In June, Michelle Nelson, president, MK Equipment Corp., Honolulu, had an unexpected visitor — American Rental Association (ARA) CEO Tony Conant.
“It was very humbling to have him visit. It is not often that we have people come to Hawaii to visit. It shows how much he cares about rental operators here,” she says.
Conant was in Hawaii to attend the ARA Insurance board meeting. Prior to that, he, along with John Kennedy, ARA Insurance president, and Chris Laniauskas, ARA Insurance preferred agent and vice president of Cavanah Associates in Honolulu, had an opportunity to visit several event and equipment rental operators in the state.
Nelson remembers meeting Conant at The ARA Show™ right after he became ARA CEO. “I had a chance to talk with him then and again when I came to ARA headquarters in Moline, Ill., as part of the Equipment Rental Shared Interest Group. He is a great guy. I always have great conversations with him. The same was true when he came to Hawaii,” she says.
On the other hand, Shane Morris, owner, STM Equipment Rentals, Waianae, Hawaii, had never met Conant before his visit to the island.
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| Tony Conant (left) and Shane Morris |
“I thought it was great that the CEO of ARA would visit a new and small operation like mine. It made me feel like ARA cares about all its members and not just the large ones,” Morris says.
Morris established his company in 2018. “When I started, only ARA Insurance would insure me. I really appreciate ARA giving me a shot and allowing me to be in business. I was stuck until I found ARA and ARA Insurance. Having Tony here made me feel like my hard work and perseverance is paying off and that I am going in the right direction. It made me fully understand how well ARA cares about its members and opened my eyes to other resources that I could use as far as classes and subject matter experts,” Morris says, adding that after the visit, he went to the ARA website and checked out some of the resources they had discussed.
Before Conant left, he noticed a unique item in Morris’ fleet. “I own an old fire truck that was a helicopter tender. It has a stainless-steel fuel tank that was used to fuel the helicopters. I use it now to fuel my equipment. I found it at an auction. It is on wheels, so I can drive it where I need to go. Tony was very intrigued with that item,” Morris adds.
Gabrielle Richter, president, Accel Events & Tents, whose headquarters is in Honolulu, also had not met Conant before his visit. She, too, was excited for the opportunity to do so in person.
“We are in the middle of the ocean and don’t always feel connected to mainline resources. It was so helpful to have face-to-face time with Tony to be able to show him what we are doing and feel connected to and have access to him,” she says.
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| Gabrielle Richter (left), Tony Conant and Adam Smith |
Richter says the conversation covered a wide range of topics, such as “the current landscape of the rental market here in Hawaii and our current challenges, particularly those that might be more acute because of our island isolation. For instance, where labor is a challenge nationwide, our labor needs are dire. Many left the islands and went back to the mainland during the pandemic. It is harder to attract that talent because of the high cost of living here, but we very much need to work on how we can attract more people,” she says.
Relationships and information-sharing “within our vendor network and using ARA as a source of connectivity were also discussed. We certainly have had a lot of success with our insurance offerings, and I love the show as it is a beautiful source of networking. Those resources have been really valuable to me as someone who is a recent joiner to this industry. We also talked about Accel’s evolution, direction, operating priorities and growth plans in addition to technology — the different resources that are available at ARA and how to tap into those resources,” she says. “It was so nice to have those conversations in person instead of via Zoom and be able to show Tony our operation and introduce him to the team. That had a lot of value to us.”
In her conversation with Conant, Nelson said the thought of how members could become more involved in ARA resonated with her.
“I am very passionate about ARA and I see the value of my involvement in the association as I am also part of an ARA Peer Advisory Group. I think the biggest takeaway of having him visit in person is that I became empowered and thought about how I could try harder to be a point of contact for people on the island and be more involved on a local level,” Nelson says.
While she knows many operators on the island “as we re-rent from each other and refer to each other, I would like to see what we can do to build and strengthen those relationships. I think that would be very valuable,” she says.
Since the visit, Nelson has “started going out to visit new members I have not met before. Everyone I talk with recommends another person they know who I can talk with. It is about building relationships,” she says.
Laniauskas, who was involved in many of the visits, says the meetings “were super-important as our members have a long way to fly no matter where the show is and might not be able to make it there as often because of the cost. Having Tony make the effort to come out and meet folks was much appreciated by all who met him, and members were very happy to see and talk with him. A lot of members were pleasantly surprised by the multitude of benefits available to help them. They also were impressed that he was dressed in an Aloha shirt rather than a suit and tie,” he says with a laugh.
Conant thoroughly enjoyed connecting with everyone, too. “It was really nice to visit with so many during my trip, including Ryan Ouye at Service Rentals & Supplies, who has been an ARA member for 50 years. He is in an elite group as we have only 180 ARA members with 50-plus years of membership,” he says.
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| Ryan Ouye (left) and Tony Conant |
Through these connections, Conant heard two common themes:
- Difficulty in finding good staff on the islands — and retaining them. “While this is certainly an issue for many industries, I think the rental industry has some unique advantages like the varied nature of the work and the fact that we have the best people you could ever want to associate with,” he says.
- The desire to interact more with each other. “I think most people know and respect the competitive boundaries, but there are certainly many areas that are open for discussion and collaboration. Those include staff and customer safety as well as sharing your experience with the various brands of equipment. Those are ways to improve the health of the industry without seriously eroding any competitive advantage. Michelle Nelson is very keen on fostering a more collaborative environment, and she has the energy and disposition to make it happen. I encourage members to reach out to her if they are interested in collaborating,” Conant says.
He also was impressed with how much those in the Hawaiian rental community knew about the programs and resources available through the association. “I was thrilled that I was asked about our new MEWP Certification training and our Equipment Sales and Service Certification,” he says.
Conant is thankful “to all for making my trip so memorable,” he says, adding that the conversations with members created “memories for a lifetime.”