Industry News

Safety in numbers

Rentco Transport Equipment Rentals is a prominent equipment rentals company, providing fleet operators Australia-wide with trucks, utility vehicles and trailers along with 24/7 support.

Rentco National Business Manager, Paul Scott, says the company’s position in the market is underpinned via its dedication to its services and its people.

“We’re open for business, we’re the best because we’re very good at what we do,” he says. “We’ve done it through good leadership, loyal people, strong management and longevity.”

Rentco is focused on continuing to service the Australian transport sector through its safe, current and compliant vehicles of varying types and specifications, and Paul explains that along with building further efficiencies in technology, tracking and lean leadership, the company aims to draw on the past 30 years and make good business decisions while catering to the market in the next 12 months.

“We continue working closely with our customers and by listening carefully to the market and what it is telling us,” he says. “The next 10 years will be testament to that. The more the market speaks, the more we listen and the more we adapt to change.”

The scene in 1994 painted a different picture for Rentco, then located in Kewdale, Western Australia. Paul explains that it was a basic operation, with basic principles and management systems. Clients spoke and acted according to budgets and finance constraints, and yearly growth was very difficult due to the large number of competitors in the industry.

By expanding locations, applying an agile approach to its operations according to the demands of the market and sourcing strategic management teams for each depot, Rentco was able to pivot and take a leadership position within the industry, all the while developing its now long long-serving employees.

“We’ve got depots in Townsville, Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth and Darwin,” he says. “All but one of our branch management team are long term employees and have grown with the business over the years of huge business and personal growth. The founding manager of Adelaide is still in Adelaide, one of the founding managers in Brisbane is still in Brisbane. Every one of our depots has a handful of 10-years-plus employees as does the senior management group.”

Image: Rentco.

Paul says the compliance and HPV aspect of the job has also grown significantly.

“Technology has been a massive change in the business, particularly in the last 10 years,” he says. “Technologies played a huge part in our growth and capabilities in terms of reporting, operating systems, communication and our electronic platform that we use is integrated and custom, and it’s being updated monthly to try and keep pace with the times.”

Paul says that rather than focusing on a single niche in the industry, Rentco listens to the needs of the market.

“We don’t focus on a specific industry, we follow the entire transport market and our customers, and right now there is opportunity coming from lower carbon emissions and high productivity vehicles via the Performance-Based Standards (PBS) high productivity scheme. There is also significant infrastructure and mining projects that are requiring additional equipment as is the Fast Moving Consumable Goods (FMCG) segment. We are geared to move and change direction very quickly and this allows us to service many market segments at once even new and emerging markets.”

Paul says Rentco is in an enviable position in the market and is confident it will continue to grow at pace which has been made much easier by partnering with I Squared Capital.

“Rentco is open for business and continues to grow because it has to – not just because it wants to,” he says. “We’re becoming more adaptable every year, and 30 years of success allows for such adaptability.”

Fast fact

The electrification of heavy vehicle equipment is in full swing in Australia. Rentco has committed to the supply of fit-for-purpose electric terminal tractors which are available for rent. The tractor designers describe the performance of the YT200’s electric motor as like that of a diesel engine, but with no CO2 and NOx emissions at the point of use. It also has fewer moving parts than both a diesel engine and any other previous electric vehicle generations, resulting in lower maintenance costs. Another benefit that is particularly relevant for terminal trucks which often operate indoors, is that they have a reduced noise level.

Fast fact

I Squared Capital’s investment in Rentco has accelerated the expansion of the business. It has also enabled Rentco to provide a stronger focus on customer service and better cashflow solutions for fleets to ease asset ownership, compliance and service costs.

The post Safety in numbers appeared first on Trailer Magazine.

  1. Australian Truck Radio Listen Live
Send this to a friend