Two men with long histories in the rental business have been named to the Rental Hall of Fame, according to the American Rental Association (ARA).
Based in Moline, ARA is an international trade association for owners of equipment and event rental businesses, and manufacturers and suppliers of construction/industrial, general tool and party/event rental equipment. ARA members include more than 12,000 rental businesses and more than 1,000 manufacturers and suppliers.
The two longtime rental industry leaders – Bruce Campbell and the late Jay Chapin – will become the newest inductees into Rental Hall of Fame and will be honored at The ARA Show 2024 in New Orleans in February.
“The Rental Hall of Fame is ARA’s most prestigious award. This year, we recognize two individuals whose contributions made a significant impact on growing the equipment and event rental industry. Their dedication has been felt across the rental community,” Tony Conant, ARA’s CEO, said in a news release.
The Rental Hall of Fame was created in 2000 to honor those people who have changed the trajectory of the equipment and event industry.
Here is a look at the two newest members of the Rental Hall of Fame:
Bruce Campbell
Mr. Campbell began his career in 1968 in Fort Wayne as an employee of an independent rental store. In 1974, he relocated to the Cincinnati, Ohio, area and then in 1984, he founded L&B Equipment Rental in Harrison, Ohio.
As a rental operator, Mr. Campbell served a term as vice president of the ARA of Ohio and two terms as president of the Greater Cincinnati Tool Rental Association. In 1989, he earned an ARA President’s Image Award for L&B Equipment Rental. In 1992, he sold his rental business, retired, and became a rental consultant.
He helped rental software provider JK Data Systems, Tampa, Florida, develop and enhance its features in a rental software enhancement.
During the early 1990s, he wrote a monthly column for ARA’s international Rental Management magazine titled “Discovering Rental.”
In 1994, Mr. Campbell was instrumental in the launching of a rental program for Do it Best Corp., then known as HWI (Hardware Wholesalers, Inc.). Do it Best Corp., a cooperative that supplies products and services to independent hardware, lumber, and home improvement retailers, wanted an expert with rental knowledge to help develop the program. Mr. Campbell contributed his consulting services to the initiative and helped many Do it Best Corp. members become successful rental operators.
Mr. Campbell also helped create the Do it Best Rental School — a member education event through which he provided extensive knowledge of equipment, procedures, safety, the latest trends and strong financial knowledge. Through this program, he aimed to instill high standards and the importance of product quality, inventory and customer service.
Jay D. Chapin
Mr. Chapin of Springfield, Mass., was past president and co-founder of Taylor Rental Corp. He is being honored posthumously. Mr. Chapin died in 2015.
He began working at Dealer Supply Co. in 1959, the same year that organization put together the first Taylor Rental franchise. He became vice president of Dealer Supply Co. in 1963.
Mr. Chapin was named company president in 1971, and in 1972, Dealer Supply Co. became Taylor Rental Corp. Seven years later, there were 626 Taylor Rental Centers (TRCs) in full operation in 49 states in the U.S.
As president of the organization, Mr. Chapin helped family-owned, small business entrepreneurs prosper by backing them with the knowledge, experience and opportunities that a major corporation could provide.
Under Mr. Chapin’s leadership, Taylor Rental Corp. was at the forefront when digital information was in its infancy in the rental industry. In the late 1970s, he introduced TOPIC — the TRC equivalent of Taylor Rental Corp.’s proprietary point-of-sale computer system, CompuRent. In 1982, he made CompuRent available to independent rental outlets.
During his career, Mr. Chapin developed many products, programs and services that enabled TRC franchises to grow and expand the rental concept in communities throughout the U.S. He instituted a team of business management consultants to provide on-site guidance and support to franchisees, developed private-label products to enhance brand recognition, created in-store designs and signage, built a 100,000-square-foot warehouse to allow for faster delivery of products to franchisees and instituted national advertising programs.
Mr. Chapin also encouraged TRC members’ involvement in ARA.
