CRA’s 4th Wednesday Rental Workshop will take place via Zoom on March 27, 2024, from 2:30-4 p.m. Paragon Insurance & CYRP will be hosting this month’s workshop.

The counter is the first point of contact for many individuals, making it essential for the staff to be friendly, knowledgeable and efficient in handling various situations that may arise. Good customer service at the front desk can leave a lasting, positive impression on those who interact with the business, ultimately contributing to its reputation and success.

 Featuring: Kathryn DeVries (All Star Rents),

    The equipment and party rental industry has long been seen as a male-dominated field. However, in recent years, there has been a significant increase in the number of women entering and thriving in this business. To shed light on their experiences, challenges and successes, a new podcast has emerged—Women in Rental. The podcast features a diverse range of women and delves into the guests' personal journeys, from how they got started in the business to the lessons they have learned along the way. The participants share their insights and expertise in this industry.

While gunshot wounds or deaths are not common workplace injuries, they have become more frequent in the past few years. According to an article in TIME, among companies with employer-sponsored health insurance, the rate of total firearm injuries in employees and dependents increased more than fourfold from 2007 to 2020—from 2.6 to 11.7 per 100,000 insurance enrollees. However, the circumstances surrounding a gun-shot injury or death at a worksite are not always clear and may have surprising outcomes depending on the jurisdiction. In 2023 several such cases were notable.

 

Hathorn Inspection Cameras
480 Hood Road, Unit 5
Markham, Ontario L3R 973 CANADA
(800) 428-4676
www.HathornCorp.com

 

Lane Tractor Sales
7980 Hwy. 99 E.
Los Molinos, CA 96055
(530) 384-1016
www.LaneTractor.com

Robust, powerful and reliable, the new generation BOMAG BMP 8500 multi-purpose compactor features an improved radio remote control design that allows the controller to be used on every BMP 8500 in the fleet. The remote control’s unique “teach” function quickly and intuitively pairs the unit to the machine to save contractors time and money. Should the controller be misplaced, a new one can be paired to any machine in the fleet quickly and without special knowledge or tools.

Construction General Tools for Concrete Placement, Floor Removal, Waterless Dust Controlled Saws. Faced with disappointment in the limited and flimsy equipment available in the concrete industry in the mid-1950s, Art Bartell decided to make the equipment himself. Bartell brought his first concrete finishing power trowel to market in 1962, and Bartell Equipment Manufacturing Company quickly became the dominant supplier to the Canadian market. Bartell Global is now a powerful brand and industry leader, continuing to lead the way in the field of concrete and construction equipment.

Canycom USA is the sole distributor for Canycom in North America. Canycom Rubber Track Carriers, Concrete Buggies, and Brush Cutters are used extensively in construction, landscaping, trail building, and rental applications throughout the world. Canycom is a Japanese company that has been designing, manufacturing, and improving unique products since its establishment in 1955. Canycom is the leader in the carrier market, with over 30 years in the exporting business, and currently supplies 40 countries worldwide.

Ditch Witch West is the exclusive provider of Ditch Witch & HammerHead equipment on the West Coast.
Ditch Witch West was formed in 2000 to meet the needs of the goring, drilling, and trenching market. Ditch Witch West has locations in Oregon, Washington, California, and Montana, offering its customers new and used equipment, equipment rental, parts and service. Ditch Witch West is affiliated with Papé.

Insurance Services for the Rental Industry. EPIC is a unique and innovative retail risk management and employee benefits insurance brokerage and consulting firm, founded in San Francisco, California, in 2007, with offices and leadership across the country. EPIC Insurance Brokers & Consultants has a depth of industry expertise across key lines of insurance, including risk management, property and casualty, employee benefits, unique specialty program insurance and private client services.

Manufacturer of Steel Stakes & Accessories for Structures, Tents, Canopies, and Inflatables. Hogan Stakes specializes in Steel Stakes and Anchors for tents, temporary structures and inflatables used for special events; and anchoring systems for permanent and semi­permanent covers and shelters for private and government projects. Hogan Stakes also manufactures concrete accessories (forming stakes, hand towels, etc.). Their tent stake products work in all soils and surfaces, and they have been manufacturing quality steel products since 1948 – over 50 years! 

KATO Excavators, Compact Loaders, & Crawler Carriers. KATO’s full line of excavators, loaders, and crawler carriers are the highest quality construction equipment built to handle the toughest jobs on the most rugged terrain. KATO CES has been a leader in the industry for over 25 years, selling high-quality construction equipment to dealers and rental companies throughout the United States and North America. They are committed to delivering cutting-edge designs that are user-friendly and maintenance-free, with unparalleled durability throughout their wide variety of products. KATO Compact Excavator Sales is the largest supplier of KATO mini excavators, track loaders, and crawler carriers in the world.

