ATLANTA — Home Depot last week announced it has reached 500 tool rental departments, with many more openings to come. With rental centers in 500 of its 1,426 stores, Home Depot now has rental available in nearly 40 percent of its locations.

“It's one of our most well-received programs,” said Tom McCormick, director of tool rental for the Atlanta-based home-improvement company. “Customers love the convenience of getting everything they need to do the job right there. In tool rental, we have the opportunity to spend a lot of face-time with our customers… There's the potential for an impromptu clinic every time a customer walks into one of our centers.”

Home Depot is No. 11 on the RER 100 with estimated 2001 rental revenue of about $170 million.

In other Home Depot news, the company's board of directors last week announced the approval of a share repurchase program of up to $2 billion, effective immediately. The open-ended program will allow the company to repurchase its shares on the open market from time to time in accordance with the requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

“Given our financial strength, we remain well-positioned to invest in our current asset base and identify and capture new growth opportunities,” said chairman, president and CEO Bob Nardell.