What every inflatable manufacturer should know before signing a contract
Hiring seems easy enough. A decent chap turns up, says he knows how to sew PVC, that he’s worked with inflatables before… and you shake on it. Job done.
Two weeks later: a bouncy castle is losing air through a dodgy seam, the print is already fading, and you’re answering messages on a Sunday evening.
It’s not his fault. It’s yours. Because you didn’t write down the rules before hiring him.
In this article, I’ll show you four written documents any inflatable manufacturer should have before taking on a new operator, sewer, painter, or printer. These are the four pillars that’ll stop your business from turning into a money pit — full of problems and lacking structure.
1. The step‑by‑step production process – from cutting PVC to final stitching
Saying “I make inflatables” isn’t enough. There’s a world of difference between an operator who learned to work with fabrics and one who truly masters PVC and stitching.
Before you hire, write down:
- How PVC should be cut (seam allowances, material orientation)
- The correct thread and needle type for each thickness of PVC
- How to inspect seams for potential weak spots
- What counts as acceptable and what counts as reject on a painted or printed piece
If you don’t write this down, you’ll end up with three problems:
- Constant rework (“I didn’t know it was meant to be like that”)
- Wasted raw materials (expensive PVC that can’t be reused)
- You stopping your own production to explain the basics
As Alex Hormozi says: if you can’t describe the process on paper, you can’t delegate it.
2. The metrics that separate the pro from the sloppy
“So‑and‑so does a good job” is subjective. “So‑and‑so produces 12 inflatable wall panels per shift with less than 1% reject rate” is objective.
Before you hire, write down:
- Expected output per hour / per day
- Maximum error rate (e.g. faulty seams, misaligned prints)
- Deadlines for each stage (cutting, sewing, assembly, quality control)
- How performance will be reviewed (weekly? monthly? spot checks?)
Without metrics, your “good pro” is just guesswork. And guesswork doesn’t pay the wages.
3. The money – and everything that comes with it
This is the bit that Portuguese manufacturers tend to fudge. “We’ll sort it out later”, “trust me”, “we’ll see at the end of the month”.
Don’t do that.
Write it down in plain English:
- Base salary (£)
- Productivity bonuses (e.g. £X for every 5 models above target)
- Commission, if applicable (for sales or installation teams)
- Exact payment dates (e.g. the 1st of each month)
- What happens if the operator makes a serious mistake (deduction? extra training? written warning?)
In many countries, employment law already requires some of this in the contract. But what I’m saying goes further: it’s an internal document that leaves no room for excuses. Be fair so you can hold people accountable.
Seth Godin said: “Ambiguity is the mother of frustration.” Put the numbers on paper.
4. Who decides what – and how far each person can go without asking you
This is the point that separates a factory that runs itself from one that grinds to a halt whenever the owner isn’t there.
Write down, for example:
- Can the operator swap to an equivalent thread type without permission? Yes or no?
- Can the sewer reject a piece they think is badly cut?
- Can the painter decide to re‑print without telling anyone?
- Can the production manager buy rolls of PVC up to a certain value without checking with you?
If you don’t set these boundaries, two things happen:
- The person stops everything to ask – and you become the bottleneck in your own company.
- The person makes expensive decisions on their own – and you find out when it’s too late.
Setting limits isn’t a lack of trust. It’s clarity. And clarity frees people to act without fear.
Between the lines
An inflatable manufacturer doesn’t just compete on print quality or seam strength. They compete on organisation.
The four written documents I’ve suggested aren’t bureaucracy. They’re tools that:
- Stop repeated mistakes
- Save your time (and your sanity)
- Help you scale up production without scaling up your headaches
The UK market for hired inflatables, events, and advertising is growing. Whoever gets their processes written down first will hire better, produce faster, and earn more.
Grab a notepad. Write these four things down. Then hire.
Inflated Greetings!
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