When I first began constructing pole barn (post frame) buildings, back in the early 1980’s there was only so much equipment which we could afford to outlay the cash to own. Equipment rental stores were our friends – always for a “two man killer” (read more here: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2012/10/auger/) and occasionally for other tools such as long extension ladders or to fill in when our used equipment decided it was time to expire.
A typical equipment rental company begins much like Bud Garbee did at American Rental & Sales. His business started with one Schramm air compressor and one Stihl saw. Then Garbee added to his inventory, purchasing a Bobcat loader for his store’s first long-term rental.
Industry changes have come with the times and technology, creating new demands for equipment which is operator friendly, requiring less physical effort on the worker.
“Technology has changed the physical labor aspect of operating equipment to a safer operator control panel or remote-control equipment use,” says Bud’s son Mike. “The quality of service in equipment has moved into the digital information world of record keeping, allowing the rental store to track maintenance, cost of record and ROI [return on investment] easier.”
The Garbee’s use a post frame building for housing their rental scaffolding equipment.
One part of success for many startup equipment rental enterprises is the ability to keep initial investments low and spend financial resources on more and better equipment. Key to this is the buildings which house the businesses. I noticed early on, when renting equipment, nearly every non-chain rental company was based in a post frame building!
Many equipment rental entrepreneurs are hands on people – not only do they know how to run every machine they rent, they also do all of the equipment repairs themselves. These same people will tackle constructing their own post frame equipment rental buildings, keeping more of the dollars to build their business.
Looking to begin or expand an equipment rental business? Look no further than a post frame building to get a quick jump start!
