Thank you to everyone who attended the San Francisco Bay Area & Vintage Holiday Party on December 4th at Skates on the Bay! A great time was enjoyed by all! A special thanks to Wacker Neuson for sponsoring the dinner.

 

Thank you to everyone who attended the Tri-County Holiday Party on December 10th at Café Fiore! Good food, great company, and raffles were enjoyed by all!

Thank you to everyone who attended the Greater LA/Orange Holiday Party on December 11th at Clearman’s North Woods Inn! The event included great food and good company! And raffles! A special thanks to Rouse Analytics for sponsoring the dinner.

Thank you to everyone who attended the Inland Holiday Party on December 12th at King’s Fish House! Good food, great company, and raffles were enjoyed by all! A special thank you to Rouse Analytics for sponsoring the dinner.

The Rental Services Industry Foundation (RSIF) was founded as a separate 5013c Non Profit Corporation to assist students in the rental industry, members in need of disaster relief, and rental-related educational projects. RSIF provides scholarships for adult students of all ages and at many levels. Full- or part-time students in trade schools, community colleges or universities are eligible for these scholarships. Applicants must be CRA members, their children, their employees or the children of employees. Scholarships are awarded twice each year, for the fall and spring terms. All contributions to RSIF are made by members, vendors, memorials and remembrances. Funds are managed by Morgan Stanley and overseen by the RSIF Board of Directors. Consider RSIF in your charitable giving and estate planning. Donations can be made online or sent to RSIF at the CRA office. The future and current generation of rental industry employees and leaders will be grateful!

The expansion of presumption laws is just one of the predictions made by speakers at a recent workers’ comp conference. Medical billing fraud, presumption laws, drug formularies, medical marijuana, magic mushrooms and opioids are expected to command the attention of various state and federal legislators in 2020, according to speakers at the recent National Workers’ Compensation and Disability Conference in November 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

In a recent conference call, the CRA board of directors approved a $20,000 matching contribution to the ARA legislative committee to help combat the CA Split Roll Property Tax initiative on the November ballot. Follow CA Business Roundtable at cbrt.org for the latest updates.

CRA members, your CRA’s 2020 Resource Directory is in the mail! Log into the “Members Only” section of CalRental.org to view the digital edition now!

 

CRA's 2020 Equipment and Party Rental Rally Trade Show will be held at the South Point Casino Hotel & Convention Center in Las Vegas, NV, featuring 80,000 square feet of exhibit space. The South Point is a great venue—with the the convention center and hotel on the same property, both exhibitors and attendees can enjoy the convenience of staying on-site! Special room rates (January 19-23, 2020) are available from $65 per night with no resort fees. Special Group rates are available until December 26th, 2019, subject to availability.

 

Thank you to the exhibitors that have already signed up for the trade show... click on "Learn More" to see the list of exhibitors that have signed up for the show to date. And check back often -- new exhibitors are being added daily!

 

Manufacturer of tents for the Party Rental Market. For party and wedding tents, awnings, shade solutions and safety pool covers, industry professionals count on Anchor frame and fabric products to outlast and outperform the others. Anchor has been making their products in America since 1892, but Anchor’s ongoing advances in fabric technology and frame engineering keep their products at the forefront in markets they serve. Rental companies, awning shade installers, architects & contractors, pool companies, commercial businesses – even the U.S. military — rely on Anchor’s strictly engineered, professionally crafted fabric products and structures to deliver real durability and high return on investment.

Extreme Duty Light Construction Equipment. It began with the simple idea... apply basic mechanical principles and common sense to solve a problem. In the 1970's, General Equipment Company began a product diversification program to meet the growing challenges of the light construction equipment industry. In each case, the basis for their founding success, identifying a specific problem, fabricating prototypes in response, and then further refining them until the finished product met the stated objectives, has seen the addition of a number of successful product lines: portable air ventilation blowers that increase jobsite safety and productivity, rotary asphalt cutting attachments that dramatically reduce road maintenance costs, and concrete related equipment to meet road and building repair challenges of the 1990's and beyond. The company's products compete openly in a world market and the company continues to build its reputation on a global basis.

Fluid Handling Equipment, Paint Sprayers, Texture, Pressure Washers, Fine Finish, Pavement Maintenance. Since Graco was founded by the Gray brothers Russell and Leil over 90 years ago, the company has been built on a strong foundation of values that continue to define and guide everything they do. Graco is committed to delivering innovation, quality and A Service. When you choose Graco, you’re investing in high-quality products built to last for years of reliable service. You’ll see A Service when you contact our support service options no matter where you are in the world. We strive for A Service to every customer, every time.

Mobile Elevating Work Platforms. When Hy-Brid Lifts started back in 1981, they focused their business around the concept of exceeding our customer's expectations. Now, after 36 years, they are even more committed to providing innovative, creative solutions to the problems being faced by those in the aerial lift marketplace. The Hy-Brid series of aerial platform lifts are a testament to their dedication to the marketplace.

Table Linens for Rental and Purchase. Jomar Table Linens is a leading manufacturer of commercial tablecloths and linens for the party rental industry. For almost 30 years, Jomar has provided wholesale table linens for the wedding, party, catering, hotel, banquet, and special event rental industry across the United States and Canada. Fabric tablecloths, napkins, chair covers, aisle runners and more are available to the party rental industry for both purchase and sub-rental. Round, square or rectangle tablecloths, custom size linens, casual and elegant tablecloths, overlays and specialty fabrics. Exclusively offered and created by Jomar is our new Nova™ tablecloth designer collection -- these 96 fabrics are ideal for weddings, corporate parties, fund-raising banquets, and other celebrations by giving the party planner an endless array of decorating possibilities and color combinations.

