Rental Rumbles: February 2010

Heaters, lasers and energy at CRA Ontario meeting

Murray Logan was one of the presenters at the CRA Ontario meeting. He spoke on sustainable energy.

Expect a slow first quarter in 2010, with numbers heading back up in Q2, and the rental business back on track by 2011. That was one of the messages delivered at the most recent meeting of the Canadian Rental Association’s Ontario Chapter. The meeting took place at Rentquip Canada in Woodstock, Ont.

The meeting started at 6 p.m. with a tour of Rentquip Canada and a social hour, followed by a buffet dinner and dessert. Jim Freeman of Rentquip Canada got the meeting underway, and thanked Total Rentals for providing tables and chairs for the meeting.

After dinner, a number of presenters took the floor, including Tim Jedrzejek of Enerco, who spoke on the company’s philosophy when it comes to building portable heaters for the rental market. The company has elected to forgo some of the “bells-and-whistles” and instead concentrate on making the units heavier and sturdier.

Jedrzejek summed up the reason behind this philosophy: “All these guys want the heater to do is work.” He also noted that rental heaters tend to take a lot of abuse, so sturdier construction was indicated.

Murray Logan of the Canadian Energy Expo also took the floor to talk about sustainable energy sources, which he notes is a growth area for the agriculture business.
Various sustainable power proposals were discussed, including geothermal. Fred Freeman, founder of Rentquip Canada, informed attendees that the front office of Rentquip Canada uses geothermal heating and cooling, and has done so for the last 15 years.

For more information on Canadian Rental Association events across the country, please visit www.crarental.org/events .

Donations, highway safety highlights of CRA Saskatchewan meeting
The Saskatchewan chapter of the Canadian Rental Association (CRA) has announced that it will be making donations to two worthy causes. The decision was made at the CRA Saskatchewan regional meeting held Nov. 17 at The CAT Rental Store in Saskatoon.

CRA Saskatchewan meetings typically feature a guest speaker such as officer Rhiannon Waldner with Highway Transport.

The first donation will be $250, to help defray expenses involved with the Canadian hospitality room at The Rental Show in Orlando, Fla. The Canadian hospitality room will be open from 8 p.m. to midnight on Feb. 8, 2010, at the Doubletree Resort.

CRA Saskatchewan also plans to donate $5,000 to the Dorothy Wellnitz Scholarship Fund. The scholarship is available to employees and family members involved in the rental industry who are currently attending school to further their knowledge and skills in the business.

The Dorothy Wellnitz Scholarship was started when the executive director of 21 years, Dorothy Wellnitz, retired from the association in 2006. Many local chapters contribute to the Scholarship Fund, which is administered by the American Rental Association (ARA).

Blair Holtsman of Hub-City Display, the Saskatchewan local president, welcomed everyone to the meeting and introduced the guest speaker for the evening: Officer Rhiannon Waldner with Highway Transport.

Officer Waldner updated the group on new regulations for trailer safety, towing, large trucks, and more. Some of the highlights from her presentation:

•  Drivers hauling loads weighing more than 4,600 kilograms on a trailer require a “G” endorsement on their class 5 driver’s licence.
• Business owners/ managers should contact Saskatchewan General Insurance (SGI) for details on how to get drivers certified with a “G” endorsement.
• Truck and trailer inspections should be completed every 24 hours. Drivers must have in their possession the most recent inspection report. In the event a truck is pulled over, reports cannot be more than 24 hours old.
• Drivers must have a log book if they travel more than a 160-kilometre radius from their home location or if they are hauling in excess of 5,000 kilograms.
• If store managers have questions regarding trailer safety, towing, safety inspections or truck modifications, they should contact SGI’s Vehicle Standards and Inspection unit at 1-800-667-8015, ext. 6188.

