Rental Center -- At the ready
Woman-owned J&F Reddy Rents is positioned for continued growth in equipment rental in Minneapolis.
by Clair Urbain
Rachel O’Brien, president of J&F Reddy Rents in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, runs the business with her sister Maureen Fitzgerald. While it’s rare to find a woman-owned and operated equipment rental business, their approach to the world of rental is much like most other independent rental centers.
 |
“Our father and his uncle started J&F Reddy Rents in 1963 after our great-uncle had spent some time in California and saw some rental operations. When he moved back to Minneapolis, he talked to our father, Jack, and they decided to open a tool rental store here,” recounts O’Brien.
The original store was just 500 square feet, which grew to 3,000 square feet in subsequent years. “They were trying to figure out how to have income year round, so they went heavy into party, as well as trucks, trailers and equipment,” O’Brien says.
In the ’70s, her father also opened Hiawatha Reddy Rents in south Minneapolis, which is still owned and operated by her brother, Brian Fitzgerald. While Hiawatha Reddy Rents and J&F Reddy Rents share some resources, such as back-office computer systems, they are separate-standing entities.
In 1989, J&F Reddy Rents moved into its present location in St. Louis Park. J&F Reddy Rents has a rather compact trade area, serving contractors, landscapers and DIYers in the near west side of Minneapolis. “St. Louis Park is a first-ring suburb to downtown Minneapolis. We’re about six minutes from downtown Minneapolis and six minutes to the lakes. We cover as far as Lake Minnetonka and we also serve customers in Eden Prairie, Edina, Hopkins and Excelsior. It’s about a 5-to-10-mile radius that we serve,” says O’Brien.
Its customer base is made up of 40 percent contractors, 40 percent landscapers and the remainder are primarily truck and trailer rentals well as DIY. “While we do offer delivery services, most of our customers pick up the equipment here,” she says.
O’Brien says equipment rental has been strong, even throughout the pandemic, however, the demographics of the customers changed. “When the pandemic hit, people around here moved up to their cabins, and those rental centers we know located in vacation areas saw a 20 to 30 percent increase in business. We were only up 5 percent in 2020. We lost all the revenue from event planners who rely on us for generator, truck and trailer rental, but that was made up by those who decided to do a home improvement project instead of taking a vacation. In 2021, our business has been up 15 percent. We see that growth from continued strength in the construction and landscaping market and having the event planner business come back as things have opened back up,” she says.
The company carried party equipment until it sold that division in 1998. “We either had to go whole hog or get out. We had warehouses full of tables, chairs and related equipment. Maureen and I hit a point that we knew we had to consolidate our inventory; also, labor was always an issue because the Minneapolis labor situation has always been tight, even back then.”
O’Brien and Fitzgerald had both been involved with running the party and event rental business over the years. Fitzgerald migrated to the equipment rental business first, then O’Brien came over to the equipment rental side of the business when they decided to sell the party and event rental business. “Twenty three years later, I sure have learned a lot, but gosh, there is so much more to learn,” she says.
In that time in equipment rental, O’Brien says the advent of walk-behind or stand-up skid loaders has dramatically changed their business. “The same is true with trenchers, The new models are now tracked machines and hydraulically driven. They are so much easier to operate. Homeowners don’t get beat up running these units,” she adds.
Equipment rental fleet
Its rental fleet is made up of 692 unique pieces of equipment with a total of more than 3,800 total items because it has multiples of certain items. “Our largest piece of excavation equipment is 6,000-pound mini excavator that can dig up to 10 feet deep that is very popular with contractors installing egress windows and we have several Bobcat skid steer and track loaders in the T450 and S450 size,” O’Brien says. They work on a five-year depreciation schedule; used equipment gets sold to customers or it goes to auction. “We can usually sell our used trailers ourselves. They are easy to sell,” she adds.
Another dramatic change in the business has been the requirements for dust suppression while concrete cutting and grinding in the last five years. “Customers need to learn how to use the water and vacuums to suppress silica dust. They are understanding the important need for it.
“We’ve had several customers ask about concrete polishing, but once we explain that it is a 14-step process and can cost thousands of dollars for the materials, most back away from that project,” she says.
Trend toward battery power
An area of growing interest is floor scrapers to remove vinyl and tile. “We just purchased a National Equipment ride-on model that’s battery-powered. Our customers find them very helpful and they are really gaining acceptance; we have our second unit coming next spring. We’re also looking at electric walk-behind skid steers as well.”
O’Brien predicts a fast adoption of electric-powered equipment. “They are cleaner to run and there’s no dealing with fuel and the safe handling practices needed with that. They can be used in enclosed areas and they are also easier to maintain, so they can be quickly turned around and go back out on rent.
Another niche that J&F Reddy Rents has carved out for itself is wood floor sanding and finishing. “We had an employee who was once in the floor sanding business. He taught us all about floor sanding and the polyurethanes needed for a successful project. We even offered classes on floor sanding before the pandemic. It was a great point of difference,” says O’Brien.
Being a woman in the rental business
O’Brien is well-aware of the biases in the male-dominated equipment rental field. “It’s better than it was in the past, but it’s frustrating when you go into a booth at a trade show and the salesperson directs his or her conversation to the male in our group. My husband used to go to trade shows with me. Although he knows very little about the business, salespeople would direct the answers or attention to him,” she says.
“All of the women in the rental business have stories of trying to buy equipment at a trade show. We’ve all been ignored when we have walked into the booth. I brought my husband a couple times. He’s not involved at all in the industry. We have gone into a booth and I’ll ask a question, but they directed the answer to him. Or they’ll come right up to him and say, ‘How can I help you?’
“His response is, ‘Oh, you just did the wrong thing. She’s the one buying, she’s the one who had the question, and you probably just blew your sale there, dude.’”
O’Brien and Fitzgerald have yet to take the steps needed to be recognized as a Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB), which could give them a leg up when bidding for government business.
“I’ve looked into it and have talked with some other woman-owned rental centers who have considered getting certified, and it’s an extensive application process. They interview you. They make sure that there’s no male involved in the background of your business. They also want all your financial information, documents of incorporation and even the names of the people on the signature card at the business’s bank.” Getting WOSB-certified is on O’Brien’s 2022 to-do list.
“There is a tremendous amount of potential in equipment rental. We can be very successful. Equipment rental is a growing industry and there is yet so much to learn. When you’re in the rental business, you’re helping people. We’re solving problems. We’re helping build our community. There are so many good people to work with in rental. Contractors are just wonderful and the landscapers are just the nicest people in the world and they’re hard workers. We deal with a bunch of hardworking individuals. It’s nice to help them make their job easier.
“We’ve been in the community for a really long time. It’s great to have customers thank us for being here. They thank us for having our store open and still being here after nearly 56 years,” O’Brien concludes.
This article originally appeared int he January-February 2022 issue of Pro Contractor Rentals magazine. © 2022 Urbain Communications LLC. All rights reserved.
PRO CONTRACTOR RENTALS MAGAZINE
Pro Contractor Rentals provides information of value to rental centers who focus time, resources and attention on meeting the demands of construction contractors and other equipment rental customers.
