Excavator Rentals

Rental Yard Finds Success with Compact Excavator
 
Doug Schmidt, a central Illinois businessman, started his own rental company — General Rental Center — in Decatur, seven years ago. Since he first opened the doors of his independent store, he has been providing both contractors and homeowners with compact equipment that best suits their needs. Today, the president/owner still answers the phone and works the front desk, so he has an exceptional feel for the business, he says.

This spring, Schmidt added a popular piece of compact construction equipment to his company’s inventory — a compact excavator from the Vermeer equipment dealership in Eureka, Illinois. Even though his new CX229 excavator is in the mid-size range of the Vermeer line, it is on the larger end of the equipment he typically carries, other than a few skid steers. Schmidt says he doesn’t carry large construction equipment in part because other national and regional rental stores in the area have driven down rental rates for bigger machines. So, Schmidt has taken a strategic business approach and made a niche for himself in the smaller equipment rental market.

It is commonly known in the construction industry that the compact or “mini” excavators have become one of the most popular pieces of equipment on job sites, whether it’s commercial or residential construction. Contractors and homeowners find them to be quite useful pieces of compact machinery for those tough jobs that don’t accommodate larger excavators or backhoes. In addition, the smaller excavators have many of the same features as the full-size models. Those who operate larger excavators and are unhappy with backhoes are quite at home with the compact excavators, according to an article published by the American Rental Association.

In the short time since he bought the new excavator, Schmidt has developed quite a demand for the digging machine. He says the unit is particularly popular among homeowners as well as contractors. “Contractors are renting the unit to install lateral lines,” says Schmidt, “while do-it-yourself homeowners are using the machine to dig footings and for landscaping projects.”

Source: Vermeer