A call was issued during the meeting for new volunteers to join the trade show committee. Sara Ghiglione, Bill Brooks, Gene Elash and Shauna Murray all volunteered to join the existing trade show committee, which consists of Doug Mitchell, Blair Holtsman, Brad Williams, Lisa Bains, Brad Pattinson, Wayne and Tammy Beckett, Glen Loosyen and Brian Miller. Doug Mitchell has stated that he will set a trade show committee meeting date in January 2010 and notify the committee members.

Glen Loosyen informed attendees that the CRA Saskatchewan golf tournament is set for June 17, 2010. Blair Holtsman noted that he and his wife, Jill, came out on the evening prior to the golf tournament last year and they had a wonderful time networking with other members of the rental industry. For this reason, he says that he would highly recommend coming early and staying over.

For more information on CRA Saskatchewan, please contact Blair Holtsman (President) or Lisa Bains (Secretary) at 1-306-653-4429.

ALL Canada Cranes & Aerials adds new branches
ALL Canada Cranes & Aerials has announced the addition of two new facilities – one in Newfoundland and Labrador, and a second in Ontario.

ALL Canada Cranes & Aerials consists of the ALL Canada Crane Rental Corp. and ALL Aerials Ltd. The two companies operate independently under one roof, currently headquartered in Mississauga, Ont., with each having its own staff and fleet of equipment. The new branches will operate the same way and will be located in Mount Pearl, N.L., and Sudbury, Ont.

For the ALL family of companies, adding a new branch isn’t taken lightly. In ALL Cranes’ early years, success meant investing, not spreading out. The company founders made sure they established their brand and their service capabilities before they started expanding. “As the largest privately owned crane rental and sales company in North America, we know that the continued success of our company depends on many things, among them, good citizenship in the communities where we work,” says Michael Liptak, ALL Cranes president.

“At our new location in Newfoundland and Labrador, we will support local industry development projects with local hiring practices. ALL supports local suppliers whenever possible,” says Paul Dinn, general manager of the Newfoundland and Labrador facility.

CERF announces results for Q3 2009
The Canadian Equipment Rental Fund Limited Partnership (“CERF” or the “Partnership”), has announced the results for the three- and nine-month periods which ended Sept. 30, 2009.

Full details of the Partnership’s results, in the form of the unaudited financial statements for the three- and nine-months ended Sept. 30, 2009, and Management’s Discussion and Analysis of the results dated Nov. 26, 2009, are available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com .

Highlights of the nine-month period ended Sept. 30, 2009, were:

• Revenue for the nine months of $9,609,466.
•  Net income per unit of $0.08 basic.
• Distributions of $0.12 per unit were declared for the quarter.

CERF is an Alberta limited partnership engaged in the rental, sale and service of industrial and construction equipment. CERF trades on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol “CFL.UN” and currently has 6,088,900 units issued and outstanding.

SMS Rents Montreal locations move to larger facilities
SMS Rents has moved two Montreal-area rental operations into larger facilities. The St. Bruno location has moved to a 9,400-square-foot location in Broussard, and the former Dorval store has moved to a 19,000-square-foot building in Saint-Laurent.

The Saint-Laurent facility has a number of service and wash bays that will be used to service the store’s fleet, as well as customers’ equipment.
The new stores have the capacity to operate as support hubs for additional locations that can reach a broader regional market.

SMS Rents is based in Mississauga, Ont. The company has 15 branches in Ontario and Quebec. For more information, please visit www.smsrents.com .

New ‘Market Monitor’ service unveiled
Equipment rental industry-specific research has taken a giant step forward with the launch of the State of Equipment Rental Industry Outlook 2009-2014 Market Monitor service by the American Rental Association (ARA).

This online subscription-based program provides subscribers with the latest economic information regarding the equipment rental industry compiled by respected economic forecasting firm IHS Global Insight. The information is updated quarterly.

A basic annual subscription to the Market Monitor service includes an economic overview and equipment rental revenue forecasts for the United States and Canada broken out into each equipment rental market segment — construction and industrial equipment, general, and party and event — as well as U.S. national-level rental equipment investment data and quarterly updates.

