ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Volvo Construction Equipment Rents signed a contract with Jim Cawley, owner of Cawley & Scanlon Construction Ltd. for a Volvo CE Rents franchise in County Sligo, Ireland.

The facility, Volvo's third rental center in Ireland, will be located in Ballymote, County Sligo. Tullamore Tool & Plant Hire Ltd. (County Offaly) and Michael Hickey Plat & Tool Hire Ltd. (County Kilkenny), opened the first two Volvo franchises in Ireland in August.

The company also recently announced the openings of new independently owned Volvo CE Rents locations in Florida, South Carolina, Virginia and Pennsylvania.

World Rentals LLC, owned by Cruz and Roy Rodriguez, opened a Volvo CE Rents center in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. Bob White and Marion Eadon, principals of East Coastal Rentals Equipment LLC opened a Volvo CE Rents center in Monck's Corner, S.C., near Charleston.

Wenner Equipment, owned by John Wenner, has opened a Volvo CE Rents center in West Chester, Pa. W.E.R. Inc., and principal William Walsh, opened a Volvo CE Rents store in Midlothian, Va.

Volvo CE Rents, which began its equipment rental franchise initiative in 2001, now has 39 equipment rental centers open in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, California, Tennessee, Ohio, Louisiana, New York, Minnesota, Arkansas, New Jersey, Alabama, Kentucky and Pennsylvania.