><\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAysha Gasanova<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Standing behind a long workbench is his colleague Mark, who is building a stand completely on his own. \u201cAll our other colleagues are currently in Zeeland, constructing stands at a trade fair,\u201d he says. All sorts of tools can be seen on his workbench: an electric saw, a drill\/sanding machine, a tape measure. Mark grabs a screwdriver to affix a hinge to a plank. He calmly goes about his work, listening to Lady Gaga on the radio as he does so.<\/p>\n

The company\u2019s storage room is full of tall, floor-to-ceiling shelving units. They are full of planks, frames, pipes, plywood and many other types of building materials. \u201cThis is what we use to construct several stands and rear panels for EUR\u2019s upcoming Master Students\u2019 Open Day,\u201d says Verboom, taking a long frame off a shelving unit.<\/p>\n\n\t

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\n\t\t\u2018The basic stand is comparable to Lego pieces.\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

Beaufair uses what Verboom calls a \u2018modular system\u2019 in the construction of its stands. \u201cOur basic stand consists of a system that can be used and re-used many times, comparable to Lego pieces. By changing up the arrangement, we can adjust the stand for different events, depending on the customer\u2019s needs,\u201d he explains. The basic frames easily last fifteen years. In other words, they are sustainable, and affordable, too. \u201cThis is how we pass on savings to our customers.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 1993 Verboom founded a company that sold all sorts of mobile presentation equipment, such as reception desks and folding partitions. \u201cThen someone asked me if he could rent the stuff, since he didn\u2019t have any room to store it,\u201d he tells us. Gradually, clients started asking whether Verboom might be able to build them a stand. These days, the construction and rental of stands are the company\u2019s core business.<\/p>\n

Pleasant collaboration<\/h2>
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Aad Verboom in his showroom<\/span><\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAysha Gasanova<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Beaufair has created stands for Erasmus University for fifteen years now. \u201cOn that occasion, students of SVIIB rocked up on a Thursday afternoon to tell us they needed a stand by Friday,\u201d says Verboom, reminiscing about his first encounter with the university. He managed to build the stand within 24 hours. \u201cOnce the stand was up and running, someone from the then Department of Business Administration approached us, and that\u2019s how we started working for the faculty.\u201d Over the years, more and more faculties and student societies joined that first faculty on Beaufair\u2019s client list. STAR Management Week, Erasmus Recruitment Days and EFR Business Week (among other EUR event organisers) are all regular Beaufair customers.<\/p>\n\n\t

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\n\t\t\u2018Student societies are much more open to discussions and experiments.\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

While we enjoy a cup of tea in the office adjacent to the storage room, Verboom tells us why he enjoys working with students. \u201cThe people with whom we work are very practical, meaning it\u2019s very easy for us to solve problems. Student societies are completely different from companies. They are much more open to discussions and experiments.\u201d<\/p>\n

So what was the coolest stand he has ever created for EUR? \u201cMy favourite was the stand we created for the 2018 Management Week. We constructed a stand entirely in Banksy style. It looked like concrete, with huge pipes and planks. It really was a fun stand to put together.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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De redactie<\/h2>\n\t\t\n\t\t
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