Participants:

Pierre Pereira, vice president of sales and marketing, Billy Goat Industries, Lee's Summit, Mo.

Rob Faber, commercial sales specialist, Morbark, Winn, Mich.

James Day, general manager, Turf Teq, Honey Brook, Pa.

Neil Borenstein, senior marketing manager for compact utility equipment, The Toro Company, Bloomington, Minn.

Nathan Antons, national sales manager, SourceOne, Lincoln, Neb.

RER: Describe the current conditions in the outdoor power equipment rental market.

Pereira: The year 2008 has held steady for outdoor power equipment at both independent rental companies and those with lighter mixes of equipment. However, many larger players have been impacted by lower utilization rates on larger equipment such as aerial and earth engaging, and have cut budgets across the board — including outdoor power equipment.

Faber: The current conditions we are seeing in the rental market are just like most segments of the economy. Customers are cautious of making new capital expenditures on equipment.

Day: We have not seen a slow down with our products. We manufacture commercial products and our customers typically use our equipment out of necessity, not convenience. We are also a relatively new company so our growth can also be tied to more people learning about our products.

Borenstein: Just like the rest of the economy, the outdoor power equipment rental market is showing weakness. This is driven by reduced starts in new home construction.

Antons: We still see it as an area of growth potential. As the economy tightens we believe there will be fewer homeowners using lawn maintenance contractors and more becoming do-it-yourself landscapers. This will feed market to the rental dealers for equipment such as aerators. There are large percentages of homeowners who are always going to want to maintain good curb appeal. The current conditions may also add to rental growth of our aeration products by lawn maintenance contractors who want to add services if their mowing contracts are lower.

How much has the market grown in the past year and what do you anticipate for the coming year?

Pereira: Independent rental continues to grow outdoor power equipment above GDP based on a favorable mix of products, customers, locations and store hours. Weather had a bigger impact on growth than the economy/geography in many cases last year.