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Equipment Rental Industry Profile

No matter where you live, the odds are good there's an equipment rental store near you. They're everywhere - today more than 12,000 rental operations do business in the United States and Canada. Rental, known overseas as "hire," thrives in Europe, South America, South Africa and other parts of the globe. And the number of businesses continues to increase.

Browse the inventory of your local rental center. Whether it serves contractors, do-it-yourselfers, event planners or a variety of customers, you'll see aisles and aisles, perhaps rental yards, of useful products. But this store doesn't sell products. It sells solutions....solutions for building, cooking, lifting, loading, moving, washing, roasting, hosting, toasting....Solutions for an infinite number of problems.

A store employee asks questions about your project, recommends the equipment you'll need for the result you desire, and explains how to use the equipment safely and correctly.

The state-of-the-art equipment you rent - rather than purchase - saves you money and solves your problem. When you rent, you return the equipment and keep the results!

Who's in the Rental Business?

For nearly a half century, the rental business was almost exclusively the family business. But the business is changing. According to a 1998 readex study, today independent rental dealers make up 77 percent of the rental industry. Most of these have one or two store locations. Franchise operations account for about 6 percent. And regional or national corporations now account for more than 13 percent of all rental operations. A growing number of these are publicly held.

Worldwide, thousands of manufacturing companies develop and provide the equipment that rental dealers must have to compete in business. These companies range from entrepreneurs who hold patents on one product to Fortune 100 companies that manufacture dozens of products.

The American Rental Association leads this growing industry of rental businesses and the manufacturers and suppliers of rental equipment. The association monitors business and consumer trends influencing rentals, and provides rental business owners with products to train employees, maintain inventories, manage, and market their businesses. It provides equipment suppliers with industry information and marketing opportunities for their products.

Our "Product" Sets Us Apart

Although equipment rental excludes videos, housing, cars, billboards and office space, we rent just about every kind of personal property, specialized tool, and equipment to just about everyone. There are thousands of products for rent, including things you may never have considered to be "equipment." Fine china, candelabra, baby cribs and canopies are examples.

To serve the diverse needs of ARA-member businesses for services such as advertising and employee training, which vary according to rental inventory and target market, the American Rental Association divides equipment into three broad categories:

Construction and industrial equipment, including the full range from heavy to light contractor equipment. Examples are backhoes, cranes, mini-excavators, scaffolding, air compressors....

General tools, including all equipment for do-it-yourself projects in lawn, garden and home improvement or repair. Examples are floor care equipment, rototillers, thatchers, wallpaper steamers, pressure washers....

Party and special event equipment, including everything for special events, theme parties, weddings and receptions. Examples are tents, party props, table linens, gazebos, silverware...

Some rental businesses carry inventory from all of these broad categories, and others specialize in equipment from one or two areas.

When Renting Makes Sense

To our customers, renting offers independence - the option to accomplish things that were out of reach before the right equipment was available and affordable.

Renting makes sense when you'd rather get something done than add to your personal possessions....when you'll use a tool or equipment once, or just once in a while....when storage space is tight....when the purchase price is high....when money has to stretch.

And rental equipment has another intrinsic advantage. Generally it's more powerful, better built and more thoroughly tested than equivalent products offered for sale to consumers. "Rental tough" equipment is contractor quality or professional-vendor quality. It's designed to do an outstanding job.

Removing the Intimidation

American Rental Association rental dealers are equipment experts. And our employees know how to help customers select the right equipment for their specific projects. By teaching customers how to use equipment properly, we eliminate the intimidation people often feel about using sophisticated technology. Many rental businesses provide instruction videos for their customers.

The Supply Side of Rental

We make available to our customers state-of-the-art, rental-tough equipment. To supply this service, we depend on more than 1,100 American Rental Association associate members who manufacture or supply rental equipment. These companies support the rental industry by designing and adapting equipment with the rental customer in mind. Many of them introduce innovations and product improvements when they exhibit at ARA's Annual Convention and Rental Trade Show.

The rental industry's premier event, this show is among the top 100 trade shows in the United States. Held each year during February, the show accommodates approximately 6,500 rental business owners who are updating inventories for the busy season that begins in the spring. And it provides more than 700 equipment manufacturers with thousands of qualified prospects for their products.

The Demand Side of Rental

Rental is a business that's in every business, in every industry, in every kind of home and lawn-improvement project, and in every kind of special event and celebration.

To the corporate meeting planner, renting can mean hosting an open house or media event to introduce a new product. To the contractor, it can mean taking on additional jobs without increasing capital investment. To the homeowner, it can mean adding a family room. To the bride, it can mean experiencing the perfect wedding and reception. And to all of them, it means getting terrific results for a fraction of the purchase price of "equipment" they must have to make it happen!

The Rental Contract

Under a rental agreement, you pay for the service of using an item for a short time. You can rent some equipment by the hour, half day, day, week or longer. The contract begins when you leave the store with the equipment and ends when you return it. We're responsible for maintenance and breakdown. The rental contract does not involve transfer of title to you.

People tend to confuse renting with leasing, although the two contracts have little in common except that neither is an outright purchase. A lease usually covers a specific period of time, longer than a week or a month. The title actually transfers to you and the contract may include financial penalties for early contract termination. Usually, you're responsible for maintenance.

The traditional rental agreement also differs from rent-to-own contracts, which are designed to transfer ownership eventually.

Discover the Advantages of Renting!

Discover for yourself how renting can infinitely increase your personal and professional options! Visit an American Rental Association member business in your area and consider the possibilities for contractors, corporations, party planners, do-it-yourselfers, gardeners, brides, parents, and even your own ambitious projects!

And call on the American Rental Association when you have questions about the equipment rental industry. We're committed to leading this growing industry's expansion.