Movember is back with an added focus. The popular fundraising drive for men’s health has added support for mental health to its efforts along with prostate and testicular cancer. Mitch Hermansen joined Annex Business Media publisher/editor, Patrick Flannery, to talk about why these issues are important and what we in the construction community can do to help the guys who work for us.

Artificial intelligence has been exciting tech nerds for decades, but the rental industry has struggled to see how it can actually improve profits in its operations. The benefits of improved data collection and analysis have seemed marginal next to the costs in time and technology investment. But now, “generative” AI, like that powering ChatGPT, promises a new level of assistance that could have a meaningful impact on all rental operations. Dave Swan of information technology integrator, Trackunit, joins Counter Talks to explain.

Dawn Bloomer is going to put on a very special presentation at Rental Mart + Turf & Rec Show on Oct. 17 in Calgary. Dawn’s fun, informed and interactive workshop will give you some time to chew over key strategies for your company based on her Seven Drivers of Business Success. This is not your typical business trends talk and Dawn is not your typical business consultant. Listen here to find out why.

The Canadian Rental Mart, Canada’s trade event for the equipment and event rental industries is coming to Calgary, Sept. 11 – 12. Canadian Rental Service brand manager Navneet Matharu joins Counter Talks to talk about our excitement to bring Canada’s big rental event to the west for the first time in its 40-year history. And to let us know about all the new and old friends who will be joining us there.

Melanie Misener has taken over as interim executive director of the Canadian Rental Association following the departure of Nathalie McGregor, who led the organization for 10 years. Here’s your chance to get to know Melanie and hear her plans to get Canada’s rental association back to the thing it does best: bring Canadian store owners together to support each other.

Contact with electrical power lines has killed 20 people in Ontario in the last 10 years. As powerline safety and code specialist for the Ontario ESA, Patrick Falzon’s mission is to empower people with the information they need to avoid these horrific incidents. And as the industry that rents equipment and erects tents that can reach overhead high-energy lines, we have a role to play. Falzon clears up some critical misunderstandings around powerline safety and offers some solid tips on this episode of Counter Talks.

Kelly Brincheski, general manager of Collective Event Rentals in Winnipeg, is the new Region 10 director for the American Rental Association. It’s a big honour, but the title itself contains a challenge. As just one of the ARA’s several regions, Canadian rental store members have sometimes wondered if they are lost inside the U.S. behemoth. The ARA is trying to address that with a Canada task force charged with addressing the specific needs of Canadian members. Brincheski chairs it, and joined Counter Talks to discuss it and lots of other things about the ARA and her life in the industry.

Dan Crowley spends his days talking to rental operators so we brought him on to address one of the most vexing problems we all face: hiring and retaining the right people to work in our stores. He boils his observations of what works and doesn’t work down to solid tips you can apply in your store tomorrow. Key to attracting and keeping the right people is your company values – they tell you both what you want and who you should hire. Crowley explains it all and gets into some additional industry talk in this useful conversation.

Now for something completely different. Pat Flannery brings you his conversations from the Canadian Rental Association’s National Show held in Ottawa in January. Only one technical glitch!

In his role as vice-president of products for Trackunit, a telematics and emissions-tracking provider, David Swan has seen a sea change in attitudes about sustainable power in the construction equipment manufacturing world. What were formerly hesitant, even reluctant, moves to demonstrate some capability in low-emissions power sources has become a flood of enthusiasm that is dominating the industry. He joins Counter Talks to share his stories from the front lines of developing monitoring technology for the industry and to bat around some theories for how and why this happening and where things may go in the future.

Another year has gone by and it’s time for a high-level view of our business conditions and results in 2023. Marvin Cruz, research director, and Christina Santini, national affairs director, for the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses join Counter Talks to tell us what they are hearing from small and medium-sized businesses across the country. We hit inflation, labour shortages, regulations and red tape, credit card fees, housing and more. Happy holidays to everyone and all the best for 2024!

Time for a check-in with the Canadian Rental Association, which has seen its share of change and challenge over the last several years. Coming out of COVID and its separation from the American Rental Association, the CRA is plotting a new course forward with a new governance structure, new event strategy and new member services. Sheldon Fingler, the incoming president of the new national board, joins CounterTalks to explain it all and engage in some general industry gossip, too. Enjoy!

