United Rentals acquires Coble Trench Safety assets

United Rentals Inc. on Feb. 15 acquired the assets of specialty rental company Coble Trench Safety, which has 11 locations in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast region.

“We are delighted to expand our trench safety rentals business through the acquisition of Coble Trench Safety,” Paul McDonnell, senior vice president – Operation, Trench, Power & HVAC for United Rentals, said in a written statement.  “We’re attracted to Coble’s mix of government and industrial customers with very little branch overlap in strong markets. We were looking forward to working with Tom Coble, and were deeply saddened by his sudden and tragic passing. He was instrumental in developing innovative new technologies and customer safety training programs in support of the underground construction Industry. Tom was a pioneer in the industry and we intend to build on his legacy.”

With the acquisition, United Rentals’ trench presence grows to 93 locations in 28 states and Canada.