Cooper Equipment Rentals Acquires British Columbia’s Star Rentals
Cooper Equipment Rentals Ltd., the largest independent rental company in Canada, has acquired Vancouver, B.C., Canada-based Star Rentals Ltd. Star Rentals Ltd. -- not to be confused with Seattle-based Star Rentals, a leading northwest U.S. rental company -- services the Metro Vancouver area through locations in White Rock, Surrey, Langley, Abbotsford, Burnaby and Maple Ridge, B.C.
Star Rentals was established in 1984 and is the largest independent equipment rental company in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia.
Already a leading rental player in parts of Ontario, Quebec and Alberta, the acquisition of Star makes Cooper Equipment Rental a major player in Vancouver and southern British Columbia.
Over the past several decades, Star Rentals has developed a reputation for reliable, value-added service and has established a loyal base of customers that rely on the company to provide equipment rental solutions. Doug Johnson, president and principal owner of Star Rentals, will assume a senior role with Cooper, and will help manage and grow Cooper’s business in British Columbia.
“We are excited to enter the B.C. market with the addition of Star Rentals’ impressive team of rental professionals, topnotch equipment fleet and excellent branch facilities,” said Darryl Cooper, president of Cooper Equipment Rentals.
“This strategic acquisition immediately puts us in a leading position in the important Vancouver market and allows us to support customers throughout the Lower Mainland,” added Doug Dougherty, CEO of Cooper. “It moves us closer to our goal of establishing a national network of branches through which we can deliver best-in-class service to customers throughout Canada.”
“My partners and I take great pride in business we have built, and we are deeply committed to Star Rentals’ employees and customers,” said Johnson. “We have every confidence that this transaction will provide meangful opportunity for our employees and will allow Star Rentals’ customers to continue receiving the high level of service to which they have become accustomed. Cooper’s culture aligns perfectly with Star’s, and I am excited to have the opportunity to work with the fastest growing independent equipment rental company in Canada.”
Cooper Equipment Rentals, established in 1972, operates 39 rental locations, specializing in compact equipment and aerial rentals, with a wide range of equipment and supplies. In 2013, Cooper received a majority investment from SeaFort Capital, based in Halifax, N.S.
Based in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, Cooper Equipment Rentals is No. 31 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.