Rental Market Looking Strong in Portland, OR

By selling and renting tools to the professional and electrical trades, Trade Tool Supply is in a good position to take advantage of the vibrant market.

Oregon

“Things are looking pretty hot right now.” That's how Brian Lusby, business development manager for Trade Tool Supply Corp. in Tualatin, OR describes the Portland metropolitan market. “New data centers are being built in the Columbia River Gorge, as well as Central Oregon,” he related. “People are moving here to take advantage of job opportunities, which, in turn, has created a housing shortage and a ramp up of new housing construction.”

By selling and renting tools to the professional and electrical trades, Trade Tool Supply is in a good position to take advantage of the vibrant market. “In the rental market, our primary customers are large electrical, plumbing, and mechanical contractors,” explained Lusby. “That being said, we also serve a huge number of smaller companies performing the same activities. Our rental inventory includes everything from conduit bending and cable pulling and feeding tools, along with threading, cutting, and grooving tools. We also have a large inventory of drain cleaning and inspection tools for sale and rent.”

He noted the company doesn’t anticipate a slowdown in the near term. In fact, it just added Greenlee products, a full line of tools and equipment for the electrical trade, to its sales and rental inventory. “Yes, the biggest issue down the road would be a slowdown, but again that’s not something we foresee in the immediate future,” Lusby reiterated. His advice to other rental stores: "No one can predict what the economy is going to do. Certainly, don’t over extend resources, but at the same time don’t hesitate to add something to your inventory if you can rent or sell it."       

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