Who will win?

The Canadian Rental Mart is Canada’s celebration of the rental industry, and what would a celebration be without a guest of honour?

Every Rental Mart, Canadian Rental Service recognizes a rental operator that exemplifies three key values of our industry: success, innovation and safety. That operator is presented with our Rental Operator Of The Year award on the show floor. They get a handsome plaque (redesigned for 2014!) and a cover story in the magazine. This year, the ROOTY is presented with the generous assistance of Doosan Portable Power Canada.

Why do we do it? This magazine’s mission is to help Canadian rental operators to succeed, and we think the ROOTY does this in two ways. First, it is obviously a point of pride to be picked out of all the thousands of rental stores in Canada and held up as a positive example for everyone else. Having that ROOTY trophy on your counter is something you can point out to customers as evidence they are dealing with the best. Secondly, letting everyone know about the great efforts our winners put into their businesses serves, we hope, as an example and inspiration for everyone else.

The 2012 ROOTY winner, Robertson Rent-All is a perfect example. A family business in transition from founders Don and Netta Robertson to their sons, D.J. and Cameron, Robertson has continuously grown and expanded since its inception in 1992. Don has never been afraid to look for lucrative sidelines, experimenting with fitness equipment sales and rentals along with the more typical landscaping and light contractor fare. The sons have delved into information technology to organize and promote the business, and Cameron constantly experiments with new strategies for getting the company into new markets such as education and hospitality.

The ROOTY judges are industry veterans from across the country. This year’s judges are Rhonda Pedersen of Pedersen’s Rentals in Vancouver, Jean-Marc Turcotte of Location Turbo in Montreal, Dave Fraser of Hewitt Rentals in Halifax, Neil De Jong of ITE Equipment Rentals in Hamilton, Ont., and Kent Somerville of Doosan.

2014 Rental Operator Of The Year presentation
When: Tuesday, March 18, 3 p.m.
Where: Rental Mart show floor
Who: Canadian Rental Service editor Patrick Flannery, ROOTY judges Neil De Jong and Kent Somerville