SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic - Compresores & Equipos, the San Juan, Puerto Rico-based rental company, opened a branch here recently, rental and marketing director Ernesto Pou toldRER. The company had hoped to open sooner, but encountered bureaucratic delays in getting equipment through customs, he said.

In addition to legal and procedural challeges, Compresores, which has sevenoutlets in Puerto Rico, found cultural differences as well in the way equipment users operate.

"We have to teach people about renting equipment there; they are not used to it," Pou said. "People are accustomed to owning what they use."

Compresores, No. 59 on the RER 100, is building a new headquarters in San Juan, which it hopes to occupy early in 2000. The company also plans to open a branch in Trinidad later this year.

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Source: Construction Industry Research Board