European Giant Boels Rentals Acquires Abird

Boels Rental, one of Europe’s leading equipment and tool rental companies with more than 400 branches in 17 European countries, has acquired Abird, active for more than 50 years in the Benelux countries and Germany.

Michael Roth

Dec. 23, 2017

2 min read

An Abird oilfree compressor on an industrial job a segment where Abird is particularly strong — An Abird oil-free compressor on an industrial job, a segment where Abird is particularly strong.

Boels Rental is headquartered in Sittard, The Netherlands, and is forecasted to grow by 15 percent in 2017 to €440 million (about U.S. $522 million) in 2017.

Abird has annual revenue of more than €27 million. It specializes in the rental, sales and maintenance of industrial tools, welding equipment, hoisting and lifting gear, and air, light and power equipment. Abird has seven branches and the acquisition will help strengthen Boels in its area.

“Abird is a large independent industrial equipment prover in the Netherlands, with a strong regional presence in Western Germany and Belgium,” said Pierre Boels, CEO of Boels Rental. “Although Boels is already active in the same market segment, the acquisition of Abird represents an important milestone in our growth strategy. Together with the talented and experienced management and staff of Abird, we will continue to work towards our goal of becoming the most important equipment provider for the petrochemical and other industrial sectors.”

“Boels has given us the opportunity to develop further at a fast pace in the industrial market at home and abroad,” added Michel Hogervorst, managing director of Abird. “Because of the acquisition, we shall be able to continue to invest in our rental fleet and our staff will be able to carry on expanding their product specialties. Knowledge, safety and quality are vitally important to our customers and Boels will help us deliver all three.”

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.