Rental Rumbles: December 2010

Katherine Lomax, one of Edmonton’s Top 40 Under 40
Katherine Lomax, president of Elegant Touches, a Canadian Rental Association member located in Edmonton, Alta., has been named as one of Edmonton’s Top 40 Under 40 by Avenue Magazine.

Each year, Avenue’s Top 40 Under 40 recognizes the individuals in Greater Edmonton who are leading the city through this period of growth and change.

In addition to being named one of Edmonton’s Top 40 Under 40, Katherine was awarded Planner of the Year by the Greater Edmonton Meeting Professionals International chapter in June of this year.
Lomax and Elegant Touches were also profiled in the March 2006 issue of Canadian Rental Service.

Riding the waves with CRA Ontario
The Ontario chapter of the Canadian Rental Association (CRA) has announced a successful conclusion to its latest regular meeting, hosted by A World of Rentals in Kingston, Ont.

Ready to board the Island Star.

The event began at 12 p.m. with tours of A World of Rentals, owned by Colin and Chris Wilson. In addition, representatives from Patron Products and L.B. White Construction Heaters were on site at A World of Rentals from 2 to 3:30 p.m. to answer heater-related questions and to provide demonstrations of their products. This portion of the event was sponsored by Rentquip Canada.

After tours were concluded, the gathered rental professionals boarded the Island Star for a dinner and cruise among the Thousand Islands.

For more information on the CRA, please visit www.canadianrentalassociation.com .

Grand opening of Stephenson’s Rental Services in Cambridge
Stephenson’s Rental Services has opened a new branch in Cambridge, Ont. The grand opening event took place on Oct. 14, 2010. 

Some of the Stephenson’s team were on hand for the grand opening of the Cambridge location. From left: Tom Newell, VP of sales and marketing; Bryce Taylor, GM of hub operations; Joe D’Ovidio, RDM operations – hub locations; Marco Tavolieri, marketing manager; and Wayne Macneall, VP of operations.

Doug Craig, the mayor of Cambridge, was on hand to cut the ribbon and officially open the new store. The event also included a contractor supply sale, with booths by a number of different vendors.

 Marco Tavolieri is the marketing manager for Stephenson’s Rental Services. He says the new store facilitates faster service to local market locations and will also help to provide a much wider offering.

 “We’ve got very good coverage in the Greater Toronto Area, and the Cambridge store is helping us to expand our reach,” says Tavolieri. “In addition to serving the local market for both contractors and homeowners, it will act as a hub for our other stores in the region.”

The Cambridge location of Stephenson’s Rental Service is very large, with a correspondingly large yard. This allows the company to keep large construction equipment on hand, and deliver directly to the customer where needed.

 For more information on Stephenson’s Rental Services, please visit  www.stephensons.ca .

New international rental exchanges foster leadership development
The latest participant in the international rental exchange program has travelled from Australia to Canada, beginning his time abroad learning and developing his leadership skills.

Jim Clipperton (left) of Nor-Val Rentals and Matt Gordon of Centenary Hire. Nor-Val is hosting Gordon as part of the International Rental Exchange.

Matt Gordon of Centenary Hire in Darra, Queensland, Australia, will be learning about Nor-Val Rentals in Arm-strong, B.C., throughout the next month, as well as sharing business practices that he has learned. Gordon also will attend the American Rental Association (ARA) Leadership Conference in Chicago in mid-October to meet local, state and provincial leaders involved with ARA and the Canadian Rental Association (CRA), plus ARA’s board of directors.

The international exchange program is administered by the ARA Foundation for the Global Rental Alliance and provides young rental professionals the opportunity to develop their leadership skills. The participants are able to experience how the rental equipment business functions in countries and operations other than their own. Overall, the program encourages international travel and cultural and business sharing of information.

Gordon will blog about his experiences at www.globalrentalalliance.com .

Since the International Rental Exchange program began in November 2008, three successful exchanges have been completed.

Associations involved in the Global Rental Alliance are: ARA, CRA, DLR (France), European Rental Association, Hire Association Europe, Hire Industry Association of New Zealand and Hire and Rental Industry Association (Australia).

CRA B.C. raises $2,600 through golf tournament
The Canadian Rental Association (CRA) of British Columbia held its golf tournament recently at Country Meadows Golf Course in Richmond, B.C.

More than 60 members of the rental industry took part in the B.C. golf tournament.

The industry was well represented at the event, with 60 members of the rental industry taking part in the golf tournament. The tournament had a fundraising element as well, with a total of $2,600 raised to go to an education fund for the children of Suk Dosanjh, a well-known member of the rental industry who passed away in early August.

A number of prizes were awarded at the end of the tournament. The “Lowest Scoring Team” consisted of David Flaa, Renato Cusi and Darryl Mounsey of Ideal Tents and Noah Russel of Apex Tents. The “Most Honest Team” was Raj Pooni, Raj Jhand, Anoop Jhand and Raul Torcelino of Ideal Tents. Robin Lott of Cavalier Industries took the prize for Men’s Longest Drive, with Raj Pooni of Ideal Tents taking the Ladies’. The prize for “Closest to the Pin” went to Karyn Bruschinsky of Pikes Rental for the Ladies’, and Bruce Fromme of Arnold’s Rentals won the Men’s. Rick Wallace of Sabre Rentals and Steve Baker of Western Financial Group came in firstst and second in the putting contest.

