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Welcome
The famed American leader, Gen. Douglas MacArthur was quoted as saying, “There is no security on this earth; there is only opportunity.”
These times certainly bear out the truth of that sentiment! Economic turmoil has us all feeling a little less “safe,” but it also presents us with unexpected opportunities every day. Then we must decide whether we should take the risk of pursuing them.
I believe that long-term business success depends on long-term planning. When we have a good plan in place, it’s easier to see when an opportunity is the right one to move on. If it’s the right opportunity for your long-term goals, it’s a good opportunity for short-term action.
As a flexible resource for managing equipment fleets, SMS Rents can be very effective in enabling our customers to take advantage of immediate opportunities. Flexibility is an essential survival trait when the future is uncertain. This is a philosophy we strive to maintain.
For example: we at SMS Rents were presented recently with an excellent opportunity to acquire larger premises for our store in Brossard, QC. Another company may have thought that the timing was all wrong for committing funds to a major building investment. However, our long-term plan had already identified the need to make such a move sometime in the future. Our opportunity arose suddenly but, because our plan was in place, we had no reason to hesitate. We decided to go ahead with the move with confidence, even as we moved forward with another opportunity to expand our Quebec City presence with a new store in St-Romuald.
Our customers in the contracting business are no strangers to risk. While you face the days and months ahead, I encourage you to recognize the strengths that have made you successful. Plan for your future success, building on those strengths and preparing to take advantage of your opportunities wherever you find them. And when you are laying out the strategy for your equipment fleet, remember that SMS Rents is ready to plan with you.
We offer experience and understanding of your business needs as well as your equipment requirements. SMS Rents can be your hedge against uncertainty; the way to add flexibility into your planning process. There’s no need to let a good opportunity slip away.
Talk to your SMS Rents store manager about keeping your business “Job Ready”, and prepare to “seize the day!”
Marcel Langlois, President
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Remi Martineau, Director of Operations
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Meet Our People
A few minutes with Remi Martineau, Director of Operations
SMS RENTS, Ste. Foy and St-Romuald, Quebec
Tel: (418) 654-2020 rmartineau@smsrents.com
Remi Martineau may be a newcomer to SMS Rents but he is no stranger to customer service in the equipment industry.
As our Director of Operations in the Quebec City area, Remi is responsible for leading the success of two stores serving two different markets. While the original store in Ste. Foy focuses
on serving the region’s contractors and industries, the new
St-Romuald store specializes in the tools and equipment for residential customers. Luckily, Remi’s resume shows he is well prepared for both sides of the business.
Remi has worked with construction equipment through most of his career, spanning more than 25 years. For 16 of those years, he was Operations Director for Réno-Dépôt, and he also served in a similar role with Sears for 8 years. As a buyer for Ikea, Remi sourced manufacturers to build the popular lines of furniture for Ikea stores in Quebec, ensuring that they were equipped to meet Ikea’s production standards.
Most recently, Remi managed the Lévis location of another equipment rental store. When he was approached by SMS Rents, Remi saw the opportunity to challenge his extensive management experience.
Since arriving at our Ste. Foy store, Remi has kept up a hectic schedule, getting to know the staff, the customers and the stock, as well as preparing for our launch in St-Romuald, just across the Quebec Bridge. “I enjoy the pace,” he says. “I’m in the store, on average, 10 or 11 hours day. We’re busy all day, all week long. The time goes by very quickly.”
With so much to do, Remi is glad for his experience both in managing equipment and managing people. “The most important thing as manager, he believes, “is to get people working with you. You need to build a team behind you that understands where you are trying to go.”
Remi likes to go places fast when he has time off on the weekend, too. “I’m a bit of what you’d call a motorcycle maniac,” he admits, but he says his Harley might be due to retire soon. “The years are getting on and the hog is getting a bit heavy! I think there might be
a Mustang convertible in my future.”
Not all of his interests require horsepower, though. Remi also enjoys spending time with his two grown daughters who live in the area,
as well as dining out occasionally with friends.
And now, Remi is busy making new friends throughout the
SMS Rents community.
Small but mighty snow fighter
Whether you rent or own a skid steer loader, you can turn it into the ideal snow-clearing machine with our Avalanche® box plows. These rugged attachments plow snow up to five times faster than a conventional angle blade, available in widths from 6 feet (1.8 m) to 12 feet (3.7 m). Avalanche Steel Trip Edge models cut through icy, hard-packed snow to clean right down to bare pavement. Their horizontally mounted torsion springs, below the push channel, allow a more responsive trip action for smooth operation over obstacles.
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Mathieu Charest,
On-site Mechanic |
Mathieu Giroux,
Customer Service |
Eric Pirtyak,
Field Service |
A new bridge to customers in Quebec
The newest store in the SMS Rents network aims to provide a convenient bridge to equipment rental services for customers in the Quebec City area.
With the opening of our store in the St-Romuald area of Lévis, SMS Rents now has two stores in the Quebec City region. Our original Quebec store is located across the bridge from St-Romuald, in the Ste. Foy area. According to Remi Martineau, Director of Operations for the Quebec City region, the two stores will work very closely together. As Martineau explains, “With our new location, customers in the Lévis area won’t have to cross the river for personal service. Our St-Romuald store is conveniently located on the main street. If you are on the south shore, you can now come to St-Romuald for everything you need from aerial equipment to safety supplies.”
The idea of bringing a store to Quebec’s south shore began with our Manager of the Ste. Foy store, Eric Giguère, and Nicolas Gagnon, Quebec Regional Manager, who recognized that this area was underserved by existing rental stores. Launching the new store was one of Martineau’s first tasks when he joined SMS Rents after managing another rental business in Lévis.
