PARK RIDGE, N.J. - Hertz Equipment Rental Corp. continued its recently accelerated expansion with one European and three North American acquisitions, and 10 recently opened greenfield locations.

HERC acquired Lightning Sales & Rentals, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada; Ranco Rentals in Layton, Utah; and Ben's Rentals, Salem, Ore.

"The acquisitions increase our presence in markets where we have a lot of growth opportunities," HERC CEO Gerald Plescia told RER. "We'll continue to have a consistent pipeline of acquisitions. We have several others under letter of intent, and there are others that we're looking at."

HERC's new start-ups include Sarasota and Daytona Beach, Fla.; Kannapolis and Kings Mountain, N.C.; Atlantic City, N.J.; New Castle, Del.; Gonzales, La.; Chicago; Murfreesboro, Tenn.; and St. Catherine, Ontario, Canada.

HERC also acquired the J Pons group in Spain, making HERC the largest rental company in that country, according to company officials. J Pons has locations in Alicante, Southern Madrid and Valencia.

United Rental, National Equipment Services and NationsRent reported same-store revenue growth of between 21 percent and 24 for the third quarter ended Sept. 30.