Upgrades to the basic package can be purchased, enabling subscribers to access geographical and market specific information. As part of this new service, subscribing ARA members can opt to drill down and receive economic information at the metropolitan statistical area (MSA) level.

Annual subscriptions start at $100 and can range up to $3,000 for access to all the data, charges, figures and analyses available through the Market Monitor service. For an additional $50, subscribers will have access to the MSA of their choice.

“This is a tremendous step forward for measuring the shape and size of the equipment rental industry. The ability for our members to customize and receive only the information relevant to their business is a great new option. We are excited to offer this benefit to our members and anticipate that many will take advantage of the Market Monitor service, considering the accessibility of information and the pricing structure,” said Christine Wehrman, ARA’s executive vice-president and CEO. “This information is relevant and useful to all rental operators and suppliers in their daily business management.”

Ritchie Bros. to conduct two auctions in Orlando
Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers will conduct its annual six-day unreserved public auction at its Orlando, Fla., permanent auction site from Feb. 15-20, 2010. The large auction will feature thousands of heavy equipment items and trucks – and every item will be sold to the highest bidder on auction day, with no minimum bids or reserve prices.

“The February Orlando auction is the largest Ritchie Bros. auction of the year as well as the world’s largest industrial auction each year. Last year, with a 200-acre auction site and six days, it featured more items than any of our other auctions,” said Steve Kriebel, regional manager for Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers. “This year, with thousands of equipment items and trucks being sold, we will have something for almost everyone. This wide selection of equipment and our commitment to unreserved auctions help attract thousands of bidders from all over the world each year.”

Last February, Ritchie Bros. conducted its first six-day auction in company history at its Orlando site, selling more than 8,300 items over six days, generating US$184 million in gross auction proceeds and attracting 7,600 unique bidders from 75 countries.

A week prior to this February 2010 Orlando auction, Ritchie Bros. will be conducting a live benefit auction on Monday, Feb. 8, 2010, starting at 6 p.m., at the American Rental Association Rental Show. All proceeds go to the ARA Foundation, which implements programs that create educational opportunities, build relationships and aid the equipment rental industry.

Last year’s ARA Foundation benefit auction received donations from 24 ARA Rental Show exhibitors. Auction proceeds were used to award 24 scholarships for 2009-2010 students pursuing rental-related education at accredited institutions. This year’s benefit auction features a wide range of donated items, including equipment and travel packages.

Like every Ritchie Bros. auction, both auctions will be unreserved, which means there are no minimum bids or reserve prices. Every item will be sold to the highest bidder on auction day, regardless of price.

Hilti launches new, faster Hilti Online
Hilti’s newly renovated Hilti Online features a fresh, user-friendly design, bringing modern, faster, and easier online shopping. Following nearly two years of development, with input from 20,000 customers worldwide, the new Hilti Online went live for Hilti’s U.S. (www.us.hilti.com) and Canada (www.ca.hilti.com) markets on Dec. 14, 2009.

The new site makes it simple for customers to manage their Hilti Fleet Management tools as well as do business online with Hilti using their own, company-specific pricing.
The new Hilti Online is a true renovation from the ground floor up, utilizing the latest in leading-edge hardware and software. Hilti incorporated a new search engine powered by Google.

Hilti Director of E-Business Philip Robins states, “The improvements to Hilti Online were based upon direct customer feedback. This allowed us to deliver a high-quality user experience consistent with what our customers expect from Hilti.”

Hilti Western Hemisphere President and CEO Cary Evert agreed, saying, “We are excited to launch the renovated Hilti Online for our customers and believe they will find it even more valuable than before.”

Hilti E-Business and IT development group partnered with several leading industry providers for the Hilti Online renovation: the design phase partner is Crealogix Interactive Business, a leading supplier of E-Business solutions; the front-end software solution and development is BroadVision, a global provider of personalized self-service web applications; and for the integrated search solution, Hilti utilized the Google Search Appliance.

