Changing focus
E-Z Rental Center refocused its business on equipment rental and has realized 10 percent annual growth.
by Clair Urbain
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Jo, Austin and Greg Venable own and operate E-Z Rental Center in Carbondale, Illinois. |
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| E-Z Rental Center is also a Budget Truck Rental franchise, but they have added another pickup truck and a few equipment trailers to its delivery fleet. “Only two pieces of equipment in our fleet requires a CDL Class A license,” says Jo Venable |
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The demand for handymen to complete small to medium jobs is high, so homeowners are taking their chances and rent bigger equipment they would not have rented in the past. |
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| Greg and Austin Venable represent the second and third generations of E-Z Rental Center, which was started by Greg’s father, Jim, in 1967. |
“We’re a real family affair,” says Greg Venable, second-generation owner of E-Z Rental Center in Carbondale, Illinois.
Greg’s father, Jim, started the business as an A to Z rental franchise in a strip mall storefront in 1967. About 10 years later, he renamed the business to E-Z Rental Center and moved the business to its present location, which was a two-bay self-serve car wash. Over the years, he expanded the showroom, offices and shop to about 5,000 square feet under roof.
Greg grew up around the business and after high school worked for his dad as a yardperson and then as mechanic. In 1990, Greg decided to pursue a career in mining. After two years of mining, Jim asked Greg if he was interested in coming back and managing E-Z Rental Center. Greg accepted and moved back to Southern Illinois and he and his wife, Jo, worked together to build the business. By 1997, Jim and Greg and his wife, Jo, signed a 10-year buyer-seller agreement for the business.
Over the years, their son, Austin, started working part-time in the business while in high school and college. When he turned 21, he started working there full-time and continues to do so today.
Change over time
The original A to Z Rental location catered primarily to the DIY market with a wide variety of hand and power tools and party/event equipment. When Jim moved the business to the new location, he began to cater more to small contractors and continued with the party/event side of the business.
“We are finding that the hand and power tools are much less in demand than they were in the A to Z Rental days. People tend to purchase those types of tools now instead of renting them,” Greg says. “We still have some of them in our inventory, but earthmoving and aerial equipment are much higher in demand.”
When the COVID pandemic hit in 2020, E-Z Rental Center’s party business fell flat. It was also extremely difficult to find workers and the Venables decided to refocus their operation on equipment rental.
“I was a little nervous about getting out of the party business. Up until the pandemic we were pretty busy with party rentals and it provided a decent income. But Jo and Austin talked me into it,” Greg says.
To make the transition, they added more earthmoving and aerial equipment to their equipment rental fleet. “Just being able to focus more on equipment helped us be successful,” says Austin. “The party rental business is a different business than equipment rental. You almost need two different staffs to do both party and equipment rental.”
Austin focused on leveraging the E-Z Rental Center’s name on Google and social media. “We maintain a strong local focus and keep our Google listing and placement high on the search engines. We also do a lot on Facebook in the local markets. I am also active with my own profile. I think that helps,” he adds.
The Venables also work hard to serve the community. “For example, the Chamber of Commerce wanted to paint some murals in downtown Carbondale, so we donated the use of scissor lifts for that. We try to keep our name out there in the community,” says Greg.
Today, the Venables estimate their rental customers are 60 percent contractors of all sizes and 40 percent homeowners. Earthmoving and aerial machines are by far the most popular with customers and together make up about 40 percent of the rental fleet; small equipment which makes up the rest of the fleet.
“Customers are increasingly wanting cabs on equipment. Skid steers, compact track loaders and mini excavators lead the list on the earthmoving side; tow-behind lifts and self-propelled bucket lifts are also popular as are the indoor scissor lifts. We also have a telehandler that is very popular,” Greg adds.
With the move to its focus on construction equipment, they are seeing an increase in requests for equipment deliveries. “We’re seeing more requests for delivery. Contractors and homeowners want equipment delivered to them. Because we aren’t doing party rentals anymore, we have more time for deliveries,” Greg says.
E-Z Rental Center is also a Budget Truck Rental franchise, but they have added another pickup truck and a few equipment trailers to its delivery fleet. “Only two pieces of equipment in our fleet requires a CDL Class A license,” says Jo.
Although delivery and pickup has increased, Greg says it only amounts to at most 30 percent of its rentals. “We even raised our prices on delivery and pick-up but it hasn’t affected those who want it. We are in the $150 range for deliveries in the Carbondale area,” he says.
E-Z Rental Center’s staff is made up of seven employees plus Greg and Jo. “We have one mechanic and three yard workers and four counter persons, including Greg, but they all don’t work the counter at the same time,” Jo says. Geographically, they cover a 50-mile radius from Carbondale in southern Illinois. “Carbondale is a college town and we have several small towns near here that we serve,” says Jo.
“We’re getting less small equipment rental. It seems that people are now buying the tools themselves or they’re paying to have the work done. Tile saws, nailers, power tools and smaller tools aren’t renting out like they used to.,” Greg says.
“On the other hand, the demand for handymen to complete small to medium jobs is high, so we have homeowners are taking their chances and rent bigger equipment they would not have rented in the past,” adds Austin. “Our customers like our service; we will do service calls and will assist any customer who is having trouble with the equipment. Often, it’s a simple fix; the operator didn’t turn a button on or something like that. We go through the equipment with them in the yard. We also point out videos they can watch to help them get more familiar with the equipment and how to operate it.”
Maintenance matters
Greg says they rely heavily on their point-of-sale system to keep them on top of preventive maintenance. “We have a full-service shop that completes all our regular preventive maintenance. Our Alert management system tracks hours on the equipment and will print out service orders for equipment needing maintenance. We also thoroughly check equipment when it comes back in and it also gets inspected again before it goes back out on rent. We’re looking at some software that stores photos of equipment inspection points as well,” says Austin.
Staffing challenges
The Venables have been blessed with solid, long-term employees, but as Greg and Jo look toward retirement, they face some challenges.
Greg says the State of Illinois is also cranking up requirements for smaller companies. “We have always offered some benefits at E-Z Rental Center, Inc. but now Illinois law mandates all small businesses with five or more employees offer paid time off and either their own retirement plan or an Illinois Secure Choice retirement plan for all new hires. Also, the minimum wage is rising to $14 per hour in 2024 and $15 per hour in 2025. These requirements used to be for large companies or corporations, so I’m not sure how smaller businesses can make these mandated programs work.”
This article originally appeared in the January-February 2024 issue of Pro Contractor Rentals magazine. ©2024 Urbain Communications LLC. All rights reserved.
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