Truck Body & Trailer Manufacturer. For over 75 years, Ledwell has continued the legacy of excellence started by Lloy and Buddy Ledwell, with an expansion of services and an eye for quality and dedicated customer service. Ledwell offers custom manufactured truck bodies, trailers, and parts and service. Businesses, large and lean, come to Ledwell with transportation needs and are provided with the best, most innovative solution.  Ledwell’s mission is to manufacture top-quality equipment that is efficient, reliable, and customized exactly to the customer’s needs.

GeoRipper Minitrenchers and SiBore Drill. As a company and manufacturer, MiniTrencher takes safety very seriously. Handheld trenchers, similar to GeoRipper, have been around for 20+ years with no accidents reported. GeoRipper minitrenchers have been in the market since 2016 with zero accidents reported. MiniTrencher has incorporated safety enhancements into both the Original GeoRipper® and GeoRipper®T/A trenching attachments, making it one of the safest trenchers on the market. SiBore Drill is your fast and reliable horizontal auger when you need to dig under something hard! Bore horizontally under a sidewalk in less than 5 minutes without a muddy mess.

Compaction, Concrete Equipment, Generators, Pumps, Welders. Founded in 1973, Multiquip is one of the largest, most diversified  manufacturers and suppliers of world class quality products and solutions for the construction, industrial, telecom, government, non-commercial, aerospace, municipalities/federal, entertainment, and oil and gas exploration markets. Multiquip's comprehensive product portfolio encompasses light to medium construction equipment, power generators and lighting. With distribution partners in Asia, United Kingdom, Latin America and Europe, Multiquip has worldwide reach; they distribute products in more than 70 countries through thousands of authorized distribution partners.

Rental Software. In 1982, three friends and NASA co-workers left NASA to open their own rental store in Grand Prairie, Texas. With rental software of the time lacking what they needed, they used their engineering expertise to build their own. That initial software grew into something EPIC. Point of Rental's efficient, intuitive software allows you to work faster, and, therefore, be able to spend more time with your family, improving your community, and more. With the worldwide Point of Rental family driving them, Point of Rental Software provides industry-leading rental and inventory management software that earns awards year after year. 

Vermeer Equipment is Easy-to-Use & Maintain. From backyard to bedrock, RDO Equipment Co. is proud to offer a full line of Vermeer equipment. Their dealerships are located in Minnesota, North Dakota, Oregon, and California. Owning and operating equipment involves much more than just having the right machines—you need parts, service, and full support standing behind it. That’s what you get when you partner with RDO Equipment Co. Connect with RDO on social media for the latest happenings and offers, and have fun meeting team members and seeing equipment in action. However you prefer to stay informed, RDO Equipment has the resources to help you buy and manage equipment with confidence.

Aerial Work Platforms. Not only do Snorkel's scissor and boom lifts raise people high into the air, they also safely bring them back down. And they need to do both safely and smoothly, again and again. So, their machines are engineered beyond the industry norm, to an uncommon level of safety and durability. But they’re also engineered to be simple — simple to operate and simple to maintain. The Snorkel product line is sold and serviced in more than 50 countries worldwide through a network of more than 200 distribution branches. This includes over 100 directly owned distributorships in North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Australia, plus a global network of more than 100 independent distributor locations.

Fleet Management Solutions for Rental Fleets. TSO Mobile is an innovative leader in mobile resource management solutions, logistics products, and GPS software services. Established in 2002, TSO Mobile has a continuous record of providing cutting-edge, web-based software solutions to commercial and consumer markets. TSO Mobile has key partnerships with manufacturers, digital cartographers, software developers, wireless data providers, and product distributors. Products and services are designed to optimize operational processes, reduce costs, and improve customer satisfaction. These solutions provide an extraordinary return on investment for TSO Mobile clients. All services can be accessed from anywhere via desktop computer, mobile phone, and Interactive Voice Response (IVR).

The Western Propane Gas Association (WPGA) recently released an economic impact report (https://westernpga.org/resources/forklift-regulation-resources/) that found that the California Air Resources Board’s (CARB) regulation to eliminate internal combustion engine (ICE) forklifts will cost California forklift owners and operators up to $27 billion. This includes increased costs and direct impacts to local communities, small businesses, food banks and nonprofits, state agencies and local governments, throughout the state at a time of a large state budget deficit. While some costs and impacts can be anticipated with the passage of this rule, there are unintended consequences that have not been accounted for that would have a rippling economic effect across the state.

