SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - Rental Service Corp. announced the purchases of 11 rental firms with 19 total locations across North America and estimated annual revenue of $10 million.

Company officials said the purchases took place May 5 through Aug. 16.

RSC acquired four White Hall Rental centers in Berea, Richmond, London and Corbin, Ky.; two Rental Plus stores in Danville and Lebanon, Ky., and two in Elizabethtown, Ky.; two Bob's Rental stores in Montrose and Gunnison, Colo.; and two E-Z Rental & Equipment Sales centers in Wausau and Rhinelander, Wis.

Also purchased were single-store locations Five-Star Rental in Elizabeth City, N.C.; R&J Rentals in North Platte, Neb.; Kessler's Lift Service in Millerstown, Pa.; Rental Showcase in Rocky Mount, N.C.; TJR Rentals in Scottsbluff, Neb.; and two Canadian firms, both in Alberta: Allied Equipment in Lethbridge and Bill's Equipment Rentals in Medicine Hat.

RSC now operates in 32 states and Canada.

In other RSC-related news, parent company Atlas Copco of Stockholm, Sweden, purchased Hobic Bit Industries, a Vancouver, British Columbia-based manufacturer of diamond core drill bits. The company has manufacturing plants in Vancouver and China with an annual turnover of more than U.S. $6.77 million.