Mahaffey History

Mahaffey Fabric Structures, a privately owned company, recently celebrated over 80 successful years serving local, national, and international clients.

Way back in 1924, brothers Owen, Gene and Earl Mahaffey started out making canvas tarpaulins, awnings and cotton pick sacks.  When a request came in 1929 to make 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 World War II, tent rentals were forgotten as the army contracted the job of making hospital ward tents and ammunition bags to Mahaffey.  They shipped a boxcar of tents each week.  That remained the sole job of the company for the duration of the war.

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 clear span structures he had seen in Europe and was the first to introduce them to the American market in 1982.  Their popularity was immediate and the company made the natural segue from tents to the large clear span structures that we are well known for today.
 
Clearly established as leaders in the market, Mahaffey has enjoyed tackling customer "problems" with revolutionary ideas.

In one recent case, a commercial airliner skidded into the terminal at Memphis International Airport.  Mahaffey was on the job immediately, installing a structure to serve as a portable airplane hangar.  It enclosed the airliner, and the structure was subsequently used to shelter the aircraft during repairs.

Today Mahaffey serves customers throughout North America, Mexico, the Caribbean, and beyond, installing as many as 400 + fabric structures in a typical year.  When size is a factor, Mahaffey offers the largest rental structure in North America, 164' wide X 300' long, or large enough to cover a football field.  We'd be happy to learn more about your needs - call us today.