Getting involved in your local community is one of the best ways to raise your rental store’s profile, help out the customers you depend on and build bonds that will support your business for years to come. The American Rental Association has a program to help stores do that called the ARA Foundation Community Impact program. Recently, the program came to Canada for the first time, bringing rental stores together in B.C.’s Lower Mainland to help an organization called Pacific Riding for Developing Abilities refurbish its facilities for equine therapy. Judson McNeil, program director, joined CounterTalks to tell us all about it and how you can get involved.

When you look at the big picture for yourself and your business, what do you see? Dawn Bloomer is a business consultant who helps small business owners get out from under the day-to-day grind of putting out fires and fixing leaks to take a look at their goals and find ways to organize their businesses to meet them. She joins CounterTalks to offer some sage advice on issues like delegation, succession planning, strategic thinking, maximizing Episode value, effective hiring and planning for the future. Take Dawn’s advice and take an hour out of your day to hear what she has to say…we promise you won’t regret it.

It’s time for mid-year economic conditions checkup. Kevin Stanton, a business development manager for EquipmentWatch with long experience in equipment finance, joins CounterTalks to take a look at this year’s rental rate and equipment valuation numbers and help Pat draw some conclusions. What can we see in the numbers? Forest fires, interest rates, housing shortages, Amazon deliveries and more. Stanton brings some sharp analysis to our Canadian rental conditions and leaves us with some good news and an uplifting forecast.

One day in late May, Blake Menning, vice-president of All-Choice Rentals in Drayton Valley, Alta., and his wife got an alert in the wee hours of the morning. Wildfires had reached the outskirts of town and they had 10 minutes to pack up their young children and evacuate using the only passable road out of town. That started a six-week odyssey that saw Menning and his team do things they’d never done before in a desperate but well-coordinated bid to save their town and the communities around it. Tune into this episode for Menning’s wild story of setting up and moving firefighting command centres, rescuing the company server, checking houses for unfed fish and abandoned garbage and delivering equipment into walls of smoke and fire with water bombers cruising overhead. It’s a tale of a community coming together and a rental store going above and beyond to do its civic duty.

Seven years ago Martin Rancourt came out of a very brief retirement to buy Location de Beauce in beautiful Saint-Georges, Que. On his first day in the store, he looked around and said “What have I done?” He needed a starting point to transform a 40-year-old rental operation, so he turned to the Lean management principles he’d learned in his manufacturing career. Gathering his staff for a Kaizan session, he asked what the greatest enemies of good rental service are. Two answers came back: dust and rust. Tune in to this episode of CounterTalks to find out what his staff meant and how Rancourt used these concepts, among others, to triple his business, widen his profit margins and open a second location.

Ontario’s excavation safety regulator, One Call, is getting serious about making sure people don’t injure themselves or destroy infrastructure by hitting utilities during earthmoving projects. As of the start of this month, anyone digging anywhere in Ontario to any depth without calling for a locate first could face a fine of up to $10,000. This might be something that person at your counter renting a mini-excavator needs to hear about. Ian Simpson, director of industry engagement for One Call, joins CounterTalks to explain the rules, the penalties and how One Call can help your customers avoid them.

Ken McDougall, president of Guelph, Ont.,-based aerial equipment manufacturer, Skyjack, sat down with Canadian Rental Service editor, Patrick Flannery, at ConExpo to talk about the company’s upcoming plans to optimize processes; the state of the equipment manufacturing and rental industries; the impact of recent U.S. trade decisions; the prospects for electrification and other zero-emission technologies and more.

Andrew Botterill is an oil and gas industry analyst with Deloitte and he joins CounterTalks from Calgary to talk about Deloitte’s latest whitepaper forecasting gas prices in 2023. We take a look at the present state of the market and what might lie ahead this year. We also get into the factors affecting prices and creating volatility; the geopolitical effects of oil supply; and the policies and events that rental store owners should hope for if we are to see prices stay low but continue to drive energy sector investment.

When supply chains and inflation make it harder to afford new equipment, the used market becomes more important to us all. And in the rental business, we always want to keep a sharp eye on used machinery values as they impact the value of our fleets and, ultimately, our businesses. Kieran Holm is a former executive at Ritchie Brothers auctioneers and now global vice-president for used equipment at Finning, so there probably is not anyone who knows more about used equipment valuations and price factors than him. Holm joined Counter Talks to give his evaluation of where the market is for most common rental construction equipment and where it might go in 2023. We also discussed the global supply situation and what he’s seeing from his perch overlooking one of the largest used equipment dealerships in North America. Holm also provides some tips on getting the best deals on used machinery…without spilling the trade secrets that got him where he is!

