STAR

STAR, which trades as STAR Exhibits & Environments, is an experiential marketing company based in Minneapolis that designs and builds custom trade show exhibits, event activations, corporate interiors and retail spaces. The company says it has been in business for more than 33 years. It has four US locations, in Minneapolis, Durham in North Carolina, Washington, D.C. and Las Vegas, and says it supports trade show programmes worldwide.

Custom stands, rentals and portable kits

STAR’s in-house craftspeople engineer and build fully custom exhibition stands. For exhibitors who prefer to rent, the company offers three options: full-scale custom rental stands, on-demand rental accessories, and portable and modular kits. Its custom rental stands use modular frameworks such as beMatrix, so the layout and graphics can change between shows and the core parts are reused. Rental extras include modular seating and conference furniture, custom counters, lockable storage cabinets, LED tiles and lighting packages. STAR handles setup, teardown and shipping for rented stands and suggests renting near the venue to cut freight costs for distant shows, a point also covered in our guide to shipping exhibition equipment abroad.

Featherlite, a STAR brand, designs and builds portable, modular and rental exhibit systems with backlit graphics, lightweight engineering and tool-free assembly.

What the service covers

• Strategy and planning, covering goals, audiences, budgets and measures of success
• Exhibit design, with engineering, fabrication and printing done in-house
• Logistics, including transport, storage, and freight and drayage coordination
• Installation and dismantling, labour, show services, AV and lighting, and show-floor support
• Event technology such as LED tile walls, touchscreens, and augmented and virtual reality
• Measuring how each project performed after the show

Clients manage stored exhibit inventory, shared files and project tasks through Startranet, STAR’s own cloud-based project and inventory management portal.

Scale and published projects

According to the company, it works from a 250,000-square-foot headquarters, supports more than 300 events a year and has a 95% client retention rate. Its portfolio includes the 3M stand at CES 2026, which won a Best of CES award from EXHIBITOR Magazine, and STAR’s use of the beMatrix system on that stand earned 3M the Best of beMatrix Designer’s Choice Award. Other published projects include JCB’s outdoor demonstration space at Farm Progress 2025, an SRS Distribution stand that STAR has grown step by step at IRE, a stand at Expo West showing MegaFood’s refreshed brand identity and a Doritos activation for Super Bowl 50. Away from the show floor, STAR built a branded experience centre at Pella’s Northland headquarters and, with HCM Architects, the Valspar Applied Science and Technology Center in Minneapolis.

Sustainability and memberships

STAR’s sustainability list names EIC Sustainable Events Standards (SES) certification, sustainable sourcing, its rental inventory and a recycling network, and the company says every project uses sustainable materials and methods. It is a company member of IFES, the International Federation of Exhibition and Event Services, and appeared on the 2024 Inc. 5000 list of fast-growing US companies.

STAR is one of the stand builders in the USA on this site. Other stand builders listed here include Team One Exhibits, Derse and Ion Exhibits.

Source: engagestar.com, engagestar.com/solutions/exhibits/rentals, engagestar.com/services, engagestar.com/work