Vancouver-based WesternOne Rentals & Sales has set out to shake up the world of equipment rentals in Western Canada.
A Vancouver-based firm has set out to shake up the world of equipment rentals in Western Canada.
WesternOne Rentals & Sales CEO is Darren Latoski, a Vancouver entrepreneur who – among other businesses – has been active in buying and upgrading regional shopping malls.
WesternOne has been known for a long time in the B.C. market as Production Equipment Rentals, which specialized in lifting equipment.
Currently, it has more than 640 pieces in its Port Coquitlam yard, including boom lifts, knuckle lifts and scissor lifts, straight-mast and telescoping forklifts.
Recently, the company expanded beyond the Lower Mainland when it acquired two long-time rental firms on Vancouver Island.
Old Country Rentals, with two locations in Greater Victoria, and C&N Rentals, with one location in the Comox Valley, are now part of the family.
Unlike Production Equipment, the two Island companies are not limited to lifting equipment, but are full-range rental firms.
All three companies were rebranded and started doing business as WesternOne Rentals & Sales on July 1.
They expect to do a combined volume of about $30 million per year.
The acquisitions are only a start, said Latoski.
WesternOne plans to actively pursue other potential purchases across B.C., Alberta and the Prairies.
There is no intention, though, of going further east than the Manitoba/Ontario border. They are a Western company and plan to stay that way.
In addition to the two Island firms, WesternOne also purchased Deerfoot Rentals, which has sites in Calgary and Lethbridge.
Deerfoot currently operates outside the WesternOne Rental and Sales label as the result of an agreement it has with the rental division of Volvo.
Steve Taylor, who has more than 20 years’ experience in the local equipment rental business, has stayed on as president of sales and marketing and Ron McAleer, who also has more than 20 years experience, has stayed on as president of operations with WesternOne.
Growth is very much on the mind of McAleer, Taylor and Latoski. Their aim, they said, is to be the largest locally-based rental firm in Western Canada.
The majority of their competitors are branches of large American companies.
There are some distinct advantages to being smaller and being local, said Latoski.
“They include a better understanding of the local market and faster reaction times,” he claimed.
“Steve, for example, knows more about the market than I do. When we’re acquiring companies – which is my side of the business – I often find that businesses don’t want their companies and their employees controlled by a large impersonal entity. They like the fact that while we are not as small as a family-owned business, we are still very much controlled in the West. On a couple of occasions, for just that reason, we have been able to acquire companies while our competitors were looking at them.”
Latoski said he still has to find a disadvantage to staying local.
“Our guys, our operating partners all understand their markets very well. Many of them have been with their companies for 20 and 30 years,” he said.
“They’re well-known and we work in a fairly transparent market.”
Nothing is ever perfect, of course, and WesternOne like any operation has its share of challenges.
They are dealing with huge increases in the cost of gasoline and diesel fuel.
It hits them directly as they operate a fleet of 12 trucks that deliver and pick up equipment.
Another interesting challenge is the increased value of the Canadian dollar.
At first glance, it would appear to favour the company, as the equipment they purchase is primarily manufactured in the United States.
However, WesternOne doesn’t deal only with construction.
The movie industry is also a regular customer.
Some years, it surpasses construction in dollar volume and the movie industry gets nervous when the Canuck buck starts climbing.
The news is good is that the Western Canadian economy looks to remain robust for the next few year.
The B.C. government’s list of major projects has shown growth for 20 consecutive quarters and the Vancouver-based movie industry is buoyant.
WesternOne Rentals & Sales depends heavily on customer service to be competitive, he said.
Taylor pointed out that his company is somewhat similar to a specialized hardware store that competes with a big box retailer.
On the surface the box store may sometimes be cheaper, but if someone wants personalized service and specialized knowledge, the smaller store has a lot going for it.
WesternOne Rentals & Sales is owned by Western One Equity Income Trust Fund and is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
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