ARA establishes award to honor police efforts to combat rental equipment theft

Moline Ill. - The American Rental Association (ARA), ARA Insurance Services (AIS) and the National Equipment Register (NER) announced today the formation of the “ARA Insurance Services/NER Award”. The annual award will honor a law enforcement officer or agent who has “performed exceptional service to the rental industry through the recovery of rental equipment or through theft prevention initiatives.” A grant of $1,000 will also be awarded to the winning officer’s department to support equipment investigations.

The award will be presented each year at The Rental Show – the largest rental trade show in the world. In 2005, The Rental Show, which is sponsored by ARA, will be held at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas from Feb. 14-17.

The award has been established as part of the partnership between ARA and NER that is central to the efforts that ARA is making to combat the problem of equipment theft in the rental industry. The partnership allows ARA members to register mobile equipment on NER’s national database at no charge so that police can identify the true owner of the equipment 24 hours a day through NER’s police hotline. The partnership and award are supported by AIS as part of the complete range of risk management services for ARA members. ARA members may nominate officers who have helped them combat theft locally in 2004. A five-person panel of ARA, AIS and NER management will decide the winner.

David Shillingford, president of NER, noted the exceptional efforts that officers who investigate equipment make. “We get calls from officers at two in the morning who are in the middle of a field with a flashlight and a screwdriver looking at a type of machine that they have never seen before. These are dedicated officers who are going beyond anyone’s expectations to carry out investigations that many would not. NER can help them with information and expertise but they are the ones who take the trouble to pull over and look at suspicious equipment. These efforts often go unnoticed and this award is a way of honoring and thanking those that make this effort. We already have a number of officers that we will nominate for the 2004 Award.”

ARA, a not-for-profit trade association founded in 1955, comprises more than 7,500 owners of equipment rental businesses and 1,100 manufacturers and suppliers of rental equipment worldwide. The ARA is the industry leader in providing services to help rental businesses achieve success. Along with the ARA Foundation, the ARA works to represent, educate and promote the growing rental industry. For more information, visit the ARA Web site www.ararental.org, or call ARA at 800/334-2177.

For more information about NER, go to www.NERusa.com, or call 212/297-1805.

For more information about The Rental Show, go to www.TheRentalShow.com.