Interview: Why United Rentals is making its Bauma debut

Photo: Messe München

In terms of the equipment rental industry, United Rentals is a household name in the North American market.

Although that might not be the case in Europe, or certainly not to the same extent, the company has gained ground in recent years with new depots across the UK, Germany, France and the Benelux as well as a recent acquisition.

Now, with the company in the midst of solidifying its presence, it has decided to make its Bauma debut in 2025.

Speaking to IRN, Andreas Rudolf, general manager Germany, United Rentals Europe, reveals why Bauma will be key in raising awareness in Europe and discusses further plans for growth.

IRN: Why has United Rentals decided to exhibit at Bauma?

AR: Up until a few years ago, our focus was primarily on the industrial sector. Over time, we developed and expanded our products by introducing power rental solutions such as generators, fuel tanks, battery packs, and distribution systems, which are used across various industries.

In this context, it was a logical step to broaden our focus, and we are now also active in the construction sector.

We have been following Bauma for many years, and now, with the right equipment and focus, we are ready to exhibit at the largest trade fair in the construction industry.

I went there personally several times and you need days to see everything, so that was a bit where we were hesitating initially with our Fluid Solutions.

At first, we only offered Fluid Solutions products. If you can really reach the right target customer, they have it now with power rentals and generators as well as recently widening our scope in Europe with service power and tools.

So, we said now it’s time to be there to show what we can do and let the market know that we are here, and we are expanding because United Rentals is a famous brand over the world, but in Europe we are educating the market.

We have grown significantly over the last couple of years, expanding, investing and now showing our customer base what we are capable of doing. That’s the reason.

IRN: Can you highlight the products that you’ll be showcasing?

AR: We are going there with two different product categories. The first is Fluid Solutions, which includes a wide range of products for the storage, transfer, and treatment of liquids and sludge.

On top of this, we will show our Power Solutions, featuring products like Stage V generators and battery packs. We observe a change in the market towards sustainability, and with these green solutions, we aim to provide reliable and effective options for power supply.

IRN: How do you think they will appeal to the European customer base?

AR: The Fluid Solution is quite a unique solution that we are offering in Europe.

We started 18 years ago with the product which was hardly known, maybe a bit in the oil and gas industry, and over time we educated the market.

It’s really a brand name now, our tank systems. With the Power Solutions, like generators and battery packs, it is a better-known product to many industries because it’s been used for decades but the difference now is the service.

Our network of branches, the time we can respond and our teams, that makes it a different tool to bring to the customers plans and their projects.

IRN: Will you be exhibiting anything else or hosting any conferences or talks?

AR: We are in conversations with Messe München as to what is doable because it’s a huge fair and we are starting with an outside space because the equipment needs to be outside.

Hopefully we can get a slot somewhere to present ourselves. That’s planned but not final.

IRN: Regarding the construction range in Europe, will United look at earthmoving equipment or is the focus more on the industrial range?

AR: That’s more on the long-term planning. We are always looking to expand our solutions to meet customer needs and explore the next opportunities for growth, but there’s nothing I can share at the moment.

IRN: Regarding United Rentals in Europe, where is the company currently active?

AR: We started in the Netherlands, then we moved into Germany and France and later in UK and Belgium.

That’s our focus currently, but we are always looking at opportunities for growth. We do projects in all European countries.

That’s our base and I think there’s no country missing where we haven’t had projects in the last couple of years.

IRN: Are there any particular countries that you’re looking at?

AR: It’s in our horizon planning and also something that we keep a bit for us now. We are investigating and checking what is the next step, as we’re always looking for opportunities to bring value to our customers. There will definitely be next steps, that’s for sure.

IRN: Will any geographical moves still focus on the industrial range?

AR: We are very good in the heavy industry. That’s our focus, because we started pretty much in the petrochemical and maintenance industry. Construction came on the plan as well but if you look on all sectors we are serving I think there’s no exception where we are not able to offer services with our solutions.

Food and beverage, for example. That’s not really the core for us, but there are situations where they need our help as well. So, we are busy in all sectors, but the heavy and producing industry is still our main focus.

IRN: Are there any particular markets or sectors in Europe where United Rentals sees the most opportunity?

AR: Overall, in Europe, we hold a strong market position in the petrochemical industry, particularly in Germany. There is significant potential for growth in other industrial sectors as well.

With offering new equipment and new solutions, that also opens also new opportunities and that’s the plan we are following.

Ideally to bring solutions to all customers to make their projects and production plans safer and better, that’s what we do by adding new services.

If you look at the US, that’s of course more diverse in terms of equipment offering and step by step we will get there, but with clever decisions where we know where we can step in to have a profitable growth, that’s a key factor.

It’s not simply copy and paste everything but do it in a clever step by step way.

IRN: What strategic challenges has United Rentals faced in adapting the business model to the European market?

AR: We started organically in 2006 as BakerCorp and became part of United Rentals in 2018 and grow form there. We kept adding equipment so it was not starting from zero, it was based on an acquisition and then adding new equipment sources to it.

There’s an existing market where we are gaining market shares year over year and then growing into it, so it’s not a particular challenge we see, it’s more to follow the opportunities in the market.

Comparing two offerings in Europe, perhaps Germany, then service makes a difference. It’s a big differentiator if you pick up the phone 24/7.

It sounds easy, but if you offer it to a customer there you make the difference, and you gain relationships. That is something that’s unique where you need to find the right people that are willing to do this level of service, which is very much known in the US.