H&E Equipment Services Expands Southern and Central California Presence with Acquisition of Giffin Equipment

The acquisition, which closed earlier today, includes three branch locations and a fleet size, as measured by original equipment cost, of approximately $13.4 million. The rental branches are in the cities of Ventura, Goleta and Santa Maria.
Nov. 1, 2023
2 min read

H&E Equipment Services Inc. today announced the acquisition of the equipment rental assets of Giffin Equipment, a California-based provider of non-residential construction and industrial equipment. The acquisition, which closed earlier today, includes three branch locations and a fleet size, as measured by original equipment cost, of approximately $13.4 million. The rental branches are in the cities of Ventura, Goleta and Santa Maria.

Giffin Equipment was founded as an equipment yard and wedding store in Goleta, just north of Santa Barbara, Calif., in 1930. The company now offers a wide range of construction and industrial-related equipment. It is also an authorized dealer for Bobcat equipment in Ventura and southern Santa Barbara counties.

Brad Barber, CEO of H&E Equipment Services, talked about the importance of the acquisition for H&E. “The addition of Giffin’s equipment rental assets and facilities increases our branch density and assists in bridging our existing locations in Central and Southern California,” Barber said. “The improved density and continuity allow H&E to efficiently address the active non-residential construction market through extended regional coverage, while providing meaningful expansion of our rental fleet within the existing branch structure. Throughout Giffin’s 93-year history in California, its employees have maintained a focus on strong customer service, reliable equipment, and equipment solutions. We look forward to growing our rental fleet in these newly acquired locations while working closely with our new teams to expand our Central and Southern California business.”

The Stansberry Firm represented Giffin Equipment in the transaction.

Following the transaction, H&E’s equipment rental operations extend across 135 branch locations in 30 states, including 15 locations in California. Based in Baton Rouge, La., H&E Equipment Services is No. 5 on the RER 100.

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.

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