GREENWICH, Conn. - United Rentals announced it had acquired 19 companies in the second quarter, more than half in the traffic safety and trench shoring sectors.

The largest acquisition was Flushing, N.Y.-based Durante Equipment, a two-location general rental firm ranked No. 64 on the RER 100. United also bought three branches of Vancouver, Wash.-based Western Power & Equipment - in Moses Lake, Pasco and Yakima, Wash. Western is No. 39 on the RER 100, but United chief acquisitions officer John Milne said the company acquired only three small branches that might be consolidated with other United outlets in the area, without taking on any of Western's dealership functions.

United also acquired two branches of Skyreach Equipment, a major aerial equipment company based in St. Albert, Alberta. United obtained outlets in Saskatoon and Regina, Saskatchewan, in the second quarter, after purchasing two Ontario branches and a British Columbia location last year.

The other acquisitions include two-location Astra Rental Center, Columbiana, Ohio, and single-location companies Traffic Safety Solutions, Mechanicsburg, Pa.; Traffic Master, Las Vegas; M.A.D. Rentals, Ontario, Texas; Rent Center, The Dalles, Ore.; Krings Trench Shoring, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Blue Mountain Rentals, Collingwood, Ontario; Traffic Markings South, Lawrenceville, Ga.; Rocky Mountain Safety Service, Cheyenne, Wyo.; B&H Equipment, Norwood, Mass.; Alpine Construction, Missoula, Mont.; Tri-Mack Barricade, Indianapolis; and four Texas traffic safety companies whose acquisitions were recently reported in RER and RER Reports.