Bobcat Popular Choice for Rental Customers
Family-Owned Business has Waiting List for User-Friendly Equipment
JR Equipment Rental Corporation employees Bylli All (left), Carolyn Edmondson (center) and Kelvin Deglandon agree that Bobcat equipment keep their rental business going strong.
JR Equipment Rental Corp. in Jefferson, La., is a long-time family business that relies on superior Bobcat® products, including frequently rented machines and popular attachments, to meet the needs of a changing customer mix.
Family Carries on Rental Success
The New Orleans-area firm, which was started in 1962, has been owned by Carolyn Edmondson since her husband William died in 1977. In recent years she has turned the day-to-day operation over to several family members, including her daughter Bylli All and granddaughter Carolyn Neagle. Several of JR Equipment Rental’s 22 employees have worked at the company for 25 to 30 years. Originally, the company largely offered heavy construction equipment. Today, there is a greater emphasis on compact equipment.
Bobcat Brand is Number One for JR Equipment Rental
For more than three decades Bobcat products, purchased from Duhon Machinery, have been part of the equipment fleet at the rental center. “At times we looked at some competitive machines,” says Carolyn Neagle. “They just didn’t measure up to the Bobcat brand. We found Bobcat products are more dependable. They’re easier to maintain and repair, parts are more accessible and they have features the others don’t have.”
Product Diversity is Critical
Today JR Equipment Rental has 65 Bobcat power units — skid-steers, compact track and mini track loaders, compact excavators and VersaHandler® telescopic tool carriers. At times most, if not all, of them are out on rental. “We have difficulty keeping our Bobcat machines here,” Neagle says. “We always have a waiting list for the compact track loaders.
“Bobcat machines are so versatile, durable and user-friendly that our customers have been able to use them for dozens of different jobs.”
“We add a new machine when we have a high volume of calls for a particular model,” she continues. “For example, if we have a list of 20 people waiting to rent a T250 for a week each, we are losing $275 a day in income. It’s time to buy another one.”
Attachments Drive Rental Utilization
“We have a significant Bobcat attachment rental business,” says Bylli All. “Many times we just rent an attachment without renting the power unit. The hydraulic breaker is a good example. We have several of them and they are constantly rented by demolition contractors. After a hurricane, our grapples are out the door for long-term cleanup work. Stocking Bobcat attachments has been very good for us.
“Our heavy investment in Bobcat compact equipment has helped us meet this growing demand. Bobcat machines are so versatile, durable and user-friendly that our customers have been able to use them for dozens of different jobs.”
To learn more about Bobcat tool carriers and attachments for rental, visit the rental market page.