Shop Talk

In this episode, Elliott Vigil and John Jeanguenat talk to Kristen Bonewell from AMAROK about brazen thieves in the equipment rental industry.

John Jeanguenat and Elliott Vigil sit down with Doug Haas at the Equipment Rental Guard event to talk about Doug's experience with theft. He says it's more than a $100 million problem and that independent operators need to do more to prevent it.

Melissa Hanna joins John Jeanguenat and Elliott Vigil to talk about one of the hardest challenges facing our industry - finding the right talent. 3:00 - How young is too young to start talking about rental with people? 6:00 - How important is mentoring and on the job training? 8:02 - Can personality tests help you in the hiring process? 14:19 - How do we grow our workforce 18:23 - Are we training enough in our industry? 19:35 - What is an experience map? 21:10 - How does culture fit in to retention? 23:29 - How do you maintain the culture through acquisitions? 25:52 - How do the big companies and independents work together to sell what rental has to offer?

Shop Talk takes on The ARA Show - powered by ANA. Robert Pedersen of A Tool Shed joins John Jeanguenat and Elliott Vigil to talk about everything from his dad becoming the ARA president, his time in the military, changing their inventory to meet the needs of commercial customers, and more.5:53 - Adaptable leadership and how being a helicopter pilot changed his mindset9:00 - Being a rental store in California during COVID12:58 - Rob talks about the California wildfires18:45 - Residential market and competition20:31 - Moving from residential to commercial customers25:00 - Work/life balance

Shop Talk takes on The ARA Show - powered by ANA. Jon Kaye of Miller Construction joins John Jeanguenat and Elliott Vigil to talk about what he looks for in a rental partner. He talks about his costs as a contractor, his decisions to rent vs. buy, and why it's important for a rental company to want to be his second call. 3:30 - Does the size of rental company matter? 13:00 - Jon talks about renting vs. buying 18:08 - The group talks about battery-powered equipment and its place on the jobsite 24:00 - Jon talks about brand preference of equipment 32:17 - John J. asks about theft on the job

Shop Talk takes on The ARA Show - powered by ANA. John Jeanguenat and Elliott Vigil sit down with ANA president and chief operating officer, Kevin Day, and talk about the future of power generation, diesel power, questions about California's power grid after the wildfires, and the relationship between manufacturer and rental operator. 4:00 - Kevin talks about how to make a rental operator successful as a manufacturer given his experience at a rental store 6:57 - Elliott talks about jobsite trailers and generators and why they're always breaking down 12:22 - The guys talk about ANA's experience with the California wildfires and the future of power lines in the affected area 17:44 - Kevin explains the evolution of power generation that's happening now and what will happen in the next five years 20:15 - Elliott brings up hydrogen energy and asks Kevin his thoughts 22:34 - How our children and grandchildren are affecting ANA's business decisions

Shop Talk comes to you from The ARA Show, powered by ANA.Kurt Barney is a third generation business owner and has taken Vandalia Rental to another level. He talks about making monumental decisions and his strategy to business, being a third generation business owner with multiple locations that continues to grow. The conversation gets better and better and more strategically focused!3:15 - Kurt talks about how they got more than 1,000 to apply for their open position4:45 - Vandalia Rental was awarded the best place to work6:01 - He talks about why they gave people $10,000 to quit and start a fresh culture10:55 - Kurt explains why his company is financially transparent19:35 - F.A.I.L, how you should fail24:30 - The guys talk about the importance of creating new leaders

Josh, Elliott, and John talk about any potential changes to immigration policy, the quest for good talent, and their top headlines of 2024. 1:04 - John believes workforce development is the single biggest headwind to the industry 5:20 - Josh looks for the silver lining if contractors have labor shortages 7:11 - John shares that 25% of mechanics are 55 and older and other retirement statistics 12:12 - John talks about success stories from the ARA job board 17:15 - Elliott talks about his optimism for the future and Gen Z and Gen Alpha's propensity for the circular economy 19:00 - Josh weighs in the future as well 20:45 - John asks Josh and Elliott what stands out to them about 2024 25:22 - Elliott begins the discussion about what he's most excited about in 2025

Josh, Elliott, and John talk about this year's Future of Equipment Rental event taking place on Tuesday, January 28 at The ARA Show 2025. This day of speakers and panels kicks off this year's show and the guys explain why it's so important to attend. 1:01 - Elliott talks about his experience as a first-time attendee last year 2:16 - John talks about what his strategy was at RentalMax in terms of attending The ARA Show 4:10 - Josh talks about his 20th ARA Show and what it will be like to attend as a member again 6:50 - The guys talk about their buying habits at the show 10:20 - The Future of Equipment Rental lineup is discussed 15:00 - Josh talks about what he's most excited about at The ARA Show including the AI workshop 18:15 - Elliott gives advice about attending The ARA Show18:45 - Is rental a gamble?

Josh, Elliott, and John talk about this year's Future of Equipment Rental event taking place on Tuesday, January 28 at The ARA Show 2025. This day of speakers and panels kicks off this year's show and the guys explain why it's so important to attend. 1:01 - Elliott talks about his experience as a first-time attendee last year 2:16 - John talks about what his strategy was at RentalMax in terms of attending The ARA Show 4:10 - Josh talks about his 20th ARA Show and what it will be like to attend as a member again 6:50 - The guys talk about their buying habits at the show 10:20 - The Future of Equipment Rental lineup is discussed 15:00 - Josh talks about what he's most excited about at The ARA Show including the AI workshop 18:15 - Elliott gives advice about attending The ARA Show 18:45 - Is rental a gamble?

