The Global Rental Alliance (GRA) welcomed another association to its membership during its 15th annual meeting, held recently at The Rental Show 2017 in Orlando, Fla.
The Japan Construction Rental Association (JCRA) officially joined the GRA at the meeting, which was also attended by representatives from the Canadian Rental Association (CRA); European Rental Association (ERA), Belgium; Hire Association Europe (HAE), United Kingdom; Hire Industry Association of New Zealand (HIANZ); Hire and Rental Industry Association Ltd. (HRIA), Australia; and American Rental Association (ARA).
“The Global Rental Alliance continues to be a valuable forum for industry and association representatives from around the world to engage on key issues that impact rental/hire operators,” said Tony Conant, ARA CEO. “The addition of the Japan Construction Rental Association brings the third largest country from a global rental perspective to the alliance. The GRA welcomes Mr. Kadoguchi and the JCRA to the GRA, as we are always looking to add global members that are interested in advancing the rental industry.”
The meeting agenda included a review of the global survey initiative of the GRA, with a release of a 2015 combined rental revenue figure among the GRA associations of US $91.5 billion as calculated by IHS Markit on behalf of the group. The combined rental revenue figure includes results from Japan for the first time. Discussion was held among the associations on the economic forecast for their countries through 2017 and the level of rental penetration as they choose to define it for their respective country. All associations are committed to increasing rental penetration on behalf of their membership through their respective program work.
The full-day meeting also focused on advancing the business success for members of the individual associations and promoting the image of the equipment rental industry throughout the world. Priorities and member initiatives of the associations were shared for the benefit of the group, as well as trends and industry developments. Among the topics discussed were global technology trends, success and challenges with their individual association conventions, and workplace issues including creating rental industry awareness and promoting rental as a viable career option. Online rental providers also were discussed.
The GRA International Rental Business Leadership Program, which is administered by the ARA Foundation, also was reviewed and future program participants were discussed. Initiatives regarding young professionals in each association were reviewed.
The group discussed their objectives for 2017-2018, as well as conference dates and schedules for their respective associations. These dates are available on the GRA website, GlobalRentalAlliance.com. A midyear webinar meeting for GRA will be held and is planned for August 2017. The next annual meeting with be at The Rental Show 2018 in New Orleans, La.
The purpose of the Global Rental Alliance is to increase the profile of equipment rental worldwide and to build global understanding of the industry. It is a partnership of rental associations from around the world that meets semi-annually and shares information on program initiatives throughout the year. The unity of this group has brought about an increased awareness of overall priorities internationally, adding to the strategic outlook and resources of each rental member association.
Lift & Access is part of the Catalyst Communications Network publication family.