ASAP Tent and Party Rentals goes green
ASAP Tent and Party Rentals has announced that the company has moved into a culture of thinking green. The 20-year-old company offers tent rentals, party rentals, linen rentals, tableware rentals, and chair cover rentals, along with other accessories for weddings and corporate events.

In an effort to help the planet and the environment, the company has adopted a number of changes, which began several years ago. These changes include recycling all of their cardboard boxes, cutting down on waste and recycling and reusing paper to save trees.
The company has replaced all of its detergent and cleaning products with organic, natural cleaning products that are biodegradable and much safer for the environment. Gasoline burning trucks were replaced with newer, more fuel efficient diesel trucks. Schedule changes were introduced to further enhance fuel savings and reduce carbon emissions.

Indoor heating was changed from oil to propane and natural gas. “Every company can do their part, and all it takes is small changes,” says Dale Middleton, company spokesman. “By adopting these small changes, we are actually making a bold statement by going green, and when it comes to the health of our planet, every small effort really adds up,” he adds.

Another change that ASAP Tent and Party Rentals has made is the decision to use reusable plastic hangers in place of the one-time-use wire hangers that the company previously used. This is a big, important recycling move, considering how often the company uses hangers.

These changes are all in addition to the biggest recycling effort of all: using recyclable china and tableware, table linen rentals, wedding linen rentals and chair cover rentals over and over again rather than creating waste by simply using disposable products.
“Every company can do their part, and all it takes is small changes,” says Middleton.
For more information, please visit www.asaprental.com .

New Mustang website out of the gate
Mustang has announced the launch of a new public website, www.mustangmfg.com . The site offers many new features, including detailed product information, photo galleries, detailed parts and service information, and a robust dealer locator.

In addition, the website includes detailed features and benefits for each model, downloadable product specification sheets, a user-friendly dealer locator, finance information, and a storefront – Mustang Gear – for wearables and items promoting the Mustang brand.

Allen Engineering appoints new sales, marketing managers

Jeff Johnson

Scott Ward

Allen Engineering has appointed Jeff Johnson as the new sales manager for the company. Scott Ward has been appointed to the position of marketing manager.

Johnson has been with Allen for more than 12 years, starting out in the manufacturing area. He has most recently served as assistant sales manager for the company. Johnson will have the responsibility for managing inside sales, outside sales and national accounts for Allen.

Scott Ward has been with Allen for more than 20 years, starting out in the manufacturing area. Ward has most recently served as marketing co-ordinator for the company. He will have the responsibility for all areas of marketing at Allen, including advertising, promotions, catalogues, websites and special events. He also serves as the regional sales manager for the Midwest USA, and for the Paving Equipment Specialists at Allen.

Allen Engineering Corporation designs, engineers, manufactures and markets concrete equipment under two different brands, Allen Concrete Equipment and Allen Concrete Pavers. Allen Equipment is sold through a network of “concrete focused” distributors and dealers around the world.

BOMAG appoints new territory manager

Terry Constantin

BOMAG Canada Inc. has announced the appointment of Terry Constantin as the new territory manager for Ontario and Newfoundland.

With this position, Constantin will be responsible for all sales activities with BOMAG’s heavy equipment distributor Nortrax and for direct sales of the light product line to the rental industry.

Constantin brings experience in the product support side of the business and is looking forward to working with future and existing customers in promoting the BOMAG line of compaction, pavers and milling machines to the construction industry.

Grip Clinch appoints new national sales and marketing manager

Earl Anderson

Grip Clinch Canada has announced the appointment of Earl Anderson to the position of national sales and marketing manager. Anderson will be responsible for marketing and sales in all national and regional dealer channels.

He will also be directly responsible for the sale and launch of Fasco brand tools and fasteners in the Canadian market. The star of the line is the “Scrail.” It’s designed to be driven with a traditional pneumatic framing tool and removed with a screwdriver.

For more information, please visit  www.gripclinchcanada.com .

