All Rental Articles

A new rental company, Gulf Union Equipment Rental Company, has been established in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by a Middle East Caterpillar dealer and an investment partner.

The European Rental Association (ERA) will hold a full programme of rental workshops, roundtable discussions and other events as part of its convention to be held on 3-5 June in Amsterdam during the International Rental Exhibition (IRE).

Terex has announced it will buy compact tracked loader manufacturer ASV for US$488 million (€342 million).

Ramirent has entered the Slovakian rental market by acquiring a 60% stake in OTS Bratislava (OTS), one of the market leading rental companies in the country. Ramirent has an option to become sole owner by 2010.

Komatsu Ltd is to acquire a major Japanese rental company and merge it with its own sizeable rental operation in Japan.

Boels Rentals in The Netherlands has further expanded its Belgian operation with two acquisitions.

Power tool manufacturer DeWalt unveiled a wide range of new products at its annual UK dealer event in Birmingham in early January.

Atlas Copco has sold approximately half of ABIRD, its Netherlands industrial rental company, to ABIRD's chief executive, Wichard Oorschot, and investment firm NPM Capital. The sale price was not disclosed.

Brandon Hire, the UK tool hire chain owned by the Wolseley Group, has recently opened nine new branches to take its total network to over 260 locations nationwide.

Komatsu Utility Europe, which specialises in compact equipment, is to fit the Komtrax satellite tracking system as standard to its entire range of machines above 1,5 t.

The acquisitive Netherlands rental company, Jaston Groep, re-branded all its rental divisions under the single Workx name on 1 January. The name change is part of an ambitious growth strategy at the company, which is backed by Netherlands private equity company H2 Equity Partners.

Loxam has acquired Haulotte Group's French access rental businesses, Lev and Royens Levage, for an undisclosed price.

IRN's financial correspondent Jeff Eisenberg looks at the stalled takeover of United Rentals by private equity form Cerberus, and concludes that United is still likely to be sold, but for a lower price.

The time to enter the first European Rental Awards is now. The awards website is up and running, giving companies all the information needed to enter. At the site you can download the award entry form, read the judging criteria for each award, and see contact details if you want additional guidance.

KDM Hire in Northern Ireland has benefited from a buoyant construction market, but now, in the face of increasing competition, it is having to work hard to exploit all the advantages of its independent status. Murray Pollok spoke to KDM's managing director, Keith McIvor.

“By the mid-90s we had two choices about how to expand”, says KDM's Keith McIvor, “we could open more depots or expand into different products. We could already travel to all parts of Northern Ireland quite easily from the Cookstown depot, so the next step was to look at products that weren't available everywhere, and that would travel.”

Everybody talks about the growth of rental, but what is actually happening on the ground in individual markets? Murray Pollok reports.