Rental Rumbles – December 2007

Global merger
Wacker Construction Equipment AG and Neuson Kramer Baumaschinen AG have agreed to merge, after signing an agreement in October 2007, creating a major global manufacturer of light and compact equipment with over 160 sales and service locations.

A press release issued by Wacker Construction Equipment AG in Munich, Germany, states that the merger brings together two profitable, family-run, quality and technology leaders to create a major global manufacturer of light and compact equipment.

The merger will significantly strengthen the compact equipment segment, which includes mini-excavators and wheel and telescopic loaders and, leveraging Wacker Construction Equipment AG’s global sales network, provide the ideal springboard to capitalize on growth opportunities in the mainstream construction, gardening and landscaping markets. The high quality portfolios of both companies complement each other ideally without overlapping. So rather than reducing head count and capacity, the merger will enable the company to expand.

Heat ducting distributor
Paul Funk of Engineered Performance Ducting has announced that National Hose, based in Toronto, Ontario, has been appointed the master warehouse distributor to the rental industry for its lines of heater ducting as well as air moving hoses.

“The Stone family and National Hose have proven themselves as a first class supplier to Canada’s tool rental industry and we are pleased to be working with them,” says Funk.

Leblanc

Appointments
Jim Freeman of Rentquip in Woodstock, Ontario, has appointed François Leblanc as the company’s new manufacturer’s agent in Quebec. Leblanc has years of experience in the recreational vehicle industry and his goal will be to help rental companies identify opportunities to maintain a year round clientele.

Jim Freeman de Rentquip à Woodstock en Ontario, a nommé M. François Leblanc en tant qu’agent manufacturier pour la clientèle québécoise. M. Leblanc a plusieurs années d’expérience dans l’industrie des véhicules récréatifs et son but est d’aider les entreprises de location à identifier différentes stratégies pour maintenir une clientèle à l’année.

Star Diamond Tools has introduced the newest addition to its inside sales team, Shirley Sacré. She brings with her several years of professional sales and customer service experience to the company which supplies rental stores with innovative products for concrete solutions.

Durand

From technician to managing partner
Inteq Distributors of Exeter, Ontario, announced that Kirk Durand, dealer sales manager, has been made a managing partner of the company. Durand has worked at the company for the past 10 years, starting on the bench as a service technician. His customer relations’ skills and outgoing personality landed him a sales position a few years later, and he was subsequently named dealer sales manager.

Durand feels that the laser and survey equipment market is going to boom all across Canada as the residential housing market continues to grow. The technological advances and ease of use of these products have made them a necessity on the job site, where they increase accuracy and productivity.

Durand has also been named Topcon’s Top Salesperson for North America based on his sales performance over the past six months. “This accomplishment came as no surprise to us,” says Brian Juroff, Topcon’s northeast regional sales manager. “Durand achieved this status because of the great dealer network he has established and his on-going service to his dealers and to the end users.”

Since taking on the Topcon product line in 2004, Inteq’s Canadian dealer network has grown by more than 200 percent. Durand has implemented same-day shipping programs and supports his dealer network by participating in dealer open houses, tent sales and trade shows.

O'Sullivan and Sulyma

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CRA Ontario golf
Peter Sulyma presents Penny O’Sullivan with the Norm Hannigan Memorial Award during the Canadian Rental Association Ontario division golf tournament which took place near Orillia in September 2007.

Sulyma presents the award annually to the ‘Lady with the lowest gross’ to encourage more participation from women in the rental industry.

The tournament was organized by Jim Freeman and Paul Everitt of Rentquip and assisted by volunteers Shirley and Claude McCormick and Wally Carruthers.

Tony Groat, Aerial Work Platform Training (AWPT) membership director (left), and Tim Whiteman, IPAF managing director (right), watch Brad Boehler, Skyjack product safety manager, place the first Click It! sticker on a Skyjack boom lift.

Sticking to safety
The recently launched ‘Click It!’ safety campaign that features stickers encouraging all users of boom type platforms to wear a full body harness with a short lanyard attached to a suitable anchor point has found wide acceptance with North American manufacturers and rental companies.

Sponsored by AWPT, the campaign has been adopted by major rental companies and manufacturers including Skyjack. All companies have agreed to place the Click It! stickers on all
boom-type platforms they rent, sell or manufacture.

AWPT invites rental companies interested in obtaining Click It! stickers for their machines or copies of AWPT’s ‘Technical Guidance Note AWPT H1’ that provides information on their recommendation for the proper use of harnesses and lanyards on different types of aerial platforms to visit www.awpt.org

Culture of safety
Workers at Cord Projects in Edmonton, Alberta, celebrated a 100 percent safety audit during North American Occupational Safety and Health (NAOSH) week. Company management credited a teamwork approach, including workers, management and suppliers.

100 percent

At this site, crews assembled modules for the tar sands and a lot of equipment to do this was provided by RSC Equipment Rental.

Battlefield opens Concord store
Battlefield Equipment Rentals has opened a new store in Concord, Ontario. With the addition of the Concord branch, Battlefield Equipment’s focus to provide customer driven solutions for rental services and industrial sales in the Vaughan region is greatly improved.

“We want to be close to our partners in the Vaughan business community and excel in providing superior support,” says Jon Brown, rental manager of the new store. With this addition, Battlefield Equipment now has 34 locations in Ontario, Manitoba and Newfoundland. -end-

Please send rental industry news to: Canadian Rental Service, 145 Thames Road West, Exeter, Ontario N0M 1S3.
Email: skalkos@annexweb.com