LDI has since evolved from its humble one-product beginning. Today the company offers multiple trade show exhibits, panel systems, tabletop displays, custom graphics including dye sub solutions, purchase and rental options, and a variety of pop-up displays.
e4 Design, originally a division of LDI, was conceived in 1989 from an idea for a company store for LDI. Selling directly to end users, LDI used the information gained from those sales to teach other distributors in North America how to better sell their products and services. The Laarhoven Design store continued to expand into a full service exhibit house and established itself as a wholly separate company known as Laarhoven Design/Atlanta LLC (LDA) in 1999. Also in 1999, LDA expanded into a 40,000 square foot facility with full storage and custom exhibit fabrication capabilities as well as expanded in-house graphic design and production facilities.
Over the next several years LDA continued to grow and expand despite the terrorist attacks on the United States in 2001 and the subsequent slow economy. Laarhoven describes the last half of 2001 as a time when clients opted to redesign graphics instead of purchasing new builds. He said exhibitors were closely studying the costs of tradeshows and monitoring their ROI.
But, coincidentally, right before the September 2001 attacks, LDI and LDA jointly introduced Delta Matrix, a custom modular system that could be bought or rented, a new option for clients wanting large exhibits. Robert Laarhoven said customers looked to the Matrix system as an alternative. The system was lighter and saved on drayage and installation costs, providing clients with a custom design on the show floor at a rental price. Having the right products, visionary leadership, and an efficient business model were keys to LDA’s success during those tough economic times.
In December of 2007 Laarhoven Design/Atlanta LLC changed its name to e4 Design. The name change will coincided with e4 Design's expansion into its 105,000-square-foot facilities at 4385 International Blvd. in Norcross, GA.
The move was necessitated by the company's 125 percent revenue growth since 2005, its desire to more effectively service clients, and accommodate future growth, according to partners Robert Laarhoven, president of Laarhoven Design, Inc., and Lance Wachholz, president of e4 Design.
The new branding more accurately reflects e4 Design’s key offerings: exhibits, events, corporate and museum environments, and client education. According to partners Robert Laarhoven and Lance Wachholz, e4 Design’s new name and branding will help to eliminate brand confusion in the market place between Laarhoven Design, Inc., a marketer of exhibit systems and graphics selling to the trade only, and e4 Design, a full service three dimensional marketing company serving end-user clients. “We are the same company, but we will offer our customers more expertise. Our new company name better reflects what we do- exhibits, events, environments, and education,” said Lance Wachholz, President of e4 Design. Back to Who We Are