Amberg Entertainment acquires Vertical Visions

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Amberg Entertainment is going vertical. The Springfield-based promotions company acquired Vertical Visions, which provides attention-grabbing inflatable tubes and figures, earlier this month. |ret||ret||tab|

Business partners John Loftin and Rick Mills introduced Springfield to the patented products called Dynamic Inflatables created by California-based Air Dimensional Designs a year ago.|ret||ret||tab|

"I had been renting regularly to Amberg Entertainment, and it just seemed like a good fit," said Loftin, who sold the company's assets for $10,000. |ret||ret||tab|

Amberg Entertainment, in business since 1991, specializes in entertainers such as magicians, clowns and comedians, as well as karaoke machines, pony rides and casino equipment.|ret||ret||tab|

For the past six months, Amberg has been using the props on a subcontract basis. "We found it in everybody's best interest to take over the entire operation," Amberg said.|ret||ret||tab|

Amberg purchased Vertical Visions' assets, which included about 20 fan-propelled inflatables, some with multiple limbs, and their blowers. The franchise agreement, a separate transaction, allows Amberg to rent the inflatables in Missouri, Arkansas and Oklahoma. he did not disclose the value of the franchise.|ret||ret||tab|

"Our big focus being in the entertainment business is renting them out as promotional items for grand openings, sales, Halloween and Christmas events, things like that," he said. "It primarily interested me because I'm always looking for multiple streams of income, and we have a client base which that really suits well. I've had people looking for those kind of things in the past."|ret||ret||tab|

Amberg will drop the Vertical Visions name as the products will simply fall under his company's assets. Since acquiring the inventory, Amberg has already worked with MCI, Clear Channel Broadcasting Group and Hotel of Terror for special events. |ret||ret||tab|

Prior to that, and under the Vertical Visions name, the attention-getters had been used at athletic events, fundraisers and for various merchants, including Piano Craft, Battlefield Station, Johnny Brock's Costume Dungeon and Bambino's Caf.|ret||ret||tab|

Loftin said the absence of partner Mills, who left to pursue another opportunity, and increased activity in his primary business were factors to sell. Loftin runs a vitamin supplement wholesale business called Lucin Labs.|ret||ret||tab|

"My other business is doing so well, I don't have time to work (Vertical Visions) like I ought to," he said.|ret||ret||tab|

Expanding entertainment|ret||ret||tab|

Amberg is implementing other changes in the swift-paced entertainment business as well.|ret||ret||tab|

A partnership with Star-Walk Entertain-ment started in November 2000 has come to an end. Amberg and Jim Jakubec, owner of the Arkansas-based company, worked under the cooperative umbrella of Five-Star Entertainment. The since-dissolved business venture only lasted a year. Jakubec's company offered inflatable bounce rides, flight simulators and different trailer rides.|ret||ret||tab|

"We had a separation of business and now I've purchased all of my own inflatables," Amberg said, including the blow-up maze featured at Republic's Wal-Mart Supercenter grand opening event Oct. 12. "We pretty much have almost everything we do under one roof at this point." |ret||ret||tab|

He also has entered into the live music entertainment scene with a new division of Amberg Entertainment, called The Music Source.|ret||ret||tab|

"We're looking into bringing some larger artists and concerts into town and promoting those." |ret||ret||tab|

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