Weekly roundup: Rental results | Kennards CEO handover | Ardent Hire strategy

Dayim Equipment Rental is part of Dayim Holdings, based in Saudi Arabia.

In the UK, a report published by the Construction Plant-hire Association (CPA)  revealed the economic impact of the plant-hire sector on the UK economy

The report, produced alongside financial analysts Oxford Economics, analysed the direct, indirect and induced impact of the sector in a number of areas and revealed that the sector contributed some £14 billion Gross Value Added (GVA) to the UK economy in 2022. Click here for the prices in full. 

Meanwhile, Toromont Industries, one of Caterpillar’s dealers in Canada, said that its rental revenue increased by 3.5% to C$143 million (€96.5 million) in the third quarter of 2024.

The company said rental revenue in most market sectors and regions were down during the third quarter and year-to-date due to persisting softer market conditions, principally in residential construction.

However, it said its light equipment fleet saw some improvement for the quarter.

Elsewhere in North America, Custom Truck One Source has said that a slowdown in its core markets has seen rental revenue decrease by 8.4% for the third quarter of 2024.

Rental revenues from the utility equipment rental and sales specialist reached $108.3 million in the quarter, down from the $118.2 billion it posted in the same period in 2023.

Management changes

Changes among senior management was also a theme for the last week. In Australia, Kennards Hire announced that its CEO Bill Whitehouse is to step down from the role next year.

He will be replaced in April 2025 by Stuart Dean, currently chief operations officer. Dean brings more than 20 years experience in rental, including 14 with Kennards Hire where he has held various roles.

Whitehouse, who has been CEO since 2020 and with the company for more than 35 years, said the time was right to “hand over the reins.”

In Europe, Klāvs Otisons joined Latvia-based rental company Storent Holding as executive board member. Otisons joins the company after nearly 16 years with Cramo Group and Boels, where he was most recently director of Group fleet management/uptime before leaving the role earlier this year.

Andris Pavlovs, co-founder and Chair of the Board of Storent said his expertise will help Storent “continue to increase its market share, profitability, and efficiency.”

From an OEM standpoint, Spanish power and lighting tower specialist Himoinsa  appointed Iain Curran as its business develop manager for lighting towers.

Himoinsa said his knowledge of the rental market and experience in introducing hybrid units to the UK market “will be crucial to driving the company’s growth plan in the lighting tower segment mainly in the EMEA region, where his responsability will be strongest.”

Rental operations 

Elsewhere, Ardent Hire Solutions said it is reshaping its business by moving away from earthmoving equipment and focusing on its material handling portfolio. 

The company said the move, dubbed Ardent 2.0, marks an ambitious shift towards telehandlers, roto telehandlers, and Fuel-ITs.

It follows the divestment of its excavators, rollers, dumpers and MEWPs earlier this year, with all of its 2,000 units in the access and earthmoving categories to be sold by the end of 2024.

In Saudi Arabia, rental and logistics business Dayim Holdings received “significant” inward investment from private equity business LetterOne.

The announcement from LetterOne, which is based in Luxembourg, does not say how much it has invested or what its share of the business now is, but said the transaction would fund Dayim’s continued growth.

Finally, Groundhog, a manufacturer of mobile welfare units based in South Wales, acquired its long-term distributor, Genquip.

Groundhog said the acquisition will help improve its customer service and manage its business more efficiently.

The two companies have worked in partnership for over 30 years, with Groundhog specialising in manufacturing and Genquip specialising in sales and customer service.