Marty Coughlin and Rached Karanouh are principal owners of Dependable Scaffolding LLC, a start-up scaffolding and access equipment company opening later this month near Cleveland. Coughlin, former president of Waco Scaffolding & Equipment, and Karanouh, a Waco colleague for more than 20 years, decided to start the company after Safway Services purchased Waco in November of last year, Coughlin told RER.

“The timing was right,” Coughlin said. “Waco was acquired by Safway. There wasn’t a future for me there. There wasn’t a future for Rached there and we’re both too young to retire. We recognized that there will be pockets of the market that are underserved. The economy is starting to improve, albeit slowly. It hasn’t been a great year but it’s been a better year. And we expect the same thing for next year. We think it will be better too.”

Dependable Scaffolding will offer sales, rental and labor services, focusing on the niche market in the Southeast portion of Ohio and Pennsylvania and other parts of the mid Northeast. The company will primarily supply a full line of access products such as system scaffolding and concrete shoring equipment. It does not plan to enter into motorized access equipment, Coughlin said.

Coughlin, Rached and sales manager Kelly Coughlin attended World of Concrete in Las Vegas last month, meeting with vendors and suppliers, and touching base with people in the industry Marty Coughlin has known for the past 38 years. Kelly Coughlin was previously a Waco branch manager in Cleveland for the past 10 years.

“Right now we’re just dotting the I’s and crossing the T’s,” Coughlin said. “Our goal is to be up and running at the end of February.”

Waukesha, Wis.-based Safway Services acquired Waco Scaffolding & Equipment, a major provider of scaffolding, access equipment and services, in an auction held Nov. 10, as part of Waco's bankruptcy proceedings.