As part of a focused effort to better recognize the expanding range of equipment, tools and services, Komatsu Rents network of equipment rental stores has announced a new name and new look under the banner of SMS Rents.

Marcel Langlois, president of SMS Rents, explained that while the name has changed, all other aspects of the company will carry on with “business as usual.”

“When we say that only the name is changing, we mean simply and exactly that,” said Langlois. “We will continue to work with the same management group as we have since Komatsu Rents was established in 2003. We will continue to support the same equipment rental services through an expanding store network. And the same great people will continue to serve our valued customers. We will continue to deliver on our Job Ready promise to customers, with a strong emphasis on personalized, flexible service.”

The name change also provides for greater alignment with parent company, SMS Construction and Mining Systems Inc., a Sumitomo Corporation group company.

This move also presented the opportunity for the rental network, headquartered in Mississauga, to assert itself as a complete equipment and tool rental services company.

“We value our relationship with Komatsu. Although our name is changing, we will continue to represent their line of utility machines across the breadth of our network, supplying and servicing many of the excellent products that carry the Komatsu brand,” said Langlois. “Our equipment fleet today includes so much more. Our new name will help customers and our staff maintain a clearer sense of where our true focus is — on delivering the right equipment for any project, job ready!”

The new look of SMS Rents reflects this focus. Retaining the familiar blue-and-yellow colour scheme, the SMS name is accented by a new logo that embodies several aspects of the SMS philosophy. Based on a cube shape, the logo represents the depth of products and services customers should expect from an SMS Rents store. Cutouts in the cube create an iconic depiction of an excavator arm and bucket, expressing SMS Rents’ origins in the construction equipment end of the rental business.

Together, the shapes suggest an open box, highlighting the company’s one-stop Job Ready concept. “Whatever you need to get right to work and be productive,” said Langlois. “That’s what the box represents!”

Work is now underway to implement the name change throughout the SMS Rents network of stores. According to Langlois, converting the current Komatsu Rents stores to their new signage and business graphics will be “an evolutionary process” commencing in January 2008 on a store-by-store basis. The changeover is expected to be completed through the coming spring.

SMS Rents is the newest family of rental locations in Canada serving customers in the construction, industrial and do-it-yourself (DIY) markets providing project solutions with a complete selection of mobile equipment and tools. Today, with 10 locations in Ontario and Quebec, SMS Rents is committed to bringing its customers a job ready attitude to every stage of their business, large and small.

The SMS Rents store in Bracebridge is located at the corner of Armstrong and Wellington streets and can be reached at 645-8366.

For more information about SMS Rents go to www.smsrents.com.