Rental companies account for more construction equipment sales than any other type of customer in Europe. The rental companies themselves have become so important to OEMs that many new designs are intended specifically for the equipment rental industry, and some equipment manufacturers and rental companies work together to design machines that meet the rental market’s needs. Equipment rental also benefits consumers because they can fill their equipment needs without an upfront investment, long term storage facilities or maintenance staff and equipment to transport machinery from one job site to another. Rental allows consumers to access the newest models and technology at a reduced cost. The strategy of renting rather than purchasing machinery has been in force for much of the last decade plus.

This report combines data from Off-Highway Research with information from annual global league tables published in the KHL Group’s specialist construction industry magazines International Rental News (IRN), Access International, American Cranes & Transport (ACT) and Access, Lift and Handlers (ALH).

Whereas some of the data generated is global in nature, this report focuses on construction equipment and related markets in Europe. For context, in the most recent IRN-100 (International Rental News’ annual listing, published in June), more than one-third of the companies listed had European headquarters, though the rental focus of some of them was outside the field of construction equipment so they are not covered in this report.

The two datasets provide insights into different aspects of the continent’s intertwined equipment and rental industries, while analysis of the two side-by-side illustrates the interconnections and disconnects between the two sectors.

As well as allowing the analysis of trends in the rental industry over the years, the wealth of data also provides the opportunity to look at individual benchmark companies and see how they have navigated the choppy economic waters that have characterised recent years and compare this to their competitors’ performance.