Member profile: Tisdale Rentals is the go-to for rural equipment needs
By Brock Huffstutler
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Member profile: Tisdale Rentals is the go-to for rural equipment needs

The community of Tisdale — with a population of just more than 3,000 and best known for its production of honey and oilseeds used in the production of animal feed, vegetable oil and biodiesel — is nestled in a rural, heavily agricultural swath of central Saskatchewan, Canada. It’s the sweet spot for a rental business to serve as the first, sometimes only, choice for the equipment needs of those who are the backbone of the local economy: contractors and farmers.

“I don't have anybody very close,” says Robin Shellito, president of Tisdale Rentals, of his nearby competition. “There is a smaller operation in Melfort, which is fairly close to us, but it's attached to a lumberyard. Then, Prince Albert would probably be the closest. They're about an hour and 45 minutes away.”

Tisdale Rentals, which occupies roughly 10 acres of property within the municipality, was established in the fall of 2015 by Robin and his wife, Rikki-Lynn, who serves as secretary and treasurer at the business. Prior to establishing Tidale Rentals, Robin’s vocation was farming, and he had been one of those local farmers who utilized rental equipment on occasion. When he saw the opportunity to combine his love of operating equipment with his entrepreneurial ambitions, he jumped at the chance.

“I was farming at the time, and I saw that the local rental business was for sale,” Robin says. “I thought it would be a pretty good business. Really, I didn't have much to do with running a business before. I enjoy equipment. I like running it and looking after it. So, working with the equipment was definitely the easy part about doing this.”

“Robin and I are a younger couple, and we wanted to become entrepreneurs, so we started this company with his parents, Terry and Lorraine,” adds Rikki-Lynn, who co-owns the business. “There was already a rental company here — TFF Rentals — so we took it over and changed the name. Robin’s parents have retired, but we have two other guys with us now who do small motor repairs.”

The couple were no strangers to the rental process. They did, however, feel the need to streamline the menu of rental offerings they took on, given the small-town nature of their clientele.

“We had rented some stuff from the previous business before,” Robin says. “I had rented their skid steers and things. But they also had wedding stuff, so we had rented a bunch of things from them for our own wedding. We got out of the wedding and event rentals. It was tough to offer that in a small town because one lady would not want what the last lady had for her wedding.”

Robin and Rikki-Lynn opted to forge ahead focusing on equipment exclusively, which was right in the wheelhouse for the needs of local customers.

“Tisdale is a farming community. Most of our customers are smaller contractors or farmers,” Robin says. “We have scissor lifts, boom lifts, skid steers, excavators and lots of concrete tools. Those are the big things for our rental.”

“We have switched over to retail, too, so now we sell Toro and Husqvarna products," Rikki-Lynn says. "Then, we recently got into cattle feed and feed products. And with our guys who work on the small motors, we do motor repair work for lawnmowers, boats, snowmobiles — all kinds of stuff like that. We've expanded a lot since 2015.” 

Although the Shellitos enjoy being essentially the sole resource for rental solutions in their area, they acknowledge that serving a relatively remote region has its drawbacks.

“What I like about rental is that people are in a pretty good mood if you can help them do something that they had a problem with. But out here, it's hard to know what you need to have on hand at any given time. You'll go in spurts where you could rent three of something, but then go for months without renting it out. Our usage is a lot less than in the city, so I have to be very careful with how much money I spend on an item because it may take me 15 years to pay it off. We could use a bigger population — that would help,” Robin says.

While the small population doesn’t exactly translate into gangbuster rental activity, it does give the Shellitos plenty of opportunity to pursue their passion of giving back to the community.

“We provide rentals as a donation for lots of things,” Rikki-Lynn says. “We have donated equipment to the town for putting up Christmas lights. We have donated cotton candy and popcorn machines to daycares that put on events, so they can just collect all the proceeds at fundraising events. We keep those items around for that reason — it’s such an easy little thing to do and have on hand for somebody we want to help. We try to support our community and like to be involved as much as we can.”

Brock Huffstutler

Brock HuffstutlerBrock Huffstutler

Brock Huffstutler is the regional news editor for Rental Management. He writes and edits articles for ARA’s In Your Region quarterly regional newsletters, Rental Management, Rental Pulse and other special projects. Outside of work, he enjoys biking and spending time at the few remaining vintage record stores in the region.

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