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From the Editor: First Day on the Show Floor

Feb. 23, 2015
There is nothing like The Rental Show to get an overview of what’s new in the rental industry.

There is nothing like The Rental Show to get an overview of what’s new in the rental industry. Like any tradeshow experience, with more than 700 exhibitors, if I tell you “these are the coolest things I saw today,” you have to realize that I didn’t get around to all 700-plus booths, or even one-tenth that many. So I have no doubt there were some great things I left out.

So I’ll just tell you real quick that I was impressed with my first look at Skyjack getting into the 80-foot-plus range of telescopic boomlifts, one with a jib and one without. If you get a chance to check out Skyjack’s latest developments, it’s great to see how the aerial companies keep getting better. Genie has the most extensive launch of new products in its history, so get by the Genie booth if you have a chance. And in case you don’t know about it, Genie has a new 150-foot boomlift, which you won’t see on the show floor, and it’s not too hard to figure out why that might be a bit of a logistical challenge. More on Genie to come.

JLG has some new stuff too which I’ll get by to check out tomorrow. And Snorkel is not exactly left out of the party. It’s got several new scissorlifts, boomlifts and a new Snorkel-branded rental friendly telehandler.

Magnum and its parent company Generac have taken some steps forward with its new Generac Mobile Products brand, some exciting new generators, a solar-powered light tower and more. And make sure you check out Doosan Portable Power’s Tier 4 air compressor if you haven’t seen it at an earlier show such as the World of Concrete. Doosan supplies its own engines for many of its air compressors.

There was pretty solid traffic on the show floor today and exhibitors will be expecting more tomorrow if rental people don’t stay out too late on Bourbon Street. Fortunately for those exhibiting Mardi Gras is over.