Counter Talks

Seven years ago Martin Rancourt came out of a very brief retirement to buy Location de Beauce in beautiful Saint-Georges, Que. On his first day in the store, he looked around and said “What have I done?” He needed a starting point to transform a 40-year-old rental operation, so he turned to the Lean management principles he’d learned in his manufacturing career. Gathering his staff for a Kaizan session, he asked what the greatest enemies of good rental service are. Two answers came back: dust and rust. Tune in to this episode of CounterTalks to find out what his staff meant and how Rancourt used these concepts, among others, to triple his business, widen his profit margins and open a second location.

Ontario’s excavation safety regulator, One Call, is getting serious about making sure people don’t injure themselves or destroy infrastructure by hitting utilities during earthmoving projects. As of the start of this month, anyone digging anywhere in Ontario to any depth without calling for a locate first could face a fine of up to $10,000. This might be something that person at your counter renting a mini-excavator needs to hear about. Ian Simpson, director of industry engagement for One Call, joins CounterTalks to explain the rules, the penalties and how One Call can help your customers avoid them.

Ken McDougall, president of Guelph, Ont.,-based aerial equipment manufacturer, Skyjack, sat down with Canadian Rental Service editor, Patrick Flannery, at ConExpo to talk about the company’s upcoming plans to optimize processes; the state of the equipment manufacturing and rental industries; the impact of recent U.S. trade decisions; the prospects for electrification and other zero-emission technologies and more.

Andrew Botterill is an oil and gas industry analyst with Deloitte and he joins CounterTalks from Calgary to talk about Deloitte’s latest whitepaper forecasting gas prices in 2023. We take a look at the present state of the market and what might lie ahead this year. We also get into the factors affecting prices and creating volatility; the geopolitical effects of oil supply; and the policies and events that rental store owners should hope for if we are to see prices stay low but continue to drive energy sector investment.

When supply chains and inflation make it harder to afford new equipment, the used market becomes more important to us all. And in the rental business, we always want to keep a sharp eye on used machinery values as they impact the value of our fleets and, ultimately, our businesses. Kieran Holm is a former executive at Ritchie Brothers auctioneers and now global vice-president for used equipment at Finning, so there probably is not anyone who knows more about used equipment valuations and price factors than him. Holm joined Counter Talks to give his evaluation of where the market is for most common rental construction equipment and where it might go in 2023. We also discussed the global supply situation and what he’s seeing from his perch overlooking one of the largest used equipment dealerships in North America. Holm also provides some tips on getting the best deals on used machinery…without spilling the trade secrets that got him where he is!

JustBins president and Canadian Rental Service columnist, Adam Snook, joins CounterTalks for a look back at 2022 and the top news stories in our rental world. The big got bigger with another wave of acquisitions and mergers – we talk about how independent rental stores can survive. Governments are providing naloxone kits to businesses – we talk about whether employers want to be responsible for giving their staff medicine. Electrification of fleets is sweeping the industry – we talk about whether these products will work in -37-degree weather. Rental stores are offering more and more online sales and service options – we discuss where these approaches work and where they don’t. Happy New Year!

Our emergence from COVID is official – the ARA Show is returning as a live event to Orlando this February. With registration opening up, Christine Hammes joins the podcast to give us the advance preview of the world’s largest trade event for the rental industry. We take a look at the great events and education on offer; talk a bit about the venue and location; and go higher level for some discussion of shows generally and why they are so important.

There are more government rebate programs out there than you can shake a stick at. Luckily, Bonny Koabel of AKR Consulting has a whole basket of sticks and spends most of her time shaking them at the various government agencies so you don’t have to. Bonny joins Counter Talks to discuss the $547.5 million of funding that the Government of Canada has recently announced that offers everyone from provinces to small businesses incentives for the purchase or lease of eligible vehicles.

With auto companies promising to eliminate internal combustion engine vehicles and cities banning fuel-burning equipment on jobsites, the end of gas and diesel engines powering the equipment we rent may be in sight in our lifetimes. Rob Messina, vice-president of product development for JLG, joins Counter Talks to bring us up to speed on the state of technology in electrified aerial equipment as he’s seeing it while making and marketing these products around the world. Messina talks about why battery-powered equipment is getting more popular; where it works best and where it doesn’t; how engineers are making storage better; why charge times aren’t as short as we might like; what rental companies need to know when they go electric; and why we better not fire our engine mechanics just yet.

Insuring rental operations for fleet loss and liability has always been a special challenge and now the American Rental Association has stepped up with a members-only product for its Canadian members. The ARA has partnered with insurance providers to make insurance available to its U.S. members for many years, but now it is working with Westland, a B.C.-based insurance broker, to make a rental-focused product available to Canadians, too. Brock Pennel of Westland and Josh Nickell of the ARA join CounterTalks to discuss the special challenges of insurance in equipment and event rentals, the product Westland will be offering, ways for rental stores to mitigate risk, how insurance works and much more.