I'm Alick Ross. I have spent over a decade running tent production at scale and three decades connected to the global event tent industry. I am the founder of Star Tents, a Cape Town stretch tent and event tent supplier, and the founder of Stretchonomics, an international tent marketplace that connects tent buyers and sellers across the world.
Before I started my own businesses, I spent twelve years as Production Manager at Tentickle Stretch Tents, one of South Africa's most established stretch tent suppliers. That is where I learned how these structures are actually built, where the industry cuts corners, and where the real gaps are. This page is my professional profile, for anyone who wants to know the experience behind the businesses.
Expertise: Stretch tent production, event tents, and semi-permanent tent structures
Founder of: Star Tents (star-tents.com) and Stretchonomics (stretchonomics.biz)
Former Role: Production Manager, Tentickle Stretch Tents (2008 to 2021, over 12 years)
Industry Experience: Three decades connected to the global event tent industry
Based in: Cape Town, South Africa
International Exposure: Industry contacts and travel across Europe, including France and Germany
Specialisation: Stretch tents, sailcloth tents, glamping tents, dome tents
I did not come into the tent industry as a salesperson. I came in through production.
From 2008 to 2021, I was the Production Manager at Tentickle Stretch Tents, a well-known South African stretch tent supplier. For over twelve years, my job was the part of the business most customers never see: how a stretch tent is actually cut, welded, reinforced, and finished. How fabric behaves under tension. Which seams fail first in a Cape highveld storm and which hold. How a tent that looks identical to another on a website can be worlds apart in build quality.
That is the knowledge most tent buyers never get access to, and it is the knowledge that shapes everything I do now. When I assess a tent, I am not looking at the marketing photo. I am looking at the welds, the fabric weight, the hardware, and the finishing.
Twelve years on a production floor teaches you to see what a brochure hides.
The tent industry is smaller and more international than most people realise. Over three decades of involvement in it, I have built relationships with manufacturers, suppliers, and event professionals well beyond South Africa.
I have travelled to France and Germany, two countries with deep traditions in technical textiles and tent engineering, to understand how the industry operates outside our own market. Those relationships and that perspective are part of why I see the tent business as a global market, not a local one.
It is also why I built Stretchonomics. The South African tent buyer and the European tent seller had no easy way to find each other. I knew both sides, so I built the bridge.
When I left Tentickle, I did not just want to sell tents. I wanted to fix the things that frustrated me from the inside of the industry. So I built two businesses that solve two different problems.
Star Tents Star Tents is my Cape Town based stretch tent and event tent supply business. We provide stretch tents, sailcloth tents, glamping tents, and dome tents for weddings, parties, corporate functions, and semi-permanent installations across South Africa. Every product decision runs through the same production-floor lens I built at Tentickle: fabric, finish, and build quality first. Link: star-tents.com
Stretchonomics Stretchonomics is the part of the industry that did not exist before. It is an international classifieds marketplace where buyers and sellers of new and used tents, accessories, dry hire, repairs, and services find each other. Listings run from South Africa to the UK, China, Thailand, Türkiye, the Netherlands, and beyond. I built it because I knew both the buyer's frustration and the seller's, having stood on both sides. Link: stretchonomics.biz
Stretch Tent Production and Build Quality From twelve years managing production, I assess tents on construction, fabric weight, welding, and hardware, not marketing.
Fabric Selection and Performance I match fabric types and finishes to the South African climate, venue, and event, from coastal wind to highveld sun.
Event and Wedding Tent Solutions I specify and supply stretch, sailcloth, dome, and glamping tents for weddings, parties, and corporate functions.
Semi-Permanent Tent Structures I advise on and supply tent structures intended to stand for extended periods, where engineering and anchoring matter most.
Tent Sourcing and Procurement Through Stretchonomics and my global network, I help buyers source the right tent, new or used, locally or internationally.
After-Sales and Repairs My production background means I understand tent repair and maintenance, not just sales.
Over the years I have supplied tents and event support to professionals across many sectors. Here are a few who have endorsed my work.
Tessa Schutte Certified Project and Programme Manager, Scrum Master, and Agile Coach Endorsed Alick for event and tent support.
Erwee Harding Financial Advisor, Prudent Advisory Services Endorsed Alick for event and tent support.
If you are planning an event, buying a tent, or trying to find the right supplier anywhere in the world, that is exactly the problem I have spent thirty years learning to solve.
Contact (from Star Tents):
Email: info@star-tents.com
Phone: +27 72 704 2859
Address: 184 Upper Buitenkant Street, Oranjezicht, Cape Town, 8001, South Africa