SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - After months of inactivity on the acquisition front, Rental Service Corp., based here, concluded theyyear with the acquisitions of six small companies with a combined trailing 12-month revenue of about $4.9 million.

The move bumps up the total RSC locations to more than 200.

RSC president and CEO Douglas Waugaman was pleased with the company's recent acquisitions. "This confirms our strategic plan to continue to expand our footprint across America," he said.

The six acquired companies are Hartland Rental, Dodge City, Kan.; S&L Rental Sales and Service, Emporia, Kan.; three-location Sully's Tool Rental, Akron, Ohio; Mississippi Valley Contractors Equipment, La Crosse, Wis.; Limestone Rental and Sales, Bartlesville, Okla.; and two-location Sarge's A-1 Rental, Oshkosh, Wis.

RSC, a division of Atlas Copco, is No. 3 on the RER 100.

By 2003 online trading revenues in the construction and industrial equipment industries will reach $44.4 billion, compared to $500 million in 1998.- Forrester Research