Josh Nickell, Elliott Vigil, and John Jeanguenat talk about the implications of the election on the future of the equipment rental industry in 2025 and beyond. They tackle tariffs, purchasing, and much more.2:35 - Will the JCTA be renewed? Is 2025 the super bowl of taxes? 8:00 - Elliott discusses interest rates going down and optimism for the future. 9:30 - John shares a contractor's perspective on building in 2025. 11:41 - What happens if tariffs are put in place? 15:07 - Josh wants to know if American manufacturers can compete with overseas prices. 17:30 - If demand doesn't increase, what does our fleet utilization look like in the next few years? 20:00 - Is residential construction finally rebounding? 25:06 - Elliott talks about utilization, interest rates, and short-term pain for long-term gain. 28:10 - What is the key to doing smart fleet management? 30:07 - Elliott poses the question, How do the small guys compete with the large 5 equipment rental companies? 37:00 - Non-traditional labor can help with your staffing needs. 41:19 - Elliott talks about unreasonable hospitality.

In this episode Elliott Vigil, Josh Nickell, and John Jeanguenat, ARA's new vice president of the equipment segment, talk about equipment theft and what it takes to lead a rental operation in 2025. Josh and John talk about how they've, in essence, switched roles as Josh is now the CEO of Northside Tool Rental. 4:00 - Josh and John talk about their role reversal 10:20 - John gives Josh advice on leadership in rental 19:00 - Elliott talks about Peter Drucker's quote about strategy and culture, Josh pushes back 25:45 - John asks Josh if he has any experience with equipment theft and the guys trade stories about stolen equipment

The final Shop Talk Live episode from Texada's EQUIPPED '24 conference dives into the rental company vs. dealer dynamic. Tune in to listen to Josh Nickell, Elliott Vigil, and Kayle Turpin tackle that interesting relationship.

Live from Texada's EQUIPPED '24 users conference in San Antonio, Josh Nickell and Elliott Vigil join forces with Kayle Turpin to tackle big questions like how to differentiate yourself from a national rental company, how to be consistent in your day-to-day operation and the pitfalls of sales representatives in the industry.

Live from Texada's EQUIPPED '24 users conference Josh Nickell and Elliott Vigil join forces with Kayle Turpin in San Antonio. In this Shop Talk live format the guys discuss whether or not a person can work their way up in the rental and how, if you can succeed in the industry without mechanical skills, and much more.

Josh Nickell, Jeff Lignugaris and Elliott Vigil talk about sales as it pertains to companies with smaller fleet and rental volume, how you can keep your customers if your sales reps leave and more.1 minute - Would you build an outside sales program if I told you my business does $2 million or less? 9 minutes - What Josh borrowed from Disney to help successfully run his rental business. 14 minutes - How much fleet do you need for a sales staff? 15 minutes - If your counter staff can't talk on the phone, they shouldn't work for you. 16 minutes - How to train your counter staff with a specific training program. 20 minutes - How do you develop relationships with customers outside of your sales reps?

Josh Nickell, Jeff Lignugaris, and Elliott Vigil talk about the complexities of offering rewards programs in the equipment rental industry, brainstorm ideas about how dynamic pricing could actually work and more.2 minutes - Can we have a negotiated rate for committed customers to be more efficient? 5 minutes - How can dynamic pricing work in rental? 16 minutes - Can we not train our customers like Delta? What's the value? 19 minutes - Why do rewards programs always fail in equipment rental? 22 minutes - Do subscriptions models have a place in rental somehow? 33 minutes - Is there a place for a fully digital sharing company? They play a different game and utilize other people's assets.

Josh Nickell, Elliott Vigil, and Jeff Lignugaris talk about the most sought-after staff in a rental operation, where contractors say they are renting from most often and more.4 minutes - Jeff talks about inefficiencies and human resources that cost businesses money. 7 minutes - Electrification from a different perspective. How can it save me mechanic time? 14 minutes - Data that keeps Josh up at night. Where do contractors regularly rent? 18 minutes - ERPs, their downfalls, their advantages, and delegating the work to your staff to get the most out of the system. 24 minutes - Dynamic pricing and how to implement that in the rental industry.

Josh Nickell, John Durante, and Elliott Vigil discuss how to hire great talent in the equipment rental industry and what rental companies should be focusing on in the 6-12 months ahead.2 minutes - The hospitality industry? Yes. Think about it. 7 minutes - Is the rental industry's talent pool decreasing? 11 minutes - Elliott talks about how we may have created the problem we have. 14 minutes - National rental companies and their involvement in ARA's workforce development campaigns. 16 minutes - What are you worrying about for the next 6 to 12 months? 20 minutes - The Future of Equipment Rental at The ARA Show and the AI workshop. 24 minutes - Let's get back to basics. What were you doing in 2019?

Josh Nickell, John Durante, and Elliott Vigil discuss what's really driving the market, speculate if national rental companies will come back down market, talk about what's in store concerning interest rates in the next six months. 1 minute - Josh asks the questions, are we going to have another 2008-2009? What's really driving the market? 5 minutes - Are national rental companies going to come after the independents' core customers down market? John talks about his bread and butter customer. 12 minutes - What happens when the rubberband snaps? How interest rates and renovation projects affect the independent rental companies. 17 minutes - Are national rental companies looking internationally to meet their demands for growth? 25 minutes - What happens when we reach maximum rental penetration?