Pressure Washers, Air Compressors, and Generators. Mi-T-M Corporation is a leading designer and manufacturer of high quality industrial equipment. Our extensive line of product includes: Cold Water Pressure Washers, Hot Water Pressure Washers, Air Compressors, Generators, Air Compressor/Generators Combination, Air Compressor/Generator/Welder Combinations, Wet/Dry Vacuums, Jobsite Boxes, Portable Heaters, and Water Treatment Systems. Our equipment is engineered by one of the leading engineering teams in the industry. This team consistently establishes industry standards through the development of patented technological designs and, through years of hard work and dedication, has helped Mi-T-M become a certified testing facility for CSA.

Manufacturing variety of construction equipment, water truck, dump truck, etc. In 1954, John H. Hayes and his two sons, John R. and Vernon L. Hayes, started a company named Hayes Welding in Paramount, California. By the early 1970’s, John H. and John R. both retired from Hayes Welding. Vernon Hayes began building products Valew is now known for. Roger and Douglas Hayes, Vernon's sons, now run Valew. Roger Hayes is the CEO and his brother Douglas is in charge of the manufacturing process at Valew. Today Valew manufactures their truck bodies in their state-of-the-art facility located in Southern California.

Long time rental industry supplier, Jomar Table Linens, Inc. announced that the company has re-opened under new ownership and is again renting and selling table linens for the event rental industry. According to Mitchell Bluethman, General Manager, “Jomar is now structured to move forward into a stronger position than ever before. We are excited to grow with new equipment, new fabrics and new colors in some of our most popular offerings. We are thankful that many members of our team have come back and willingly jumped right back in to help get us going with the commitment to quality and service that Jomar has long been known for.”

Frank Gangi has been promoted to national accounts manager for ASV Holdings Inc., an industry-leading manufacturer of all-purpose and all-season compact track loaders and skid steers. Gangi will be responsible for supporting and growing ASV’s customer portfolio, including OEM and national rental customers, direct national accounts and strategic attachment partners. Gangi has 23 years of experience in the manufacturing industry, with more than 10 years in the compact loader business. He most recently worked as an ASV area manager for welding, fabrication and paint. Prior to that, he was in factory sales, where he managed the ordering process and worked closely with ASV’s dealers and sales team.

SmartEquip and Alert Management Systems have announced the launch of their completed integration of their respective software platforms. The partnership provides Alert customers a significant reduction in equipment operating costs through streamlining parts ordering for industrial equipment rental fleets. “We’re thrilled to offer Alert users the opportunity to seamlessly interface with SmartEquip,” said Mary Crosslin, Co-President and COO of Alert Management Systems. “Our integration will offer Alert users the ability to connect with SmartEquip in the work-order process and create a purchase order if the part isn’t in stock. Savvy equipment rental operations will save countless hours and potential mistakes by automating a once time-consuming and error-prone process. We’re further delighted to offer this integration as a baseline feature of Alert.”

In a recent conference call, the CRA board of directors approved a $20,000 matching contribution to the ARA legislative committee to help combat the CA Split Roll Property Tax initiative on the November ballot. Follow CA Business Roundtable at cbrt.org for the latest updates.

Les Chayo, CRA’s General Counsel, recently contacted the California Air Resources Board on behalf of CRA members concerning the Proposed Advanced Clean Trucks Regulation – Large Entity and Fleet Reporting Requirement and exemption for rental companies from the ACT Regulation. Les expressed the rental industry’s concerns with the extensive amount of information requested by the Fleet Reporting Requirement and elaborated on the reasons why heavy equipment rental and leasing companies should be exempt from the Advanced Clean Truck Regulation, large entity, and large fleet reporting requirements.

The U.S. Department of Labor recently announced a Final Rule that will allow employers to more easily offer perks and benefits to their employees. The rule announced today marks the first significant update to the regulations governing regular rate requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) in over 50 years. Those requirements define what forms of payment employers include and exclude in the FLSA’s “time and one-half” calculation when determining overtime rates. The previous regulatory landscape left employers uncertain about the role that perks and benefits play when calculating the regular rate of pay. The new rule clarifies which perks and benefits must be included in the regular rate of pay, as well as which perks and benefits an employer may provide without including them in the regular rate of pay.

With pipeline development, U.S. crude oil pipeline fill has increased by more than 60% since 2011. Crude oil held in pipelines (pipeline fill) in the United States grew from 75 million barrels in March 2011, the earliest data available, to nearly 124 million barrels in September 2019, a 64% increase, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) Working and Net Available Shell Storage Capacity report. The increase is due to the significant expansion of the U.S. crude oil pipeline system over that period. Almost 97% of the 48 million barrel increase in crude oil pipeline fill, which includes some volumes of crude oil in transit via water and rail, occurred in the Gulf Coast (Petroleum Administration for Defense District, or PADD, 3) and the Midwest (PADD 2).

  

Thank you to all who take time to participate in our surveys. CRA uses the information we gather to better serve you. If you have an idea for a survey for CRA members, please send your request to CRA at Info@CalRental.org. This month, we surveyed members the new CA Split Roll Initiative heading toward the ballot in 2020.

Don Machado from Arnold Rental in Arnold, CA is the winner of the December Survey Raffle. Congratulations Don!