Industry Roundup: Texas First Rentals Acquires Rental One

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Updated Dec 15, 2022
Caterpillar 262D3 skid steer
Caterpillar

Texas First Rentals, a division of Holt, the authorized Caterpillar dealer for 118 counties in South, Central, North and East Texas, has acquired Rental One.

Rental One is a full-service equipment and storage container rental company offering a complete line of construction equipment and supplies in 15 locations throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth and Central Texas regions.

According to the news release, the 300 current Rental One employees, including the leadership team, will become employees of Texas First Rentals and will continue to operate from current Rental One locations.

The move expands Texas First Rentals’ reach in the region, bringing the total number of locations up to 40.

“Rental One is an excellent strategic and cultural fit that complements our existing products and services,” said CEO and General Manager of Holt, Peter J. Holt. “More importantly, Rental One is a multi-generational, family-owned Texas company. As a family-owned business ourselves, we know the value of such an organization and what that means to our customers.”

“Our team has worked to build a successful business with meaningful relationships that span three generations,” said Rental One President Mike O’Neal. “Our customers will benefit from a broader range of products and combined expertise as we join the Texas First Rentals team. We continue to be committed to providing customers with the best equipment and reliable service they have grown to know.”

Rental One was founded in 2004 in Colleyville, Texas, with equipment rental roots going back to the 1950s.

H&E Opens New Branch in Ocala, Fla.

H&E Equipment Services has opened a new rental branch in Ocala, Florida, its 11th location in the state.  

The new location includes a fully fenced yard area, offices and a separate repair shop for construction and general industrial equipment.

“Our new Ocala branch fills a geographic gap in the central and northern part of the state for us. We can now better reach our customer base between our existing Jacksonville and Orlando locations, and having a facility along the I-75 corridor gets us on the job site quickly. Steady population trends and other favorable economic conditions in the area point to a strong, long-term nonresidential construction forecast, and we have the equipment to effectively serve those projects,” says Branch Manager Jim Sill.

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The Ocala branch specializes in the rental of aerial lifts, telescopic forklifts, earthmoving machinery, compaction equipment, generators, compressors and more and represents the following manufacturers: BOMAG, Case, Doosan, Gehl, Genie, JCB, JLG, John Deere, Kubota, Link-Belt Excavators, Skyjack, SkyTrak, Towmaster Trailers, Wacker Neuson, Yanmar and others.

MANUFACTURERS & SUPPLIERS

AEM Hall of Fame Inducts Genie's Sherman Ward 'Bud' Bushnell

The Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) announced that it has inducted Sherman Ward "Bud" Bushnell, founder of Genie, into its Hall of Fame

Since its inception in 1993, the AEM Hall of Fame has recognized more than 65 industry leaders whose inventions, ideas and leadership have contributed to the industry, the association says. The award was presented to Genie President Simon Meester at AEM's Annual Conference in Napa, California, on November 18.

Bushnell (June 13, 1921 to Nov. 14, 2020) founded Genie Industries, a manufacturer of mobile elevating work platforms. Today, the Genie brand is owned by Terex Corporation.

An inventor and craftsman all his life, Bushnell launched the company in 1966 in a small warehouse in downtown Seattle. His first lift operated on compressed air, and customers referred to the hissing noise it made as "Genie magic in a bottle," leading to the company name. Through his inventions, Bushnell made working at height more efficient and safer.

"I am proud and humbled to be able to accept this honor on behalf of Bud and the Bushnell Family," said Meester. "Leading by example, putting the customer first and focusing on the team to make it happen made us the company we are over the last 55 years. We have a lot of exciting products coming our way in the next 10 years, and Bud's spirit is in all of them."