Lucy Barnard

2 weeks ago | internationalrentalnews.com | Lucy Barnard

It’s the International Rental News weekly quiz - how much attention have you been paying to events in the world of equipment rental over the past seven days? A JCB backhoe loader driving past the Palace of Westminster this week (Image: JCB) 1) Why was JCB driving a backhoe loader past the UK parliament building this week? 2) Who has been named as the next secretary general of the European Rental Association (ERA) after Michel Petijean announced plans to step down at the end of June?

2 weeks ago | internationalrentalnews.com | Lucy Barnard

What a start to 2025 it has been! Above all, the year so far has been dominated by Donald Trump’s import tariffs  - many of which have now been paused - which for lots of manufacturers have made an already challenging year even harder to navigate.

2 weeks ago | internationalrentalnews.com | Lucy Barnard

Last week marked three years since private equity firms I Squared Capital and TDR Capital acquired Aggreko, the world’s largest temporary power company, in a £2.3 billion deal. In that time, the Scotland-headquartered global business, has been through many changes, pursuing a strategy of concentrating more on North America and Europe, targeting larger corporate clients and securing longer term contracts.

2 weeks ago | cranebriefing.com | Lucy Barnard

Who do you call if you need to move a large and unusual load like a heavy electrical substation transformer or part of an oil rig to a new location? You would probably contact an heavy lift specialist or freight forwarder and get them to help. But who do they turn to when they need extra equipment? Welcome to the rarely publicised world of re-rental heavy lifting  – the companies on which the specialists rely to send out extra equipment when they don’t have enough.

2 weeks ago | internationalrentalnews.com | Lucy Barnard

“I’m not going to make a political comment,” says Olivier Colleau, chief executive of Kiloutou, choosing his words carefully, “but it’s a real pity to see such a complete shift in political direction regarding sustainability.” As the leader of France’s second largest equipment rental firm, and one who has made reducing carbon emissions a key mission by helping establish a coalition of firms committed to the energy transition, Colleau is worried that 2025 could be the year it all starts to...