JustBins president and Canadian Rental Service columnist, Adam Snook, joins CounterTalks for a look back at 2022 and the top news stories in our rental world. The big got bigger with another wave of acquisitions and mergers – we talk about how independent rental stores can survive. Governments are providing naloxone kits to businesses – we talk about whether employers want to be responsible for giving their staff medicine. Electrification of fleets is sweeping the industry – we talk about whether these products will work in -37-degree weather. Rental stores are offering more and more online sales and service options – we discuss where these approaches work and where they don’t. Happy New Year!

Our emergence from COVID is official – the ARA Show is returning as a live event to Orlando this February. With registration opening up, Christine Hammes joins the podcast to give us the advance preview of the world’s largest trade event for the rental industry. We take a look at the great events and education on offer; talk a bit about the venue and location; and go higher level for some discussion of shows generally and why they are so important.

There are more government rebate programs out there than you can shake a stick at. Luckily, Bonny Koabel of AKR Consulting has a whole basket of sticks and spends most of her time shaking them at the various government agencies so you don’t have to. Bonny joins Counter Talks to discuss the $547.5 million of funding that the Government of Canada has recently announced that offers everyone from provinces to small businesses incentives for the purchase or lease of eligible vehicles.

With auto companies promising to eliminate internal combustion engine vehicles and cities banning fuel-burning equipment on jobsites, the end of gas and diesel engines powering the equipment we rent may be in sight in our lifetimes. Rob Messina, vice-president of product development for JLG, joins Counter Talks to bring us up to speed on the state of technology in electrified aerial equipment as he’s seeing it while making and marketing these products around the world. Messina talks about why battery-powered equipment is getting more popular; where it works best and where it doesn’t; how engineers are making storage better; why charge times aren’t as short as we might like; what rental companies need to know when they go electric; and why we better not fire our engine mechanics just yet.

Insuring rental operations for fleet loss and liability has always been a special challenge and now the American Rental Association has stepped up with a members-only product for its Canadian members. The ARA has partnered with insurance providers to make insurance available to its U.S. members for many years, but now it is working with Westland, a B.C.-based insurance broker, to make a rental-focused product available to Canadians, too. Brock Pennel of Westland and Josh Nickell of the ARA join CounterTalks to discuss the special challenges of insurance in equipment and event rentals, the product Westland will be offering, ways for rental stores to mitigate risk, how insurance works and much more.

Smart contractors are always looking for ways to reduce or prevent injuries on their jobsites. The effort pencils out pretty easily: balance the cost of putting some procedures in place and renting ergonomic equipment versus the cost of lower productivity, lost labour time and potential compensation claims. Rental stores can help by asking the right questions about how equipment will be used and recommending options that reduce fatigue, strain and exposure to vibration. Lin Yu from the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety, Issac Rudik, Canadian safety manager for HERC Rentals and Peter Maginnis, president of Makinex, joined Counter Talks to educate about common construction injuries, how the latest technology can help and what rental stores should think about when providing equipment to customers and their back shops.

Robert Elias has brought a wealth of experience in marketing and publishing in the construction industry to his new role at Canadian Rental Service. In this episode, he an host Patrick Flannery indulge in some inside-baseball talk about his experiences in the trade press, how things are changing in the world of corporate communications, what an effective marketing campaign looks like and the importance of old-school media like print magazines and trade shows.

Last year in Ontario, 30 percent of all the working people who died from opioid overdose worked in the construction industry. It’s clearly time for we who employ tradespeople to pay some extra attention to this issue and be prepared to help those in our companies who struggle with substance use and misuse. To help, Jan Chappel, a senior occupational health and safety specialist with CCOHS, joined Counter Talks to give us some advice on what to look for in employee behaviour that might indicate a problem; how to address the issue; and where to find the resources both you and your employee might need.

