Chris Davies, chief executive of HSS Hire, was named European Rental Association’s “Equipment Rental Person of the Year,” in honor of making HSS “one of the most modern and innovative companies in the industry.” It also cited HSS’ contributions to “using the Internet to market its services.”

Davies received the award at the European Rental Association’s annual convention in Prague recently.

“We’ve pioneered some great initiatives and hire-related services,” Davies said. “We’ve been resolute in always putting the customers at the very heart of what we do and in making hire easy for them; all of this has helped us to outperform the market despite some very challenging times.”

Nearly 260 participants from 22 countries attended the fifth ERA Convention in Prague, under the motto “New opportunities for rental.” The event provided participants with networking opportunities and allowed them to debate issues of importance to the rental industry, including rental in Central and Eastern Europe, sustainable development, the outsourcing of new services and trends in the construction equipment and rental industries.