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Our new store in St-Romuald
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While Remi Martineau directs overall operations, Mathieu Giroux has transferred from Ste. Foy to supervise rentals and customer service in St-Romuald. Mathieu Charest is the on-site mechanic, while Eric Pirtyak makes deliveries and provides field service. Alain Roy, the St-Romuald field sales representative, has begun making calls on south shore contractors and businesses.
Marcel Langlois, President of SMS Rents, expects that bridging the river with two stores will lead to more responsive service for all customers in the region. “Customers can work with the staff they know in either store. They can go to whichever store is most convenient for them and receive the same excellent equipment service and selection. We are “Job Ready” on both sides of
the river!”
Bringing back the summer
You will find it easier to keep construction projects moving all winter when the ground temperatures still feel like summer. With our E3000 hydronic heaters, you can thaw up to 6000 sq. ft. (600 m²) of ground to 1 foot deep, or cure an equal area of concrete. These units can also spread out to protect a 27,000 sq. ft. (2700 m²) area from frost. The fuel-efficient E3000 provides a pump for each hose loop, so it delivers more BTUs/hr than other hydronic heaters. With no tents to build,
no noxious fumes, no open flames and
no moisture produced, they are a user-friendly addition to any worksite.
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Equipment Protection Plan –
For Peace of Mind When You Rent
SMS Rents offers a peace-of-mind solution that is ready made for contractors large and small. It’s called EPP (Equipment Protection Plan) and it covers all hazards including fire, theft and accidents while your rented equipment is working on your jobsite. EPP provides the protection you need against the cost of replacing lost equipment, and it will also reduce your liability substantially if your rented equipment is damaged or stolen while in your care.
Visit us at www.smsrents.com and find out more about our EPP
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Digging in and digging out for winter
No matter how you feel about Canadian winters, there’s no getting around the fact that preparing your jobsites for it takes a lot more attention than any other season.
Ice, snow and cold will slow down equipment. They pose real workplace hazards to crews and customers. And while it’s harder to get your work done, you get fewer daylight hours to finish!
Talking to your SMS Rents equipment specialist could be your best first step toward getting Job Ready for winter.
Warm bodies on site!
The first order of business on the jobsite must be to keep workers safe and productive. The SMS Rents rental fleet includes a complete array of space heaters, from smaller radiant heat units up to 500,000 BTU oil and gas-fueled models. We can supply complete systems for heating break areas and buildings, from canvas ducting and adapters to spare propane tanks. Check out our winter wear, too, with all types of insulated gloves and comfortable liners for hard hats.
Site prep
Choose your weapon for total snow control. Skid steers, wheel loaders and backhoes make short work of the heaviest snowfalls and drifts for clear access to work areas and supply sheds. To keep surfaces safe underfoot, order in enough salt or calcium chloride to spread generously – we also have the bins you need to stock your sand and surface treatments.
With your crews and access ways cleared, put our surface heaters to work to thaw frozen earth or to cure prepared surfaces.
Remember that snow and ice can be an overhead hazard, too. Use our aerial lifts to inspect rooftops and overhangs, and to clear off dangerous loads safely from a secure platform.
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Big job ahead? Call toll-free: 1-888-864-6311
Contact the SMS Rents - Heavy Equipment Centre to find a selection of larger machines that other rental stores just don’t carry. We’re the rental specialists for big earthmoving equipment including excavators up to
70 tons, wheel loaders to 13 tons, 36-ton articulated haulers and heavy-duty attachments such as hammers, grapples, frost picks and special booms & sticks.
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Explore our easy-to-use website features... and visit often!
Did you know our website has information that can help you with any number of rental decisions and questions? Visit www.smsrents.com and you’ll find many useful features and shortcuts to make online equipment rental as easy as visiting our stores. Check out the website subjects below and make a habit of visiting it often to keep in touch, discover new offers, save time and order your rental equipment online:
- Frequently Asked Questions section and feedback form
- Special promotions announcements
- Full list of our rental equipment
- Heavy Equipment Centre with 888 access
- Notification of new equipment arrivals
- Links to industry (training, management, etc.)
- Online ‘Rental Office’ with Quote Request, Rental Contract
- Credit Application forms, plus the new EPP information
Subscribe-To-Win
Thank you to everyone who subscribed to the 2nd quarter 2009 issue of our electronic version of The Gazette newsletter.
It’s simple - visit our website and follow the links to join our email list today and get the latest rental news from SMS Rents delivered four times a year to your email inbox. And by subscribing, you are automatically entered and could win a fabulous prize from SMS Rents. It’s just our way to keep you Job Ready. BIG NEWS. BIG REWARDS. Sign up and win today.
Ontario
BRACEBRIDGE, ON • (705) 645-8366
BRAMPTON, ON • (905) 453-2272
GORMLEY, ON • (905) 888-6333
GUELPH, ON • (519) 836-9801
KAPUSKASING, ON • (705) 335-3622
MISSISSAUGA, ON • (905) 564-2787
NORTH BAY, ON • (705) 476-0404
OTTAWA, ON • (613) 226-1099
STONEY CREEK, ON • (905) 664-5225
SUDBURY, ON • (705) 560-2960
TIMMINS, ON • (705) 264-2000
Quebec
BROSSARD, QC • (450) 444-1310
QUEBEC, QC • (418) 654-2020
SAINT-LAURENT, QC • (514) 636-8515
ST-ROMUALD, QC • (418) 603-6608
SMS Rents – Head Office
5985 McLaughlin Road, 2nd Floor, Mississauga, ON, Canada L5R 1B8
Tel: 905.283.2780 / Fax: 905.625.6538
Toll Free: 1.877.329.6531
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