Compact Power rentals business will be at 100 Home Depot stores

Compact Power Inc (CPI) and Home Depot have signed a deal that will see CPI establish a new company, Compact Power Equipment Centers LLC (CPEC), to run large equipment rental business at selected Home Depot stores.

CPI, based in Fort Mill, South Carolina, told IRN that CPEC will "acquire and manage large towable fleets of rental equipment in more than 100 select locations of the Home Depot." Home Depot will continue to run its own tool rental centers.

CPEC and Compact Power Services - a sister company that maintains small equipment for companies including Wal-Mart and Best Buy - have secured funding for the venture from three private equity groups.

Compact Power's affiliated brand, Boxer Equipment, is not part of the Home Depot transaction. "Boxer and its manufacturing partner Mertz Manufacturing, will remain a separate entity with a continued focus on growing its dealer network both domestic and international", said CPEC in a statement to IRN.

The new Home Depot rental operation will have some shared ownership with CPI but will have a newly appointed and independent management team.

CPI has been trialing heavy equipment rentals at three Home Depot stores in the Charlotte area since last year, and appears to have won its competition with Cat Rental Stores, which was trialing a Home Depot store in Texas. Last year at Conexpo Caterpillar said it saw a big potential to establish Cat Rental Stores at many of Home Depot's locations.

It is still unclear exactly what equipment the new CPI business will supply for the Home Depot rental stores, but it will include the Boxer compact loaders and possibly also the Italian made Multione mini-articulated wheeled loaders that CPI sells in North America.