Rental Giants of the Century

Dec. 1, 1999
It's the last issue of the millennium and magazines and newspapers of all kinds are presenting their "greatest of the century" and "recap of the millennium"

It's the last issue of the millennium and magazines and newspapers of all kinds are presenting their "greatest of the century" and "recap of the millennium" stories. Believing that most readers are already overdosing on these themes, we chose not to. However, in the coming months we will be forecasting and analyzing trends that we expect to see in the years to come.

Obviously, the rental industry hasn't been around long enough to report on the past millennium. But we couldn't let the century pass without listing some of the most influential figures in the rental industry's relatively brief history. Because space is limited, this will be far from a complete list, but here are some of the figures who have had dramatic impact on the rental industry up until now.

This list is not definitive and far from inclusive. Certainly many important rental people's names are not mentioned, and you should not take the order in which they are listed as a reflection of importance.

SAM GREENBERG: Beginning around 1935 and continuing in rentals until his death in the century's final decade, Greenberg was often called the grandfather of the rental industry. A tireless ambassador for rentals, the founder of Van Nuys, Calif.-based Sam's U-Drive (later Sam's U-Rent) was known for helping dozens if not hundreds of entrepreneurs get their start in rentals, by sharing everything from tips of the trade to opening his own books.

DAN KAPLAN: When Dan Kaplan took over Hertz Equipment Rental Corp. in 1982, its annual rental revenue was about $50 million and the company was perceived as a chaotic mess. When Kaplan left HERC in 1997, its revenue had topped half a million annually and the company was viewed as an organizational model of advanced systems. Beyond that, HERC is often referred to as the training ground for the industry. More rental company owners and major executives are HERC-trained than all other major firms combined. Kaplan's book, Service Success, is the industry's leading textbook and is studied in universities and business schools. Kaplan still contributes to the industry as a much-in-demand consultant.

BRAD JACOBS: No man has had a more dramatic effect on the rental industry than Brad Jacobs, who founded United Rentals only slightly more than two years ago. The industry's leading consolidator now has more than 660 locations in North America, with an annual rental revenue run rate of more than $2 billion. Jacobs and his team have played the leading role in attracting billions of dollars in investment capital to the rental industry and have raised the bar higher than anybody could have imagine a few short years ago.

BILL GRASSE: The word ambassador applied to Greenberg, but even more so to Grasse. Instrumental in the founding of RER for which he wrote columns for 40 years, Grasse owned Acme Rents, a leading Southern California rental company which later became Rental Service Corp. Both he and Greenberg shared the knowledge and culture of rentals around the globe.

TOM BENNETT: Perhaps no individual has held as many different jobs in the rental industry as Tom Bennett, who started as a yard man in 1958. Working his way up through a variety of roles, Bennett became president and chief executive officer of Prime Equipment in 1990 and still serves as CEO. Bennett, along with HERC's Kaplan and American Equip-ment's Jeff Putman, have played major roles in the ability of rental companies to serve as sole-source and preferred providers for major corporations in the construction, industrial and petrochemical fields. The creation of Prime's Turnaround Central, specializing in plant shutdowns and turnarounds, helped put Prime on the national map as a major industrial supplier.

JOHN DORAN: One of the industry old-timers who started around World War II with Rental Tools & Equipment, Doran, and his son, John Jr., had a simple philosophy. They believed they had a piece of equipment for every building in the country and that there wasn't a business, building or home that didn't have a rental equipment need. The Dorans built their business with this thought in mind and consequently developed one of the most wide-ranging and original inventories in the rental industry, with many equipment modifications that they manufactured themselves. The Dorans also became major players in providing energy and catering equipment for big special events including major golf tournaments and presidential inaugurations. Although they sold the business to United Rentals last year, their contributions and influence helped define 50 years of rentals.

JIM GARTLAND: In the mid-1950s, this publisher of a couple of small trade magazines began noticing a disparate group of rental equipment businesses and began thinking about their prospects for growth. Enlisting the help of the above-mentioned Grasse, he began visiting these business and the manufacturers that supplied them and discovered that it really was an industry, but one that lacked a voice. Gartland began publishing Rental Yard Register in 1957, eventually changing the name to Rental Equipment Register. Gartland died of a heart attack in 1980, but not before enlisting his son-in-law Tim Novoselski to take over the magazine, now owned by Intertec Publishing.

BILL BERRY: Like Bennett, Berry started at the bottom. After working at his father's Modesto, Calif.-based Berry Rentals at the age of 13, Berry became a U.S. Rentals branch manager at the age of 21 (after U.S. acquired Berry Rentals), and general manager of the then-five-location company at age 24. He continued to work his way up the corporate ladder, becoming president and CEO in 1986 at the age of 34. Berry led the organization into an era of systemization and helped it grow into one of the industry's largest until it was acquired by United Rentals last year. Berry became president of United Rentals and appeared to be the perfect person to guide the integration and operations of the industry's largest firm. Unfortunately, his career may be cut short by illness.

C.A. "ZIGGY" SIEGFRIED : The executive director of the American Rental Association for more than 20 years, Siegfried, who died in the mid-1990s, grew the association from its infancy to the influential organization it is today. Many of the services and programs the ARA provides came into existence during Siegfried's tenure. Known for his fun personality and trademark bow ties, Siegfried's influence is still felt today as the ARA goes forward.

KEVIN RODGERS: Building a Top 10 rental company is an extraordinary achievement by any standard. To have done it twice deserves special mention. Rodgers played a major role in the growth of Australia's Brambles in the United States, leading its acquisition efforts and growing that company to the $100 million-plus level where it is today. When Brambles' ownership appeared content to let the company remain at that approximate level, Rodgers began considering other opportunities. One came his way from a Chicago-based investment firm known as Golder Thomas Cressey & Rauner. The plan was to start from scratch and build a major new consolidator. Armed wit h significant investment capital, National Equipment Services began making acquisitions in 1997 and now has more than 160 locations in more than 32 states. With a surprising range of specialty niche players, including companies that specialize in liquid storage tanks, pumps and generators for the petrochemical industry and other areas, NES led the industry's expansion into the burgeoning traffic-safety equipment rental arena.

JEFF PUTMAN: Greenville, S.C.-based American Equipment Co., owned by Irvine, Calif.-based construction giant Fluor Co., is providing rental services in more than a dozen countries, thanks in large part to the leadership of Putman. The company is a pioneer in fleet-management services, onsite tool and equipment facility management, ice-making trailers for use in remote locations, and other services that have helped expand the rental industry's capability. American raised the bar on safety standards with the industry's most extraordinary safety record - several million employee hours without a lost-time accident. Although Putman has gone on to a higher position with the parent company and American is now led by Charles Snyder, his leadership helped American become the innovator it is today.

There have been many other important figures in the growth and development of this industry, and many other pages could be filled with the stories of figures such as former Rental Service Corp.'s leaders Marty Reid and Ira Mendelsohn; the late Jerry Losey of Zuni Rentals; Rich and Dave Lanoha of Center Rentals (and then RSC); Sunstate Equipment Corp.'s Mike Watts; TruServ's Steve Nelson; Grace (now Prime) Equipment's Dugan Hill; Elmen Equipment's Bob Elmen; and hundreds of others. In five or 10 years, you will be able to add another dozen or more names tto the continuing growth of rentals.