Rental: How did you first get your start in the rental industry?
Andrew Heesacker: My father has been the owner of Arvada Rent-Alls since 1986, so technically, I was born into the equipment rental industry. However, I did not grow up sweeping the floors. I got my first job at 14 years old and worked at several places growing up and into college. I attended the University of Northern Colorado, and upon graduating in 2007, I got hired on at Neff Rental (now United), which is how I got my “official” start in the rental industry.
Rental: Can you give us some insight on your current company?
Heesacker: I’ve been at Arvada Rent-Alls for 10 years and have instituted a lot of change. Having a six-year background at a national equipment rental company gave me a very clear picture of commercial rental. Prior to these changes, the revenue mix of Arvada Rent-Alls was about 60 percent homeowner, 35 percent contractor and 5 percent event and party. We’re now about 65 percent contractor and 35 percent homeowner.
We’ve added a multitude of new Cat classes that contractors rent, including boom lifts, reach forklifts, heavy earthmoving equipment, water trucks and more. We’ve put a lot of time and energy into crafting a locally owned company that operates and competes with national equipment companies. We also have a redesigned website including a customer portal, a top-of-the-line service department including state-of-the-art service trucks and professional high quality delivery trucks. We also implemented Traction EOS with the help of an implementer and graduated from that at the end of 2021.
We pride ourselves on having a culture that people want to work in.
Rental: What have been some of the challenges and successes you’ve had over the years you've been in business?
Heesacker: We learned some hard lessons when we first brought in larger equipment. Having a properly skilled service team, a properly trained inside and outside sales team and even appropriately sized vehicles are all challenges we’ve faced (and overcome) when we made that leap in 2017. Likewise for others across the industry, COVID was a difficult time period. There were times when we had no idea what the next month or two would bring for the business.
Rental: What's the best piece of business advice you've received? And what's something that you'd like to share with others?
Heesacker: I have a few pieces of advice I’ve received from people I consider to be mentors and friends. These include, “Learn to manage without being someone's boss.” While I am now technically “the boss,” this quote really made me think about the subject of leadership.
I also like the advice, “Stay patient and let situations resolve themselves without always jumping in at the first sign of difficulty.” This mindset has helped grow the people around me—and me.
Some advice I think others could find value in is get an operating system. Even if it’s not Traction EOS, do something. Also, your employees appreciate transparency and clarity when it comes to the direction the company is headed, in addition to the feedback they get on a regular basis. Another important lesson is being empathetic and actively listening to what people are saying at all levels of leadership.
Rental: What are three of the biggest trends you predict for the rental industry this year?
Heesacker: I think 2023 is going to start strong, with the pent-up demand from the last few years of uncertainty. I personally believe there will be a slowdown later in the year, going into 2024, but it will be short-lived. I also think (also very much so hope) that supply chain issues will temper, and we’ll get closer to having shorter lead times and no surcharges from manufacturers.
Rental: If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?
Heesacker: Honestly, I love living in Colorado. When my partner and I retire, we’ve talked about living in Italy or Greece or someplace like that.
