ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Volvo CE Rents announced franchise agreements for new Volvo equipment rental centers in Woodstock, Ill.; Somerville, N.J.; Everett, Wash., in the Seattle metropolitan area; Baltimore and Central Maryland areas; and Jackson, Hattiesburg, and the Gulfport/Biloxi, Miss., metropolitan market areas.

ACF Equipment, Woodstock, Ill., and CHL Equipment Corp., Somerville, N.J., and their principals, Michael Garrard and Carmen Renda, respectively, have entered into Volvo CE Rents franchise agreements to own and operate independent Volvo CE Rents centers in their cities.

The Phoenix Corp. entered into a Volvo CE Rents franchise agreement to own and operate independent Volvo CE Rents centers in Everett, Wash.

Baltimore-based EquipRent Inc. entered into a franchise agreement to own and operate Volvo Rents centers in the Baltimore area. GGCS, Inc., based in Hattiesburg, entered into a Volvo CE Rents franchise agreement to own and operate independent Volvo CE Rents centers in Hattiesburg, and Gulfport/Biloxi, Miss.

Volvo CE Rents, which began its equipment rental franchise initiative in 2001, now has equipment rental centers open in Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, California, Tennessee, Ohio, South Carolina, Louisiana, New York, Minnesota, Arkansas, New Jersey, Alabama, Kentucky, Illinois, Maryland, and, soon, in Mississippi.

Volvo CE Rents also recently opened a new rental center in Madrid, Spain, the first of a planned 18 locations during the next three years in Spain in conjunction with Volvo Maquinaria de Construccion Espana, the Volvo Construction Equipment dealer for Spain.

Asheville, N.C.-based Volvo Rents is No. 19 on the RER 100.