ATLANTA — Home Depot hired Carlo Cavecchi as divisional rental manager for the central division of Home Depot Rentals. Cavecchi, former CEO of Denver-based HSS RentX, will be responsible for Home Depot tool rental operations in the upper Midwest states. He will report to Troy Rice, central division president, and Joe Dixon, vice president of tool and equipment rental.

“We are excited to have an experienced and successful rental operator of Carlo's caliber join the fastest growing rental operation in North America,” Dixon said.

Atlanta-based Home Depot, No. 7 on the RER 100, operates 910 tool and equipment rental centers nationwide and has 1,783 stores in 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, eight Canadian provinces and Mexico.

The company recently opened its 900th tool and equipment rental department, reaching the milestone with a new store opening in Dublin, Ga.

As in most Home Depot stores, the tool rental department in Dublin is located near the Pro Services Desk. Home Depot now has pro services available at nearly 1,400 stores, offering commercial credit accounts, express phone and fax ordering, will-call order pick-up and delivery.

Home Depot's rental department now has an average inventory age of 19 months. Home Depot opened more than 50 tool and equipment rental centers in the first quarter of 2004. The company has announced that every new store it opens in 2004 will include rental departments, and that the company will continue the process of adding rental departments to existing stores that lack them.