Who owns united rentals

Its network of branches and more than employees serve a number of sectors including construction, energy, retail, transportation, government and education. Our expansion into this space comfortably checks all three boxes of our mergers and acquisitions criteria — strategic rationale, financial impact and cultural fit. For United, the deal follows its announcement Wednesday that it had acquired for, an undisclosed amount, Franklin Equipment, which is a provider of equipment rentals, sales and related services in the midwestern and southeastern states.

It placed No. The company operates with 1, rental locations across 49 states and every Canadian province and also runs 11 sites in Europe. Its approximately 18, employees serve customers in the construction and industrial sectors, utilities, municipalities, as well as other groups such as homeowners. We look forward to welcoming our new employees and customers as an important part of our future. More Business.

By the third quarter of , United Waste serviced over , commercial, industrial, and residential customers in 16 states. United Waste had shown that roll-ups by which a company grows through continuing acquisitions were a viable way of capitalizing on an investment. But was United Waste's acquisition and operating strategy applicable to another industry? According to Silvia Sansoni in the June 1, issue of Forbes magazine, Jacobs 'enlisted Merrill Lynch to help screen for new opportunities.

Equipment rentals popped up and turned out to be a consolidator's dream. First, contractors lost an equipment deduction when the tax code was changed in Second, the recession in the early s forced many contractors to sell under-utilized equipment. Furthermore, the passage of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act--which imposed strict regulations on protecting the environment and the design, construction, and operation of landfills--made it even more difficult for small waste-collection companies to meet requirements for garbage disposal and forced them to sell or suspend operations.

Most of United Waste's senior management team joined Jacobs. Suitable acquisitions 'were tough to find because there's little public record of family-owned rental companies.

So Jacobs read five years' worth of trade magazines, downloaded the web sites of hundreds of rental stores and hired a private investigating firm with dozens of databases to identify potential targets. United Rentals' goal was to create a geographically diversified equipment-rental company in the United States and Canada.

The company bought six small leasing companies and in October began to rent a broad array of equipment to a highly diversified customer base that included construction companies, industrial organizations, and homeowners.

The company based its growth strategy on expansion through a highly disciplined acquisition program, the opening of new rental locations, and internal growth that increased equipment categories and customer markets. Initially, much of the company's revenues came from renting equipment to the construction industry and from sales of used equipment. Increasingly, large industrial companies chose to rent, rather than purchase, equipment that they needed for repairing, maintaining, and upgrading their facilities.

United Rentals also sold used equipment. By June , United Rentals had acquired 38 rental companies stores--in 20 states. By mid-August United Rentals had completed more acquisitions and was operating in locations in 31 states and Canada. United Rentals continued to buy small companies and gradually began to seek out the best companies, regardless of their size. In September the company acquired U. Rentals, Inc. By year-end, United Rentals owned companies located in locations in 39 states, five Canadian provinces, and Mexico.

The company offered rentals of more than different types of equipment and served over , customers. Although renting out equipment accounted for nearly 75 percent of revenues, United Rentals also sold used equipment, acted as an authorized dealer for many types of new equipment, and sold merchandise and parts.

United Rentals had quickly positioned itself to benefit from a general trend toward corporate outsourcing. Construction companies and other leading industrial companies, municipalities, government agencies, and utilities recognized the advantages of renting equipment rather than incurring the expense of ownership. They discovered that renting offered many advantages: namely, avoidance of the large capital investment needed for purchasing equipment; access to a broad range of equipment for selecting the specific equipment best suited for each job; reduction of maintenance and storage costs; and the opportunity of renting the latest technology without having to pay for new equipment.

And this should continue whether we are in a boom or a recession,' Chairman Brad Jacobs explained in an interview reported by Robin M.

Grugal in the June 9, issue of Investor's Business Daily. In May United Rentals acquired seven companies having 21 rental locations in nine states and two Canadian provinces. The largest acquisition was that of the rental division of Mi-Jack Products, Inc. The largest of the 12 was Udelson Equipment Company, which ranked 30th in the business. However, United Rentals did not limit its activities to acquisitions. For example, the company's special events unit, provided portable air conditioners, generators, and trailer kitchens for both the U.

During the third quarter, United Rentals added 28 new companies, bringing the number of acquisitions to 91 companies and an additional rental locations in the United States and Canada. According to Salomon Smith Barney analysts Levkovich and Smith, 'seven of the 28 newly-acquired companies were in the traffic safety market, which stood to benefit from the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century TIA , and stood to impact sales in By November , United Rental had bought 13 safety businesses.

These businesses provided message boards, traffic control cones, and similar equipment.