Steve Shaughnessy new president of Skyjack
Linamar Corporation has announced Steve Shaughnessy’s appointment as president of Skyjack, Inc. Shaughnessy, an equipment industry veteran with more than 30 years’ experience in the aerial lift and crane business, will be succeeding Ken McDougall, who has been given the responsibility for running Linamar’s Powertrain Mexico operations.

 Linamar President and COO Jim Jarrell said that, “Steve Shaughnessy has unparalleled experience of working in the aerial lift industry at a senior level in both North America and Europe. We believe that this appointment will offer significant benefits both to the organization and to our customers who have come to depend upon Skyjack.”

 Linamar CEO Linda Hasenfratz added, “Steve is a proven executive who delivers results with a great track record for business growth, exactly what we need for today’s opportunistic global market.”

Revised schedule for The Rental Show
A revised schedule for The Rental Show in Orlando, Fla., has been released. Educational seminars will take place on the mornings of Feb. 9 and 10, before the trade show floor opens. A total of 11 seminars will be offered on key business topics for attendees with full registrations.

The seminar schedule includes:
Feb. 9: 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.

• Smart Communication in Tough Times, presented by Mark Jeffries of Mark Jeffries LLC, New York.
• The Top Five Strategies for Web Site Success, presented by Philippa Gamse of Total Net Value, Capitola, Calif.
• Successful Selling: The Answers Are Four-Letter Words, presented by Robert Stevenson of Seeking Excellence, Clearwater, Fla.
• Facing the Challenges in Today’s Construction Rental Industry, presented by Ted Garrison of Garrison Associates, Ormond Beach, Fla.
• Aerial Work Platform Training Standards: What You Need to Know, presented by a rental industry panel.
• Rental Town Hall: Party and Event Rental, presented by a rental industry panel.
• Feb. 10: 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.
• Thriving in the Economic Storm: How to Reinvigorate Your Business and Achieve Sustained Success, presented by Robin Crow of The Crow Co., Franklin, Tenn.
• Customer Service: How to Apply the Diamond Touch, presented by Dr. Nate Booth of Nate Booth and Associates, Las Vegas.
• Beyond the Magic: Disney’s Approach to Brand Loyalty, presented by Nicole Lauria of Disney Institute.
• Developing Business Partnerships to Help You Succeed, presented by a panel of professionals.
• Rental Town Hall: Construction and General Tool Rental, presented by a rental industry panel.

For full details on The Rental Show schedule, please visit www.therentalshow.com /Schedule/default2.aspx . You can find information on seminars on that page by clicking the “Seminar Schedule” tab.

Finning hosts Investor Day, provides outlook
Finning International’s senior management provided an update on business activities and reviewed the company’s outlook for 2010 during a live webcast last month. The webcast and an archived audio file of management’s remarks are in the investor relations section of www.finning.com .

“Our sense is the economy is bottoming,” said Mike Waites, president and CEO of Finning. “We are seeing positive signs in mining in Canada and South America. We have a very strong company with a leaner cost structure. And we are driving further improvements in operations to take full advantage of growth going forward.”

On a consolidated basis, 2010 revenues are forecast to be down slightly from 2009. The 2010 outlook is for lower new equipment sales, which are expected to be partially offset by a modest increase in product support revenues.

Business conditions are expected to improve later in 2010. Based on the current outlook, the company anticipates earnings in 2010 to be up modestly over 2009.

The company expects to generate in excess of $200 million of free cash flow in 2010 and to continue to strengthen its balance sheet. The net debt to total capital ratio is expected to decline to 35 to 40 per cent by the end of 2010. The strong free cash flow and balance sheet will position the company well to take advantage of future opportunities.

Finning International Inc. is the world’s largest Caterpillar equipment dealer. Headquartered in Vancouver, B.C., the company operates in Western Canada, Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, Uruguay and the United Kingdom.

A PDF of Investor Day presentations – and the Investor Day webcast – can be found at www.finning.com/investors/investors.aspx .