Rental Industry Veteran Entrepreneur Ralph McCurry Dies
Ralph Wesley McCurry, a leader in the equipment rental industry and owner of M&M Equipment Rental, Equipment Repainting Services and ERS Lift, died last month at age 73. McMurry grew M&M Equipment Rental into an 11-location rental company, which he merged with Falconite Equipment in 1996, creating a network of 27 branches. Falconite was acquired two years later by National Equipment Services for $175 million.
McMurry then co-founded Equipment Repainting Services (ERS Lift) with Brandon “Heath” Boone and his two sons, Wes McCurry and Michael McCurry. The company began as a paint and refurb facility before evolving into a wholesale/re-rent company. ERS rented large booms and telehandlers to national and regional companies throughout the United States. ERS Lift expanded rapidly and was acquired by United Rentals in June 2022.
He continued as a strategic advisor and co-owner of McCurry Van & Car Rental, a six-location rental business that he operated along with his son Wes until his passing.
“Ralph’s influence reached far beyond spreadsheets and sale prices,” wrote his son Michael in an e-mail to RER. “He mentored dozens of professionals, many of whom now lead their own companies or manage major markets. He believed in people, invested in relationships, and built something that mattered. The businesses he built, the people he trained and the standards he set will endure far beyond his lifetime.”
McMurry began his business career in the insurance industry with his father and brother at McCurry Pike Insurance Agency. He was active in the insurance industry for 20 years before getting involved in equipment rental with the founding of M&M Equipment in 1990 in Alabama. In addition to many other athletic pursuits, McMurry was an avid golfer who won several statewide and national amateur tournaments.
McMurry is survived by his wife Vicki Cummings McCurry, and sons Ralph Wesley “Wes” McCurry Jr.; Michael McCurry and Griffin McCurry. He had seven grandchildren.
[A picture of McMurry was not available at press time.]
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.