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.

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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.

Discovering Weaknesses
The process also enables HERC to discover its own weaknesses, Dorion says. For example, “The obvious weaknesses we have today are technological ones,” Dorion says. “There’s only so many things we can ask our systems to do,” he says.

Dorion predicts that this will change in the future. “[Global positioning systems are] going to play a bigger role for us,” he says, explaining that these systems will allow the company to monitor its equipment more effectively.

In addition, while HERC has many customers that use its computer systems to check on their own accounts, “[It] wouldn’t surprise me as time goes on [if] customers [will] be able to order their own equipment on-line [and do] their paperwork,” he says.

In the Blood
HERC’s western Canada division enjoys low employee turnover, Dorion says. For instance, in its management and sales departments, many associates carry at least 15 years with HERC.

“It’s a great business that gets in your blood,” Dorion says.  

Those who stay more than six months with the company tend to last long, Dorion says. “Once they understand our culture and what we’re about, we seem to be able to hold onto employees,” he says.

Learning the Ropes
To continue to retaining employees, HERC operates a mentor program that pairs novice workers with “someone who understands the ropes of the company, so he has a bit of a confidant,” Dorion says. “[It also gives them] someone to share his highs and lows of the day with.”
    
Honing Skills
To improve the skills of HERC’s workers, the company also provides online training on subjects such as defensive driving. Currently, “We’re developing more and more online training [programs],” he says.

The company also holds meetings with its employees to discuss their long-term goals. “[We want to] see what their focus is and [help get] them into classes on the outside to help them grow into the positions they’re hoping to move towards,” Dorion explains.

Keeping Safe
The western Canada division has earned awards for its safety concentration, Dorion notes. In the last two years, “We’ve won the President’s Safety Award [from] Hertz,” he says.

Along with providing its employees with online training, “We have a full-time safety manager that takes care of our branches,” Dorion says.

“We [also] have a group of safety instructors that go onsite to teach training in the work platforms.”

A Leader in Rental
Based in Park Ridge, Hertz says it is the leading vehicle rental company in the world, and operates approximately 8,000 locations internationally. Founder Walter L. Jacobs founded the company as a car-rental operation in Chicago in 1918.

Five years later, Jacobs sold his company to John Hertz, the president of Yellow Cab and Yellow Truck Coach and Manufacturing Co. Since then, Hertz says it has grown to become the largest general-use car rental brand in the world and the No. 1 airport car rental brand in the United States.

“Hertz has locations at 69 major airports in Europe, [and operates] both corporate and licensee locations in cities and airports in North America, Europe, Latin America, Australia and New Zealand,” the company states.

“In addition, the company has licensee locations in cities and airports in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.”

“Product and service initiatives such as Hertz No. 1 Club Gold, NeverLost customized onboard navigation systems, SIRIUS Satellite Radio, and unique cars and SUVs offered through the company’s Prestige, Fun and Green Collections set Hertz apart from the competition,” the company states. “Today, Hertz’s Worldwide Reservations Centers handle approximately 40 million phone calls and deliver approximately 30 million reservations annually.”

The company’s other subsidiaries include Hertz Claim Management Corp., a third-party liability administrator that serves major corporations, self-insured entities and the insurance market. The company also has Hertz Local Edition, which provides insurance replacement and car rentals to clients whose cars are in not in service.

On Target
This February, Hertz reported that it enjoyed fourth-quarter worldwide revenues of $2.14 billion in 2007, a 7.4 percent increase over the previous year. In addition, the company ended the year with corporate debt of $3.98 billion, which was an improvement of approximately $590 million compared to the previous year.

“Hertz delivered another strong quarter of operating results, despite economic headwinds in the United States affecting demand and pricing in the car and equipment rental businesses,” Chairman and CEO Mark P. Frissora commented in a statement.

“Our success last quarter resulted from a balanced emphasis on company-wide efficiency improvements and revenue diversification across geographies, product lines and other markets. Additionally, worldwide customer service levels further improved during the fourth quarter.”

Going Green
Hertz is focused on environmental initiatives. In 2006, the company introduced its Green Collection of fuel-efficient cars. Hertz notes that these vehicles included the Toyota Camry, Ford Fusion, Hyundai Sonata and Buick LaCrosse.

“The Green Collection features an average Environmental Protection Agency highway fuel efficiency rating of 31 miles per gallon,” the company declares.

“Additionally, most carry the EPA’s SmartWay certification, which indicates lower emissions of air pollutants and greenhouse gases.”

Last June, the company says it also expanded the collection with a $68 million investment in 3,400 Toyota Prius hybrid vehicles.

“The Green Collection and the introduction of the hybrid vehicles complement the thousands of EPA SmartWay certified cars currently in the company’s car rental fleet,” Hertz states.

Other Eco-Friendly Initiatives
Dorion notes that HERC has undertaken environmental initiatives, as well.

“We have gone to longer oil changes on our compressors,” Dorion explains, adding that the company also uses some synthetics as well as semi-synthetic products. �