CITY OF INDUSTRY, Calif.-NationsRent added to its growing Southern California cluster with last month's acquisition of City of Industry, Calif.-based J&J Equipment, formerly owned by Van Dossey. Dossey, a former Rental Industry Association president, made several acquisitions of his own over the past few years, opening branches in the Southern California cities of Alhambra, Chino and two in Rancho Cucamonga.

Dossey will stay on with NationsRent and oversee a region stretching from coastal Oxnard to Indio in the desert. The region will include four or five stores previously belonging to San Diego-based Contractors Equipment Corp., which NationsRent acquired earlier this year. The Contractors stores in the San Diego area will not fall under Dossey's jurisdiction.

Dossey said his entire J&J staff will remain with the company and key executives such as Mike Stevens and Jim Bathgate will have expanded roles with NationsRent.

"It will be nice to have the economic resources to grow the company as I know it is capable of growing," Dossey told RER.

Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based NationsRent is No. 8 on the RER 100.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - NationsRent is holding a series of open houses to publicize its new branches and raise awareness of its one-stop-shopping capability and branding program.

It recently launched a branch in Irwin, Pa., with a grand opening featuring former Pittsburgh Steeler Jack Ham who signed autographs for two hours. On Dec. 1, the company held an open house in Anderson, S.C., the first NationsRent location in the Greenville-Spartanburg market area. And the Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based firm plans a Jan. 13 open house at its Orlando, Fla., branch, a 13-acre facility that is the company's fourth in that city.

Each open house features gifts and refreshments, a traditional ribbon-cutting ceremony, equipment demonstrations by NationsRent staffers, and raffle prize drawings.

NationsRent, No. 8 on the RER 100, has more than 160 branches, and has letters of intent or definitive agreements to acquire seven more companies with 22 locations and about $36 million in revenue.