Hertz Equipment Rental Corp.�s business has boomed, as it has served the oil and gas markets in western Canada, Regional Vice President Paul Dorion says.

Premier Business Partners:

ICE Sullair Corp. Skyjack Screen Craft Industries Ltd. Mancorp Industrial Sales Ltd. Inland Industrial Genie Industries Co. Sullivan Palatek Wacker Canada

Hertz Equipment Rental Corp. (HERC) specializes in supplying “everything that can be rented, soup to nuts,” Regional Vice President Paul Dorion says. Based in Park Ridge, N.J., the company is the heavy construction equipment and tool rental division of The Hertz Corp.

Since it started in 1965, HERC has grown to operate more than 360 branches in the United States, Canada, France and Spain, and has one of the strongest rental fleets in its industry. “Our product line includes everything from small, hand-held tools to large earthmovers,” it states.

Although the company carries a wide variety of equipment, it places greater importance on making sure those products operate correctly, HERC says. “We understand that our fleet is the cornerstone of our business and we stand behind the quality equipment we rent and sell,” it states.

To ensure it provides quality equipment, “We begin by purchasing factory new equipment from the industry’s leading manufacturers for our rental fleet,” the company says.

When its items are returned, HERC’s technicians clean, inspect and service its products so they are ready for its next customers. “Once the equipment has reached a predetermined number of hours, it is sold to our customers at a tremendous value over purchasing new,” HERC states.

“Hertz Equipment Rental provides daily, weekly, monthly and long-term rentals, tools and supplies, as well as new and used equipment for sale,” the company states.

“From multibillion-dollar corporate endeavors to weekend homeowner projects, we’re ready to help with quality equipment and top-level service.”

A Good Match
Dorion manages HERC’s western Canadian division, which is headquartered in Edmonton, Alberta. The division serves customers in a region stretching from Thunder Bay, Ontario, to Vancouver Island, British Columbia.

Originally, the division was a privately held rental company until Hertz acquired it in 1998. Although two other companies once owned the division, its current relationship with Hertz is “the best partnership we’ve ever, ever had,” Dorion asserts, explaining that the rental business can be difficult for some companies to adapt to.

“It’s hard for [them] to catch on to what you’re doing,” he says.

With Hertz’s own rental background, the match has been ideal, Dorion says. The division also enjoys the benefits of its parent company’s infrastructure, which includes computer and security systems, as well as “all the policies and procedures a large company has, right down to pension and benefits,” he says.

HERC also enjoys the benefits of Hertz’s purchasing power, Dorion says. “We always thought we were buying well [before],” he remembers.

“[We] didn’t realize that [there] was that much more room on the table, [with] the different lines that were available to Hertz.”

Big Business
Dorion joined the division in 1974. “When we first started, we were a general rental company,” he recalls, noting the company now serves the oil and gas markets in Western Canada and has watched its business boom.

“Until the world comes up with a reasonable alternative, we’re all pretty well stuck with gasoline,” Dorion says. “If you happen to be down the street from an awfully large reserve, you’re going to do awfully well, helping the girls and boys get that out of the ground.”

The company also has grown to provide plant services, which now account for 10 percent of the division’s revenues, Dorion says. “We can supply the equipment for whatever project they have coming along,” he states.

For instance, “We have a fleet of oil-free compressors that are exclusively used by the plants for instrument air,” Dorion explains. “We’re looking now at starting a pump and compressor division to specialize more in sewer bypasses and river crossings from the pump side.”

Improving HERC
Dorion says the western Canada offices are now taking part in the Hertz Improvement Process, which incorporates lean and is focused on removing as much waste as possible. He notes that Hertz’s operations are strongly inspired by Toyota Production System with this process.

So far, HERC’s changes have been small but effective in improving efficiency, Dorion says. For instance, when its mechanics changed the oil on air compressors, they used to go to a separate room to obtain filters for the process.

“That’s 200 steps [for] a mechanic,” Dorion says, noting that the company now saves time by simply keeping the filters in its mechanics’ bays. “It’s just [us using] pure old common sense as we get bigger and more bureaucratic.”

In addition to improving efficiency, HERC has watched its employee morale improve as it keeps its workers involved with the process.

“[Our] employees are very happy,” he says, explaining that they are enthusiastic about making their own suggestions. “It’s very refreshing to let the parts department people say, ‘Hey, we think this is going to work for us,’” Dorion says, adding that this involvement helps eliminate employee doubts in the system.