Aug 17, 2026 · 1 hr 3 min · 14 segments
**Jobsites are changing, technology is changing and Canadian rental stores are changing along with them. Equipment rental operations are no longer just dingy garages where you pick up whatever is…
Derek CashmoreGuest
Patrick FlanneryHost
And so to that point, um, rental stores in my time have expanded greatly in being that and doing that, being not just equipment providers, basically a yard where you can pick up something if you know what you want, but into being solution providers and really wanting to ask, you know, somebody walks in the door and you want to ask them the question, you know, well, what are you doing? You know, what are you working on? And, and, and, and then saying, oh, well, maybe this, you know, maybe this would be better.
Have you thought about this? Um, you know, that's the kind of thing we, we worked very hard for many years to encourage rental store owners to do.
And now it's gotten to the point where, um, uh, a lot, certainly the larger organizations like Cooper, um, but, uh, but also some, some, some smaller regional chains, uh, have, have gotten into what you would call specialty divisions.
that have a specialized staff and specialized equipment aimed at certain bigger challenges in construction that maybe a person isn't entirely equipped to develop their own solutions to address.
So why don't we start out, Derek, define for me, what is a specialty division in a rental store, in a rental organization?
What's a specialty to each person? But for the most part, a specialty division is something that's beyond the scope of general rentals, something that isn't going to be used all the time every day, like a scissor lift or a dehumidifier.
So if you will, you know, construction, temporary heat and climate control, very niche market.
You need it six, right? Maybe, you know, trenching division and trench shoring and safety divisions.
So climate control, trenching, you've got, you know, you've got pump and power.
And so to that point, um, rental stores in my time have expanded greatly in being that and doing that, being not just equipment providers, basically a yard where you can pick up something if you know what you want, but into being solution providers and really wanting to ask, you know, somebody walks in the door and you want to ask them the question, you know, well, what are you doing? You know, what are you working on? And, and, and, and then saying, oh, well, maybe this, you know, maybe this would be better.
Have you thought about this? Um, you know, that's the kind of thing we, we worked very hard for many years to encourage rental store owners to do.
And now it's gotten to the point where, um, uh, a lot, certainly the larger organizations like Cooper, um, but, uh, but also some, some, some smaller regional chains, uh, have, have gotten into what you would call specialty divisions.
that have a specialized staff and specialized equipment aimed at certain bigger challenges in construction that maybe a person isn't entirely equipped to develop their own solutions to address.
So why don't we start out, Derek, define for me, what is a specialty division in a rental store, in a rental organization?
What's a specialty to each person? But for the most part, a specialty division is something that's beyond the scope of general rentals, something that isn't going to be used all the time every day, like a scissor lift or a dehumidifier.
So if you will, you know, construction, temporary heat and climate control, very niche market.
You need it six, right? Maybe, you know, trenching division and trench shoring and safety divisions.
So climate control, trenching, you've got, you know, you've got pump and power.
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