In this episode, Elliott Vigil and John Jeanguenat talk to Kristen Bonewell from AMAROK about brazen thieves in the equipment rental industry.

John Jeanguenat and Elliott Vigil sit down with Doug Haas at the Equipment Rental Guard event to talk about Doug's experience with theft. He says it's more than a $100 million problem and that independent operators need to do more to prevent it.

Melissa Hanna joins John Jeanguenat and Elliott Vigil to talk about one of the hardest challenges facing our industry - finding the right talent.

3:00 - How young is too young to start talking about rental with people?

6:00 - How important is mentoring and on the job training?

8:02 - Can personality tests help you in the hiring process?

14:19 - How do we grow our workforce

18:23 - Are we training enough in our industry?

19:35 - What is an experience map?

21:10 - How does culture fit in to retention?

23:29 - How do you maintain the culture through acquisitions?

25:52 - How do the big companies and independents work together to sell what rental has to offer?

Shop Talk takes on The ARA Show - powered by ANA. Robert Pedersen of A Tool Shed joins John Jeanguenat and Elliott Vigil to talk about everything from his dad becoming the ARA president, his time in the military, changing their inventory to meet the needs of commercial customers, and more.

5:53 - Adaptable leadership and how being a helicopter pilot changed his mindset

9:00 - Being a rental store in California during COVID

12:58 - Rob talks about the California wildfires

18:45 - Residential market and competition

20:31 - Moving from residential to commercial customers

25:00 - Work/life balance

Shop Talk takes on The ARA Show - powered by ANA. Jon Kaye of Miller Construction joins John Jeanguenat and Elliott Vigil to talk about what he looks for in a rental partner. He talks about his costs as a contractor, his decisions to rent vs. buy, and why it's important for a rental company to want to be his second call.

3:30 - Does the size of rental company matter?

13:00 - Jon talks about renting vs. buying

18:08 - The group talks about battery-powered equipment and its place on the jobsite

24:00 - Jon talks about brand preference of equipment

32:17 - John J. asks about theft on the job

Shop Talk takes on The ARA Show - powered by ANA. John Jeanguenat and Elliott Vigil sit down with ANA president and chief operating officer, Kevin Day, and talk about the future of power generation, diesel power, questions about California's power grid after the wildfires, and the relationship between manufacturer and rental operator.

4:00 - Kevin talks about how to make a rental operator successful as a manufacturer given his experience at a rental store

6:57 - Elliott talks about jobsite trailers and generators and why they're always breaking down 12:22 - The guys talk about ANA's experience with the California wildfires and the future of power lines in the affected area

17:44 - Kevin explains the evolution of power generation that's happening now and what will happen in the next five years

20:15 - Elliott brings up hydrogen energy and asks Kevin his thoughts

22:34 - How our children and grandchildren are affecting ANA's business decisions

Shop Talk comes to you from The ARA Show, powered by ANA.

Kurt Barney is a third generation business owner and has taken Vandalia Rental to another level. He talks about making monumental decisions and his strategy to business, being a third generation business owner with multiple locations that continues to grow. The conversation gets better and better and more strategically focused!

3:15 - Kurt talks about how they got more than 1,000 to apply for their open position

4:45 - Vandalia Rental was awarded the best place to work

6:01 - He talks about why they gave people $10,000 to quit and start a fresh culture

10:55 - Kurt explains why his company is financially transparent

19:35 - F.A.I.L, how you should fail

24:30 - The guys talk about the importance of creating new leaders

Josh, Elliott, and John talk about any potential changes to immigration policy, the quest for good talent, and their top headlines of 2024.

1:04 - John believes workforce development is the single biggest headwind to the industry

5:20 - Josh looks for the silver lining if contractors have labor shortages

7:11 - John shares that 25% of mechanics are 55 and older and other retirement statistics

12:12 - John talks about success stories from the ARA job board

17:15 - Elliott talks about his optimism for the future and Gen Z and Gen Alpha's propensity for the circular economy

19:00 - Josh weighs in the future as well

20:45 - John asks Josh and Elliott what stands out to them about 2024

25:22 - Elliott begins the discussion about what he's most excited about in 2025