Eberhart Capital Acquires Barrett’s Equipment, Englewood, Fla.
Eberhart Capital, LLC, a Scottsdale, Ariz.-based private equity firm, completed its second Florida acquisition this year in the construction equipment rental industry, purchasing Barrett’s Equipment in Englewood, Fla., from founder/owner Joe Barrett.
“Florida is an attractive place to invest because of its pro-business attitude and continuing economic growth,” said Dan Eberhart, managing director of Eberhart Capital. “While the 2020 outlook may look different due to the pandemic, the construction industry on the West Coast of Florida achieved revenue growth of 15 percent in 2019, which helps fuel construction projects and rentals.”
Eberhart said he is particularly impressed with what Barrett’s Equipment has accomplished and looks forward to building on the strong foundation created by Joe Barrett. Barrett’s has been a pillar of the Sarasota, Fla., community for more than 20 years, winning several dealership awards for providing tractors, earth-moving equipment, trenchers, aerial lifts and other construction equipment on a rental or rent-to-own basis. The company is an authorized dealer for some of the best-known names in the industry, including Gehl excavators and loaders, Kioti tractors, Atlas loaders, JLG aerial lifts, and IHI compact excavators.
“We’re very excited to have Eberhart Capital to take the business to the next level,” said Joe Barrett, the founder of Barrett Equipment. “They have the business knowledge and the power to compete in today’s aggressive market.”
Eberhart is looking forward to working with the company’s skilled staff to continue to support the area’s commercial construction companies. Jake Strickland, a long-standing Barrett Equipment’s employee, will serve as the new branch manager. He comes with high praise from his former employer.
“Strickland is a dedicated and loyal employee who is very knowledgeable with all aspects of the rental business,” Barrett said.
This newest Barrett’s acquisition furthers Eberhart Capital’s strategy of combining multiple, smaller rental properties under the rental umbrella. Previously, Eberhart Capital acquired equipment rental companies Contractor Sales & Service in Des Moines, Iowa, and The Equipment Source in Naples, Fla. This is Eberhart Capital’s 20th acquisition since founding in 2009.
Eberhart Capital, LLC, intends to strengthen all of the companies through increased market share and best practices implemented across the entire portfolio. All three rental acquisitions align with his firm’s strategy of buying successful equipment rental businesses and helping them achieve their full potential by providing scale, capital, and analytics.
About the Author
Michael Roth
Editor
Michael Roth has covered the equipment rental industry full time for RER since 1989 and has served as the magazine’s editor in chief since 1994. He has nearly 30 years experience as a professional journalist. Roth has visited hundreds of rental centers and industry manufacturers, written hundreds of feature stories for RER and thousands of news stories for the magazine and its electronic newsletter RER Reports. Roth has interviewed leading executives for most of the industry’s largest rental companies and manufacturers as well as hundreds of smaller independent companies. He has visited with and reported on rental companies and manufacturers in Europe, Central America and Asia as well as Mexico, Canada and the United States. Roth was co-founder of RER Reports, the industry’s first weekly newsletter, which began as a fax newsletter in 1996, and later became an online newsletter. Roth has spoken at conventions sponsored by the American Rental Association, Associated Equipment Distributors, California Rental Association and other industry events and has spoken before industry groups in several countries. He lives and works in Los Angeles when he’s not traveling to cover industry events.