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Welcome, Editors and Reporters, to
the online Media Room at the American Rental Association. We hope you will
find this site user-friendly and helpful in doing your job. We've included links
to our latest press releases and our most-requested photos and logos. If
you don't find what you need quickly or could use assistance with finding a
source for a story, our corporate contact information is below.
THE AMERICAN RENTAL ASSOCIATION BACKGROUNDER
The American Rental Association (ARA) is an international trade association
for the owners of equipment rental businesses and the manufacturers and
suppliers of rental equipment. The current membership includes more than 7,000
rental businesses and 1,100 manufacturers and suppliers. Its headquarters are in
Moline, Ill., where 22 Midwestern rental business owners founded ARA in 1955.
ARA has additional offices in Washington, D.C., Austin, Texas, and Kansas City,
Mo.
ARA serves three broad categories of rental:
- Construction and industrial equipment,
- General tool and homeowner equipment, and
- Special event and party equipment.
ARA members are located in every state, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto
Rico, the Virgin Islands, every Canadian province, and more than 30 countries
worldwide. The Canadian Rental Association is part of ARA. Within North America,
ARA divides its membership into ten regions, with Canada comprising region 10.
There are many ARA state and local branches within these regions.
ARA’s annual convention, The Rental Show, is the
largest rental trade show in the world. The Rental Show
is a “buying” trade show where transactions take place on the floor, with a
concentrated and industry-specific audience. Traditionally nearly 700 exhibitors
attend the show, which is annually ranked among the top 100 shows by
Tradeshow Week magazine. The Rental Show will be
held Feb. 11-14, 2008, at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas.
ARA offers numerous year-round services tailored to fit the needs of ARA
membership. These services, which range from a national advertising campaign to
hands-on training workshops for rental professionals, promote the success of ARA
members and advance the growth of the rental industry.
ARA’s office in Washington, D.C., focuses on legislation and regulation at the
federal level for the benefit of the rental industry. Each spring, the National
Legislative Caucus brings ARA General Members and Associate Members to
Washington to learn more about the legislative process and meet one-on-one with
members of Congress about issues of importance to rental. The association’s
political action committee, ARAPAC, is funded by contributions from individual
ARA members and provides financial support to candidates for federal office.
Since its inception more than 50 years ago, ARA has continued to prosper.
Domestic annual rental industry revenue is approximately $33 billion, according
to the 2006 State of the Equipment Rental Industry report. For more
information, contact ARA’s public relations department at (800) 334-2177, ext.
270.
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