Battlefield Equipment Rentals, owned by Toronto-based Caterpillar dealer Toromont Industries, last week agreed to acquire the shares of Access Rentals and Supply Ltd., based in Sudbury, Ontario.

“Access is a leading rental operator with complementary product lines and a wide variety of customers in both the construction and industrial sectors,” said Battlefield president Randy Casson. “This acquisition will provide us with strong representation in northern Ontario.” Terms of the transaction, expected to close before the end of the year, were not disclosed. Current Access owner Tom DiFrancesco plans to continue with the business as Battlefield’s regional manager once the transaction is finalized.

Battlefield is also buying a 1.6 hectare site in Barrie, Ontario, and expects to complete construction of a new rental center there in mid-2005.

With the additions, Battlefield, based in Stoney Creek, Ontario, will have 32 locations in Ontario, Manitoba and Newfoundland. The company is No. 22 on the RER 100.

In other Toromont news, the company announced its third-quarter profits increased 14 percent based on higher sales across the company. Toromont operates Caterpillar machinery dealerships and a compression group that designs and installs compression systems for natural gas, fuel and carbon dioxide as well as industrial and recreational refrigeration systems.