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Spring 2010

Rental Products Judged on Use Rate

Store owner sticks with Bobcat products because of their popularity

David Menz

Do-It-Yourself Rentals owner David Menz built his company's success around renting Bobcat loaders to customers in the Jacksonville area. Today he owns more than two dozen Bobcat machines.

David Menz's benchmark measurement for equipment at his rental center is at least 11 rentals a month. Items that consistently miss the target are likely to be replaced.

A couple of dozen Bobcat® skid-steer and compact track loaders, excavators and utility vehicles, along with several attachments, are among the products he regularly monitors to tabulate the use rate.

"The Bobcat products are among our most frequently rented items," says Menz, owner of Do-It-Yourself Rentals, Jacksonville, Fla. "Most of the time they exceed the 11-rentals-a-month criteria. That's why Bobcat has been our primary brand of compact equipment since I first opened the door here 22 years ago."

Eleven rentals a month usually means 11 days, as Menz specializes on hourly and daily rentals, which he says, "are more profitable for us than weekly or monthly. We like to keep turning over the machines day after day."

That also helps him balance the hours on each loader and excavator. "Our computer system allows us to track hours on each machine," he says. "At the time of rental, the hours on each available machine show up on the computer screen. That enables us to select the one with the fewest hours. As a result, most of our loaders and excavators have nearly the same number of hours."

Bobcat in Minnesota roots

Growing up in a small Minnesota town, Menz became familiar with Bobcat loaders on surrounding farms. "I remember one neighbor cleaning out his hog barns with a skid-steer loader," he says. "I thought it was a very cool invention."

When Menz moved to Florida and opened a rental store, Bobcat equipment was his obvious choice.

"We started with one loader and kept adding machines and attachments," he recalls. "Over the years Bobcat has stayed ahead of other equipment manufacturers with industry-leading innovation. While Bobcat has done a good job of moving forward, some of their competitors are somewhat archaic in their technology."

Impressive features

He has been especially impressed with built-in standard safety and reliability features. "That's one area that has a big impact on those of us in the rental business," he notes. "I remember when Bobcat introduced the seat bar — an important safety advancement. The Bobcat Interlock Control System (BICS™), which requires the operator to be seated with the seat bar in place, was a great addition. And the Bobcat Operation Sensing System (now Deluxe Instrumentation) has been very helpful in diagnosing problems."

Bobcat reliability is another area that is important to Menz. "The last thing we need is an out-of-service machine that is unusable. Our Bobcat equipment has performed very well for us, generating a consistently high return on investment. We have always made money with Bobcat products."

Click here for more details about Bobcat products for the rental market segment.

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