Pump It Up Leads Effort to Standardize Safety Practices in Inflatable Play Industry

By: Pump It Up | 1,023 Shares 196 Reads

March 29, 2010 // Franchising.com // Tempe, AZ – As inflatable play structures become increasingly popular for children's parties and other events, Pump It Up, the nation's leader in the active children's party industry, is taking the lead on promoting legislation to create consistent safety standards for both indoor and outdoor inflatable play environments.

Pump It Up executives recently travelled to the Minnesota Legislature to speak with lawmakers about a bill sponsored by Democratic Sen. Katie Sieben. The proposed measure, which calls for increased insurance and staffing, applies only to indoor play centers with bounce houses and other inflatable equipment. It does not address equipment that is rented for events such as private home parties, carnivals and other festivals, either indoors or outside.

"As the pioneer of the indoor, inflatable party concept, Pump It Up has set the bar for safety standards in the industry, and we support any state or federal legislation that would create consistency across the board," said Lee Knowlton, CEO and President of Pump It Up. "In addition to holding every indoor inflatable party center to the same strict standards, we strongly support that the same regulations apply to all events where people play on inflatable equipment."

Pump It Up, a national franchise with more than 160 locations, holds the most stringent safety standards in the inflatable party industry. The company's nationally recognized insurance carrier recently completed an independent audit of all open facilities, in which Pump It Up received an A+ rating with a total scoring average of 99 out of a possible 100 per facility.

"The safety of our guests has always been our highest priority, so safety precautions are integrated into each and every aspect of our business, from the design of the building to the quality of the inflatable equipment and supervision of party guests," Knowlton said. "We feel it's our role as the leading national franchise in the industry to take the lead on this issue and bring everyone up to our standards."

While the Minnesota law is still pending legislative approval, Knowlton said that Pump It Up will continue to lobby lawmakers in Minnesota and any other states with similar proposed measures, to ensure that such laws create consistency in safety standards in any type of environment in which inflatable play equipment is used.

About Pump It Up

A clear leader in the active children's party industry, Pump It Up is the nation's largest franchise of indoor inflatable playgrounds specializing in private parties for birthdays, and other programs like team building, school outings, field trips and other events. Trained, dedicated, staff provides guests with supervision, food and beverage set-up, and clean-up services. Pump It Up is headquartered in Tempe, AZ with more than 160 locations across the country.

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