Park’s Rental and Sales, headquartered in Fort Pierce, FL, recently bolstered its lineup of dustless floor breakers, floor prep equipment, and masonry hand-held tools. The move this year, which brought on Hilti dust removal systems and dustless vacs, gives customers even more options for minimizing their exposure to silica dust.
“The fact that Silica dust is harmful is gaining more awareness around here,” explained company operations manager, Sean Thomas. “We see trucks driving by advertising their company’s ability to perform dustless jobs, something we didn’t see a few years ago. The new vacs and systems not only help contain dust to benefit operators, they also reduce cleanup for their customers.”
As he pointed out OSHA regs help drive this growing awareness, but they are not working alone. “Promoting a safe work environment for customers is an important part of renting equipment. For example, we require operators be present when renting chain saws and other similar tools, so they receive a first-hand demonstration from us. For larger products, such as boom lifts and telehandlers, our delivery drivers are certified equipment operators who provide on-site demonstrations that emphasize safe operation.”
Thomas, a 14-year veteran with the company, noted that safety sheets, manuals, and other documentation that go out the door with tools and equipment also impress on customers the need to operate their rentals in a safe manner.
Park’s Rental caters to a broad customer base comprised of both homeowners and contractors. Its motto, “solutions for rent,” requires stores carry a wide variety of tools and equipment, everything from small hand-held drills to 60’ aerial lifts. The company started in business in 1964 in Fort Pierce and has since added two satellite locations, one in Vero Beach and the other in Port St. Lucie.
Business in all three locations is going well, driven by new construction to accommodate an upbeat housing market and demand for new restaurants, convenient stores, and gas stations, added Thomas.
“The area took quite a hit during the recession and sales are just now getting back to where they were prior to ’07," he said. "I was relatively new to the industry back then and didn’t have an idea the market could collapse like it did. Now I know it’s possible. Still, there’s no indication the market is slowing and we anticipate positive sales growth for the foreseeable future.”