For more information on the Canadian Rental Association, please visit www.canadianrentalassociation.com .

Pat’s Party Rentals launches Partycade
Pat’s Party Rentals has rolled out a new addition. . . literally. Called Partycade, it’s a fully equipped mobile arcade on wheels, available for parties and events in Burlington, Hamilton and Oakville.
The 24-foot trailer fits about 16 guests inside and, weather permitting, another group can play outside on the big screens.

The new mobile arcade can fit 16 guests inside, and can accommodate even more on the external screens.

Partycade is equipped with four 47-inch 1080p HD flat screen LCD TVs, each equipped with an XBOX 360 and PS3. The outside of the Partycade trailer features two 55-inch 1080p HD LCD TVs that operate XBOX 360 and Wii, for Rock Band and numerous sports games. The systems inside are networked to accommodate multiplayer games such as Halo and Call of Duty.

“We were looking at different options on how to expand the business,” says Paul Storey, general manager and owner of Pat’s Party Rentals. “This is something that’s booming in the States, and we thought it would be successful here. Our eventual intention is to set up a franchise operation.”

For more information on Pat’s Party Rentals, please visit www.patspartyrentals.net . For more information on Partycade, please visit www.partycade.com .

Correction: Web address for L.B. White
It has been brought to our attention that the entry for L.B. White’s Premier series of heaters, as profiled in the October issue’s heater showcase, lists an incorrect address for the company’s website. Information on L.B. White’s heating equipment can be found at www.lbwhite.com .

We apologize for any confusion this may have caused. Please see www.lbwhite.com for information on the Premier series and other heating products.

Swisher named CEO of Texada
Texada Software has announced that William Swisher, chairman of the company, has been named CEO, effective immediately. In connection with his appointment as CEO, Swisher will purchase two million common shares at 10 cents per share and has been granted a million options to purchase common shares at that price for a period of 10 years.

Swisher was named as the chairman of the board of Texada Software in July as reported here. Brian Spilak will continue as president of the company, and will purchase 350,000 common shares at the same price. The issuance of all shares to Swisher and Spilak is subject to customary regulatory approvals.

Texada Software is based in Guelph, Ont. For more information, please visit www.texadasoftware.com .

Ken Myers replaces Steve Shaughnessy as president of Skyjack
Linamar has announced that Ken Myers has been named president of Skyjack, replacing Steve Shaughnessy.

Myers previously held the post of group president for the Powertrain division of Linamar’s automotive manufacturing sector. He holds a bachelor of science degree and a bachelor of business administration degree, both from the University of Windsor. He has also earned a masters of engineering from Wayne State University in Detroit.

Shaughnessy is currently serving a two-year term as president of the International Powered Access Federation. IPAF said Shaughnessy will continue as IPAF president.

Skyjack is based in Guelph, Ont. For more information, please visit www.skyjack.com .

David Poole joins Uniquip
Yves Pronovost, general manager for Uniquip Canada, has announced the appointment of David Poole as internal sales and customer service representative.

David Poole

Poole comes to the Uniquip team with strong experience in internal sales, customer service and purchasing within tools suppliers such as plumbing and heating distributor Wolseley as well as Wurth Service Supply.

Uniquip customers may contact David Poole at 1-800-332-4012, ext. 205, or via e-mail to dpoole@uniquip.ca.

Weber MT hires Ontario regional sales manager
David Knight has joined Weber MT’s North American sales team.

David Knight

Knight boasts more than 20 years of experience in equipment rental and sales, working with several companies in that time. In his most recent position, with Wacker Neuson, Ltd., Knight worked closely with dealer sales representatives and provided major municipalities and large contractors in-field training and product application services. Under his nine-year jurisdiction at Wacker Neuson, Ltd., sales increased between 17 and 22 per cent annually.

Knight will join Weber MT as a full-time regional sales manager in Ontario.

Kevin Albin and David McRae join Marindustrial Ontario
Roger Hiscock, branch manager of Marindustrial (Oakville) has announced the addition of two outside sales representatives for Ontario.

David McRae

David McRae brings to Marindustrial an extensive sales and marketing background of more than 20 years. McRae has worked in the consumer outdoor power equipment and industrial markets in Ontario in a variety of capacities. McRae will be responsible for servicing existing and developing new accounts notably for Subaru Industrial Products, Hatz Diesel and Twin Disc for Marindustrial in the GTA, central and eastern Ontario.

Kevin Albin has also joined Marindustrial as the sales representative for western and northern Ontario. Albin’s past service and sales management experience will be well utilized as he services the existing Marindustrial customers in his region and develops new accounts, representing Subaru Industrial Products, Hatz Diesel and Twin Disc. For a full product range availabilty please visit www.marind.ca.

To contact either Kevin Albin or David McRae, please call 905-829-3004 or 1-800-866-3831.