Equipment rental, also called plant hire in some countries (in the UK for instance), is a service industry providing machinery, equipment and tools of all kinds and sizes (from earthmoving and power generation to hand-held tools) for a limited period of time to final users, mainly to construction contractors but also to industry and individual consumers.
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History
The equipment rental industry is a relatively new industry, which first developed in Anglo-Saxon countries. The American Rental Association was founded as early as 1955, and first waves of consolidation took place in the 1970s in North America, leading to the creation of companies with nationwide operations.
From the 1980s in Europe, the industry has moved from family-owned small businesses to the creation of a number of international groups, some of which have an annual turnover in excess of EUR1 billion. 40 of the 100 largest equipment rental companies in the world are European. However, the large majority of companies in the industry still have fewer than 5 employees. Concentration in the industry is expected to renew at a fast pace, following a pause started in 2008-2009 as a consequence of the international credit crunch.
The situation of the equipment rental industry in Europe still varies largely from one country to another, with some markets more than others. Equipment rental penetration is lowest in Italy, Spain and Poland and highest in the UK and Nordic Countries. The potential for growth is still important in Southern, Central and Eastern Europe, where some countries saw double-digit growth rates for rental in recent boom years.
Growth
The main reasons for the industry's overall fast development are:
- Capital Release: In times where high levels of profit relative to invested capital must be demonstrated, contractors are increasingly eager to rent equipment, minimizing the size of their equipment fleet. Less immobilized capital allows for improved cost control, lower maintenance costs, as well as a reduction in transportation fleets. Renting equipment with operators allows for optimizing staff costs.
- Range of recent equipment available: Some rental companies have fleet inventories reaching up to the hundreds of thousands of pieces of equipment while others are specialized in a range of very specific products. They can thus supply the most comprehensive range of state-of-the-art equipment - with or without qualified operators - as and when contractors and customers need it.
- Maintenance, compliance with standards and regulations: Rental companies bear the responsibility for ensuring the equipment they rent out complies with all applicable regulations, performing safety checks before delivery.
European Rental Association (ERA)
The European Rental Association (ERA) has published a manifesto for the promotion of the sustainable benefits of the rental concept. The motivation for the manifesto comes from the five principles used in the rental business:
- Shared usage:
- The construction companies can access equipment when required.
- Centralised ownership leads to a more-frequent and therefore more-efficient use of the equipment.
- Repairability:
- The rental companies contribute to a product design facilitating maintenance and repair activities.
- The rental companies focus on spare parts management.
- The rental companies ask for increased information on product repair from the equipment manufacturers.
- Resource use:
- Rental companies search for equipment to offer the most sustainable option to their customers.
- Rental companies provide theoretical and practical training to their customers to optimise the use of equipment.
- Reusability:
- Components of the dismantled construction equipment can be reused.
- Recyclability:
- Rental companies take care of their equipment by:
- Repairing when it is still possible.
- Recycling when it is at the end of its life cycle.
- Selling it to second-hand markets, if it still complies with regulations.
- Rental companies take care of their equipment by:
- Rental companies use their bargaining power to demand equipment suppliers to:
- Invest more in R&D to limit the use of non-recyclable material.
- Take responsibility for end-of-life of equipment by collecting, reusing or recycling.
Key figures on equipment rental in Europe
In 2016, the ERA published the ERA Market Report, based on research carried out in 15 countries (Austria, Belgium, The Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Finland, France, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK). According to this study, and previous research on countries not included in the study, the total size of the European equipment rental market (without operators) was EUR25 billion in 2016. In the 15 countries surveyed, 15,500 companies were active in rental in 2016 and they collectively employed 120,000 people.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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