If the equipment is rented for a year, why can't they transport it from a distant branch? Why did they have to acquire your branch? What's the need for having the equipment close to the customer if it's going to be rented for a year?

Customers often prefer a full-service package. They want both long-term large equipment and short-term local equipment. They may not want to rent just a reach forklift from you if they can't also get the cut-off saw and the jumping jack tamp from you. In places where we didn't have locations, United and sometimes Herc did. In many of those cases, United would dominate that job site, not Sunbelt. Sunbelt, like us, would be a secondary supplier for that job site. However, when they entered the market, they were either able to serve the same job site more efficiently if they had sold it, or they now had the potential to become the primary supplier for that job site.

What did they tell you when they met you? Did they compliment your locations or your equipment? What sparked their interest in your company?

They began building a relationship with me four years before the acquisition. They were interested in most of our locations due to their quality. They were the right size and build. Sometimes, they have to acquire companies, even small ones with as little as $300,000 in annual revenue, simply because they need a location with the right zoning.