The Rental Show 2012 Will Feature Expanded Educational Opportunities

(Jan. 9, 2012) MOLINE, IL – More seminars than ever before, more formats to choose from and a wide variety of instructors including such notable names as Dan Kaplan and Steve Abercrombie are all part of the educational agenda at The Rental Show in New Orleans.

The Show will kick off with a full day of seminars on Sunday, Feb. 5, with additional educational sessions the mornings of Tuesday, Feb. 7, and Wednesday, Feb. 8. In total, there will be 30 seminars – surpassing any other year of The Rental Show.

“We have expanded the educational opportunities to provide the attendees with relevant and practical information that will help them improve their rental businesses. We consistently hear from attendees that they want more education, so we are happy to fulfill this request,” said Allison Box, ARA senior administrative director for association services.

Also created in response to requests are indoor-outdoor product demonstrations, offered for the first time at The Rental Show 2012. “These include classroom instruction and actual product demonstrations on generators and power distribution for both construction and special events, concrete surface preparation and polishing, hardwood floor installation and refinishing, and scaffolding,” Box said. These half-day sessions are limited to 50 participants and, unlike other Show education sessions, require pre-registration. All five sessions quickly filled up.

Making a return to The Rental Show in 2012 is Steve Abercrombie, who will lead a half-day session on financial planning for rental store owners. He is a financial expert who was a popular Show speaker for many years. Abercrombie and his associate, Barbara Carper Nuss, also will present a seminar on using ARA’s Cost of Doing Business Report with bankers.

Those attending The Rental Show have the unique opportunity to hear from a true rental industry expert during “Up Close and Personal With Dan Kaplan,” a 90-minute session in which the Rental Hall of Famer will offer his perspectives on the rental equipment industry’s past, present and future. The session will be limited to 100 attendees.

The new ARA Rental Market Metrics™ will be discussed during another 90-minute session. John McClelland, ARA vice president of government affairs, will talk about the development and why it’s important to the industry. He also will introduce Gary McArdle, who will explain how Rouse Analytics benchmarking service has adopted ARA Rental Market Metrics™.

Other seminars include identify theft prevention, hiring, social media, communication, customer service, business culture, succession planning, negotiating, and Web presence and search engine optimization. The rental town hall sessions will return for 2012, with the addition of a new town hall on family business. Round-table discussions will be featured on Feb. 8, with sessions on managing risk, family business and marketing strategies.


About ARA: The American Rental Association (www.ARArental.org) is an international trade association for the owners of equipment rental businesses and the manufacturers and suppliers of construction/industrial, general tool and party/event rental equipment. ARA members, which include more than 7,500 rental businesses and nearly 900 manufacturers and suppliers, are located in every U.S. state, every Canadian province, and more than 30 countries worldwide. Now in its sixth decade of operation, ARA is the source for information, advocacy, business development tools, education and training, networking and marketplace opportunities for the rental equipment industry throughout the world. The Rental Show (www.TheRentalShow.com) is owned and managed by the American Rental Association.