Here are highlights from the recently released trade data from the US Census Bureau and US Bureau of Economic Analysis. To view additional data and analysis related to the California economy, visit our website at www.centerforjobs.org/ca.

    Trade levels in general showed improvement as the California ports continued to recover some of the market share lost during the uncertainty generated during the extended labor negotiations. On a 12-month moving average basis, California’s share of total US goods trade rose for the sixth month in a row, but still remained below the pre-pandemic level and just under a quarter below the series high of 20.6%. In constant dollars, exports inched up compared to a year ago, but also were well below the pre-pandemic level. Imports, in contrast, passed the pre-pandemic mark.

    The reaction from politicians to California’s budget deficit – now estimated by the Legislative Analyst to be around $73 billion – breaks down into two camps: the state must either reduce spending or find more revenue. (Euphemism for raising taxes.)

   In reality, even the most progressive legislators realize that their dream of unending growth in government is crashing headlong into reality. However, to the tax spenders, all government spending is “essential,” notwithstanding the fact that state spending has doubled in six years.
   Ordinary Californians reject the premise that all state spending is “essential” and, in fact, think much of it is superfluous and wasteful. A Public Policy Institute of California survey showed that, overall, 45% of Californians perceived that “a lot” of their money was being wasted and 46% believed “some” of their money was wasted.
   When it creates a new program, the Legislature frequently requires the affected state or local agencies to prepare a report back to the Legislature about the performance of the new program. The purpose, according to the Legislature itself, is to “provide crucial oversight to ensure effective implementation of programs.” But according to an article in CalMatters (“Legislators wanted 1,100 reports on how California’s laws are working. Most haven’t arrived.”) more than 70% of the 1,118 reports due in the past year were not submitted to the Office of Legislative Counsel, the public repository for the reports... and about half of those that were filed were late. (About 230 were reports required from multiple agencies.)
   The absence of reports on the efficacy of past legislation makes future legislation like a journey into the unknown. CalMatters correctly contends that the “reports could be used to avoid introducing duplicative or unnecessary bills.” But a more fundamental purpose would be to determine which laws or programs should simply be repealed or abandoned entirely.
   Scrutiny of whether existing programs are performing as intended should be high on the list of ways to get more bang for each taxpayer buck. Especially when California is $73 billion in the hole.

By Jon Coupal, president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers' Association.
   The tax-and-spend lobby loves to blame Proposition 13 for all of California’s woes. This has become so routine that we at the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association have compiled a “Top 10” list of things for which Proposition 13 is alleged to be responsible. Keep in mind that these are more than just general complaints that “Prop 13 prevents unlimited taxes on property.” We gladly accept the blame for that one. But most of the attacks lack foundation and many are just flat out laughable.
   Because mental health and the associated homelessness is now the “crisis de jour” in California, it only stands to reason that Prop 13 would be blamed for that as well. In an otherwise objective CalMatters piece by Jocelyn Wiener, she contends that the “California tax revolt [led] to austerity,” and that Prop 13 “reduced the amount of money available to counties for a variety of services, including mental health.”
   But any reduction in mental health services was far more a result of lack of prioritizing important programs. Moreover, the state itself – possessing an “obscene surplus” according to Jesse Unruh – immediately backfilled local government coffers. Finally, any alleged “austerity” disappeared quickly because, in the wake of Prop 13’s passage, explosive economic growth created billions in new tax revenue.
   To read the entire article, click on "Learn more."

April 1-3, 2024 – San Diego, CA
Spring CRA Board of Directors Meeting

 

July 14 – 20, 2024 – Lake Tahoe, CA
Summer RV Campout... more

July 16 – 17, 2024 – Lake Tahoe, CA
Summer CRA Board of Directors Meeting

 

October 11 – 13, 2024 – Kernville, CA
The Phil Maxwell Memorial Manly Man Fishing Tournament... more

 

October 14, 2024 – Bakersfield, CA
CenCal Territory Yard Party hosted by B S & E Rents
 

October 15-16, 2024 – Bakersfield, CA
Fall CRA Board of Directors Meeting

 

November 8, 2024 – Corona, CA
CRA / RSIF Annual Golf Tournament at Eagle Glen Golf Club... more

 

January 12, 2025
Winter CRA Board of Directors Meeting

 

Jan. 12 - 15, 2025 – Las Vegas, NV
CRA Rental Rally Tradeshow... more

 

This month, we asked members about their company safety meetings ... how often they hold them, how long the meetings last, and what materials they use for sharing safety information, etc. If you have additional ideas for surveys for CRA members, please email CRA at info@calrental.org. 

John Frazier from Quinn Company in City of Industry, CA, is the winner of the March Survey Drawing. Congratulations, John!