It’s only taken 28 years but Jim Clipperton is realizing his dream of being able to provide the Nor-Val Rentals standard of service from one end of B.C.’s Okanagan Valley to the other. With his latest acquisition, Nor-Val is up to six locations serving mostly construction and homeowner needs, as well as two Bobcat dealerships. Clipperton joined CounterTalks to talk about how he’s done it, what he’s learned and to reflect on where the rental industry is and where it’s going. In the end, it’s all about the people and the people who like them.

Kevin Forestell is CEO and founder of Dozr, a successful online rental service that could be described as the Expedia of rentals, matching contractors to the rental equipment they are looking for through a network of participating rental stores. Kevin explains what Dozr is and how online rentals and e-commerce works to improve the lives of customers and store owners alike. But he fields some tough questions, too: how can online rentals emulate the service and interaction you get at a store? And will they drive rates down?

Angie Venekamp, the American Rental Association director for Canada, and James Auerbach, vice-president of the event sector, join Counter Talks to update us on the association’s activities and focus as we start 2022. The ARA has big initiatives in the works including some Canadian-specific online webinars, a new certified training program for equipment rental operator, elevated lift training and more. Plus we talk about plans for the return of the ARA show in 2023. And, this just in, Canadians can now pay their ARA dues in Canadian dollars!  

And now for something a little different. Annex’s group publisher for the Light Construction Group, Danielle Labrie, joins Pat Flannery to talk about the last year in the rental industry and what they’ve been hearing and seeing in our industry. We take a look behind the curtain at our magazines, podcasts and social media channels and all the changes and developments that happened in 2021 and are coming up for 2022. It’s the start of a new year, so here’s to a great 2022!

Nick Holsinger is the Canadian account manager for EquipmentWatch, a construction data group. EquipmentWatch does a particularly good job of compiling information on the rental industry, so Nick joined the podcast to share their insights into how Canadian rental rates have moved during the pandemic and what that might tell us about the overall impact of COVID on the industry. The talk went farther afield that that, though – Nick also gets into used equipment prices, inflation, supply chain impacts and much more.

Keeping an eye (and ear) on your critical materials, equipment and personnel is more important than ever. Luckily, technology in site security systems is advancing quickly. Gavin Daly of Axis Communications joins Counter Talks to talk about the principles of security systems: what are the objectives? What is possible and not possible? What threats and opportunities should you consider? He touches on the other uses of site surveillance, too, including controlling access, identifying safety risks and improving operations. With possibilities for audio pickup, networked speakers, low-light and high resolution cameras, facial recognition and remote monitoring, it's not about getting a grainy black-and-white video picture any more.

Jim Boddez knows western Canadian rentals. He’s been working in the industry since the late ‘80s, including 16 years with Finning where he was involved with the acquisition of several rental stores. Since 2016, he and his brother, Bob, and business partner, Craig Barnstable, have been building Five Bo into a major rental equipment supply house in the prairies and B.C. Now, with the acquisition of Hy-Cor, they are turning their eyes to Ontario. Boddez joined Counter Talks to talk about mergers and acquisitions in the rental industry; the western Canadian rental market; the rapid growth of Five Bo and much more.

Governments across Canada have started mandating proof-of-vaccination for customers attending non-essential public spaces. They aren’t affecting us yet, but could down the road depending on the pandemic numbers and how governments decide to return us to normal. Ryan Mallough, Ontario director of provincial affairs for CFIB joins the podcast to give us the full FYI on vaccine passports and outline some of the benefits and concerns he sees for small businesses across the country. He’s also got some recommendations for businesses wondering what to do about vaccine-hesitant employees, and doesn’t mince words when it comes to anti-vax protestors showing up at stores and restaurants.

Derek Betcher, sales support manager for John Deere, joins Counter Talks to give us the manufacturer’s-eye-view of the Canadian construction equipment market:what’s hot, what’s not, what’s hard to get and what’s coming. Our conversation touches on the automation and tracking trends, the changes Deere is seeing in demand across the country, the effects of the pandemic on sales and supply and much more. Deere’s businesses a bellweather for all our businesses, so Betcher’s insights give us the lay of the land when looking at our fleet needs for the next rental seasons.

Adam Snook, serial rental industry entrepreneur and owner of JustBins in Regina, joins Counter Talks to talk about his regular column in Canadian Rental Service magazine, “Hope is Not a Plan,” and just about every other rental issue under the sun. Adam has some strong ideas about how to compete, how to reach new customers, how to position your company and how we should feel about surviving the last two years.

