April 11, 2023
Ryan Kucera
Hello, American Rental Association (ARA) Region Six members. I hope your business is off and running to a strong spring rental season. No matter how busy we get, there is one thing we absolutely must keep our eyes on: equipment theft. It’s a problem that seems to be getting worse for many as crooks get more emboldened. Fortunately, ARA has some resources to help us with the risk:
- Preventing and Handling Theft — This newly-released video is part of ARA’s Prioritize Safety monthly video series and provides information on how to prevent and manage theft within the equipment and event rental industry. This and other entries in the Prioritize Safety series are two-minute, animated videos that address a variety of safety topics for rental businesses. Each video is accompanied with two questions to test the knowledge of the viewer. These equipment- and event-specific videos can be viewed in RentalU, ARA’s online learning platform.
- Manage Your Risks: Equipment — This downloadable document, also available through RentalU, details proper security measures to have in place to protect your inventory from theft and other criminal activity.
- NER partnership — By partnering with the National Equipment Register (NER), ARA members can register up to 1,000 pieces of mobile, off-road equipment with NER’s HELPTech database for free. Learn more about it here.
On March 28-30, around 55 equipment and event rental people traveled to Washington, D.C., to take part in ARA’s National Legislative Caucus. They met with their individual members of the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives and their staff members to talk about four key industry issues: workforce development, H-2B visas, taxes and catalytic converter thefts.
I want to thank all these folks who took time out of their busy schedules to give voice to these concerns on our behalf, especially those from our region:
- Mike Baartman, Rent-All, Sioux Center, Iowa
- Dan Farrell, Marquee Event Rentals, Kansas City, Kan.
- Doug Haas, Crown Rental, Burnsville, Minn.
- Steve Mau, Brainerd General Rental, Brainerd, Minn.
- Darick Hemphill, General Rental Center, Springfield, Mo.
- Bart Brown, United Rent-All, Omaha, Neb.
You don’t have to be active politically to help our industry’s voice be heard on the issues that matter to us. I would encourage you to simply join ARAPAC, ARA’s political action committee. ARAPAC supports pro-business candidates regardless of party affiliation. Our legislators make policy decisions every day that impact our businesses. Supporting ARAPAC is a way that you can help further the industry and make ARA the leading voice for rental. ARAPAC is free to join, and I hope you will sign up today. You can get more information and join ARAPAC here.
Our ARA of Nebraska chapter recently wrapped up our “Spring Steakhouse Event” at Round the Bend Steakhouse in Ashland, Neb. It was terrific. Not only did we get to enjoy some delicious steaks and the company of other rental folks from around the state, but we also had ARA’s director of education, Angela Crouse, on hand to fill us in on the latest offerings from RentalU.
I encourage you to take part in the events your own ARA state chapters host throughout the year. Attending is just about the best way to gain knowledge you can use in your rental business and make friends and contacts from other rental businesses that can help you both personally and professionally. Watch your email for announcements of upcoming ARA state chapter meetings or check out your Calendar of Events.
By the way, April is Volunteer Appreciation Month. ARA’s success is due largely in part to the work of members who volunteer their time to help drive the industry forward. If you’re interested in learning more about ways to get involved, you can find more information here. From my experience, I can tell you that it is extremely fulfilling.
Best wishes for a safe and prosperous month.
Ryan Kucera, ARA of Nebraska president
Rental City
Omaha, Neb.
402-334-5190
ryan@rentalcityomaha.com
