Kathy Viebach, rental department manager, Forslund Building Supply, Ironwood, Mich., and Mandy Hart, vice president, A & H Hose & Fitting, Huntsville, Ohio, have been elected to the ARA of Michigan board.
Viebach is relatively new to the equipment rental industry. For 17 years, she was a department manager in an all-women-staffed hardware store. When that owner retired, she joined Forslund Building Supply’s small rental department as the rental manager.
“I had not worked with rental before. When I first started here, the rental department was quite new. We had 53 pieces of equipment. Everyone said I should become a member of the American Rental Association (ARA). I said, ‘What’s that?’ I looked into it and saw that it was an important association that offered various resources, including training, which we certainly needed. I encouraged the owners to join, which they did,” she says.
Viebach is a one-woman rental operation. “I do the maintenance, the cleaning, the customer training — the whole nine yards, but it is fun. I stay very busy. When I am not actively working on the fleet, I am doing extra training and looking for more pieces of equipment.”
As a woman-run rental department, she attracts a lot of women who want to try projects at their home. “I have had ladies ask if they can learn how to sand their floors. I say, ‘Yes, you can.’ I let people practice on a big wide board that I have set up. I show them how to use the equipment and let them practice to see that they can do this. If there are people who say they can’t do it, I want to show them that they can,” she says.
Viebach is proud that her inventory has grown since she took over. “I am hoping that over the next few years, if I can make this rental department grow and be big enough, we can expand rental to our two other Michigan locations in Caspian and Norway. All our stores are in the Upper Peninsula. I would like both to offer that rental opportunity. All our stores are in small communities. We are the only show in town in Ironwood. We pull in small contractors and homeowners from miles away to rent our equipment,” she says.
To help learn her craft, Viebach has relied on her training as a metal machinist, her Army experience — two years active and six years active reserve when she “drove all the heavy equipment” — as well as her previous hardware store experience. “When I was at the other hardware store, all of us ladies had to know our stuff because if you didn’t know what you were talking about, the guys would tear you apart,” she says with a laugh.
When she learned the ARA of Michigan was looking for people to join the board, she knew it would be a great opportunity.
“I figured it would be a good way to learn a lot and be a place where I could be helpful. I just love helping,” she says.
Viebach is “very excited about being part of the board,” she says. “I believe I can bring an understanding of what a small town thinks and needs and what a small-town community expects. I realize that I am new to the industry and am still learning. That allows me to bring fresh eyes to the board.”
Viebach also hopes the board experience will allow her to learn more. “I want to connect with others within the industry and get fresh ideas from them. I would like to learn more about marketing and what things can I do to help people more,” she says.
In addition, Viebach wants to be an advocate for rental and particularly would like to encourage hardware stores throughout the state “to have some type of rental department. It would be nice to make other businesses aware that rental is a viable option, not only for added revenue but also as a way to help their client base,” she says.
One trait Viebach knows she brings to the board is a “can-do” persistence, she says. “I don’t know how to fail. I will keep learning and plugging along until it works.”
She brings that attitude to her business and definitely plans to bring it to her board service too.
Hart also understands the trials and tribulations of being a small business owner. “We are a small, family-owned business as there are only 12 of us here at A & H Hose & Fitting. It seems like a lot of businesses in the ARA of Michigan are small businesses like us, which allows us to get to know our customers and relate to them on a different level,” she says.
A & H Hose & Fitting began serving the rental industry in 1987. “In the 1960s, my father-in-law, Ed Hart, started Hart Industries, which is a hose business that caters primarily to the tank truck industry. When he retired in the 1980s, his kids took over the business. He started A &H Hose as a retirement business. It turned into a niche business that caters directly to the rental market — 99 percent of our customers are rental businesses. We are all about air hoses and suction and discharge. When my father-in-law finally decided to retire for good at age 83, my husband, Tim, and I bought the business,” she says.
The Harts became involved with the ARA through a mutual friend in the industry. “We went to The ARA Show™ and loved it. We have been going ever since,” she says.
While they have been active in the Greater Cincinnati Tool Rental Association (GCTRA) for years, they didn’t become involved with the ARA of Michigan until meeting Sue and Scott Irwin with Delux Rental in Ypsilanti, Mich., who now serve as ARA of Michigan president and ARA president-elect, respectively.
“We met one year in Vegas at The ARA Show. After the Irwins asked us to join the Michigan association, we did and have been involved as much as possible for many years. We love the people of the Michigan rental association. Once you prove you are part of their group, they pull you in — just like a family. They are amazing and very loyal. When I was asked to serve on the board, I said, ‘I would be happy to do anything I can to help the group,’” she says.
Hart says she brings a manufacturer’s perspective and a willingness to help. “I am here to help. I want to be involved and assist as much as possible. As far as our business, hose is one of those things that all rental companies, including those that offer tents in their inventory, use. We are not the big equipment, but we are essential. I hope I can bring knowledge about us to the group and an understanding since we deal with small business issues just like other rental operations,” she says.
At first Hart says she will take time to get her bearings and learn about her role as well as the functions of the various board committees. “After that, I want to help in any way I can and interject knowledge wherever I can.”