If you think women have the same experience as men in the rental world, think again. Canadian Rental Service associate editor, Sukayna Ray Ghosh, leads a discussion with three women who have risen to leadership in the rental industry. They’ll talk about what it took for them to make their careers, the changes they’ve seen over the years, the challenges women still face and the prospects for young women in our stores and yards. Store owners looking for the next generation of talent – listen up!

There seems to come a time in the evolution of every large rental chain where it becomes interested in creating specialized rental operations focused on a specific niche. Cooper Equipment Rentals, now at 50 locations across Canada, reached that point a few years ago. Cam Dougherty helped start Cooper’s first foray into trench safety rentals and now heads the specialized rental division of the company. He joined Counter Talks to talk about Cooper’s strategy in choosing niches to focus on, the hard work required to get established in a niche, the benefits it brings to the overall business and the increasing interest in safety as part of what a rental store does.

Like the sign on the bar promising free beer tomorrow, self-driving vehicles and automated construction equipment always seems to be five years away. Allan Rutter of Texas A&M’s Transportation Institute joins CounterTalks to update us on where this technology is now and how far away it might be from your rental store. We discuss the technology behind self-driving vehicles; the places and ways they are being used now; what the immediate future of automated trucking might look like; where automated construction equipment is likely to be most effective; safety; liability and much more.

Equipment theft has always been a big concern for the rental industry. We put big, expensive machinery out there that is purposely made so that anyone can jump in and operate it. We have no control over how well our customers secure their jobsites after hours. There’s a robust black market for the machinery, and insurance companies charge hefty premiums to cover the risk. Added to all that, the legal status of machinery that is rented and then kept past the contract is ambiguous in many jurisdictions. It’s often down to us to track and recover the equipment we rent. Clyde Arceneaux provides anti-theft technology to rental stores and joins Counter Talks to share his thoughts, experiences and expertise on how to best keep your valuable assets safe.

On March 24, Jeff Campbell of St. Thomas Rent-All, Blake Menning of All Choice, Paul Van Staveren of Stayner Rental and Mike Wood of Ottawa Special Events joined the Rental Mart online event to shoot the breeze about the big issues facing the rental industry today. Like how to keep your tow-behind booms from icing up. It was a lot of fun and some great insights were exchanged. Here’s the audio ICYMI.

One of the most frustrating things for any business owner is to face circumstances that hurt your business that you can do little or nothing about. The pandemic has certainly been this for Canada’s party and event rental industry. Eureka! is doing its part to help with two new guides that suggest ways event rental stores can find at least some replacement revenue, both from old sources and new. Tim Cronk joins CounterTalks to expand on some of the excellent points in these guides and talk about the innovative approaches he’s seen in the party sector.

From wildfires to floods to ice storms, our country is no stranger to disasters that do significant property damage. And climate change appears to be driving more of them every year. Jim Mandeville and FirstOnSite are, as the name suggests, some of the first people on site when disaster hits and they do important work coordinating the efforts to mitigate damage and rebuild afterwards. As such, Jim has had the chance to work with local rental stores across the country who form a critical part of these rebuilding efforts. He’s seen a lot of wild stuff, and he knows a lot about the special challenges of reconstructing people’s homes and businesses after some awful event has taken them away. In this episode of Counter Talks, we talk about what the rental store needs to know in order to be ready to assist in disaster remediation efforts.

Bonny is back on Counter Talks with crucial information on changes to various federal and Ontario pandemic relief programs. Overall, eligibility is tightening, but some new programs are on the horizon. We also chat about how effective these efforts have been and what is likely to happen to them going forward.

The city of Toronto is looking at a ban or restrictions on two-stroke leaf blowers and other lawn equipment, joining other jurisdictions around the continent. Might be a good time to look at upgrading your fleet and retiring these noisy old beasts. Veteran lawn equipment supplier Mark Peart joins CounterTalks to discuss the latest in light lawn care engine technology and the pros and cons of four-stroke and lithium battery-powered options that will get the job done without waking up the neighbours.  

Pandemic response expert Suzanne Bernier rejoins CounterTalks to tell us what we’ve learned in six months of pandemic about the virus, how it spreads and what businesses should do to combat it. We touch on some of the controversies around masks and lockdowns and whether surfaces are primary vectors for COVID-19. Suzanne looks ahead to the winter and the prospects for a vaccine – and the news is not all good.