Sunbelt Rentals formerly Mahaffey Fabric Structures

Mahaffey Fabric Structures, a privately owned company, has celebrated nearly 100 successful years of serving local, national and international clients. In 1924, brothers Owen, Gene and Earl Mahaffey began making canvas tarpaulins, awnings and cotton pick sacks. When a request came in 1929 for a tent, they obliged, only to have their client fail to pick it up. It remained unused until they received a call from the Tri-State Fair (now known as the Mid-South Fair). That call resulted in their first tent rental and the next phase of the business was formed. In 1972, William F. Pretsch purchased the company from the Mahaffey family when the owner, Eldred “Red” Mahaffey, died in a private airplane accident. Pretsch immediately saw the benefits of the new clearspan structures he had seen in Europe and was the first to introduce them to the American market in 1982.