All Rental Articles

UK events hire company Thorns Group has acquired the rental stock of its Manchester-based competitor, CHS Catering Equipment and Furniture Hire. CHS went into administration last month.

Rental revenues at H&E Equipment Services fell 22.1% to US$55.5 million in the first quarter of 2009. That was a decline of $15.7 million from $71.2 million in the same period in 2008 for the US equipment sales and rental company.

Hitachi Consulting, the consulting and IT division of Hitachi Ltd, has formed an alliance with Result Group, the UK-based rental software firm. The two, who have been working together for several years, will cooperate on marketing and implementing the Result Group software, rentalresult.

RSC Equipment Rental posted a first quarter net loss of US$14 million on total revenues on $351 million, which were down 16.8% on the same three months in 2008. Rental revenues fell by 23% to $287 million and RSC said it expected a 35-40% decline in the second quarter compared to the same period in 2008.

Manulift, a Canadian importer of Merlo telehandlers, has inked an exclusive deal with Mazergroup to distribute Merlo products in Manitoba, Canada.

First quarter sales for Cramo were €106.9 million, down 15.7% from the €126.7 million in the same period in 2008. Measured in local currencies, the decline was 6.7%.

Atlas Copco Rent Service is providing equipment to assist rescue efforts in the Abruzzo region of Italy, struck by a devastating earthquake on 6 April 2009.

IRN Editor Murray Pollok interviewed Loxam managing director Gérard Déprez during the Intermat exhibition in Paris.

Toyota has increased its stake in Takeuchi Manufacturing Co, the Japanese manufacturer of excavators, tracked loaders and tracked dump trucks. The two companies said they would extend their business alliance globally to grow the construction equipment sales of both companies.

Speedy Hire in the UK is offering a portable CCTV surveillance tower for rental under a partnership with Camwatch, Europe’s largest CCTV monitoring company. The tower offers customers round-the-clock security without the need to have security personnel on site.

United Rentals made a net loss of US$19 million in the first three months of the year with total revenues of $594 down 23% on the same period in 2008. The company shed 500 staff during the quarter, closed 10 depots and said a further 39 would be shut during the second quarter of the year.

JLG Industries made a US$49.1 million operating loss on sales of $249.2 million for the three months to 31 March. Sales were down 69% from the $813.1 million revenues of the same period in 2008 and the loss increases to $941.6 million with the inclusion of previously announced asset impairment charges of $892.5 made on JLG during the quarter.

Manitou subsidiary Gehl in the US reached agreement with bank creditors on 16 April to withdraw the notice of debt repayment delivered on 31 March. That notice threatened the company's continued operations.

German rental company HKL Baumaschinen has opened a new depot in Göppingen, its eighth depot in the Baden-Württemberg area in the south of Germany.

Hertz Equipment rental Corp (HERC) reported a 32% fall in revenues to US$279.5 million for the first three months of 2009 (a 27.5% fall in constant currency). Adjusted pre-tax profit for the first quarter of 2009 was $0.7 million, compared to $59.3 million in the same quarter in 2008.

Lavendon’s access rental businesses are under pressure in all its major European territories and the company said it was taking further action to reduce its costs. The company has revised downwards it previously announced profit forecast.

Perhaps most obvious of the innovations from Kaeser at Intermat is the polyethylene rotomoule canopy, available since November 2008 for the five models, M20 to M50, of its range of trailer-mounted compressors. Kaeser said the corrosion resistant cover is more durable than the sheet metal versions also available, and that owners can exchange metal for polyethylene covers.

From compact equipment specialist Ausa comes the 2700 kg capacity, 6.1 m lift height Tauralift T 276 H. The new, 5000 kg machine joins the 2000 kg capacity, 4 m lift height T 204 model, launched last year to establish the Spanish company's telescopic handler line.