The Rental Summit 2026, sponsored by Briggs & Stratton’s commercial power brand Vanguard, brought together 82 senior leaders from 43 organisations and 16 countries at Frankfurt International Airport. Under the banner Beyond the Price Tag – Powering the Future of Rental, the invitation-only event addressed a pivotal question: how total cost of ownership (TCO) can build more profitable, resilient, and lower-emission fleets.
With operators balancing margins, uptime, and sustainability, the summit reinforced that initial purchase price reflects only a fraction of machine economics. Servicing, parts availability, energy efficiency, utilization, and residual value ultimately dictate long-term return on investment.
Discussions zeroed in on making sound commercial decisions across an asset’s entire lifecycle rather than chasing a one-size-fits-all decarbonization strategy. Carole Bachmann, Secretary General of the European Rental Association (ERA), highlighted the necessity of cross-industry alignment: “No organisation or company can face the challenges alone, which is why it is important that each of us plays our part.”
John Smeets, Director of Fleet Uptime Compliance & Excellence at Boels Rental, emphasized using robust data to determine the tipping point between combustion and electric power: “It’s all about lowering the lifetime and rentable hour costs, selecting the right application or technology for the right job.”
Neil Bravery, Commercial Director of Hire Association Europe (HAE), agreed that machine quality must lead the conversation to protect hire profitability amid tightening regulations. Harald Schreibmüller of Hainzl Motion & Drives added that lifecycle responsibility begins at the engineering stage, noting that component costs are revealed in operation, not on the invoice.
To manage the high upfront capital expenditure of battery-powered tools, Frederic Lietaer, CEO of ELIET, highlighted modular design concepts where identical chassis accept either combustion or electric motors. This allows rental firms to benchmark real-world performance side by side.
David Frank, SVP & President of Electrification at Briggs & Stratton, urged operators to resist short-term procurement habits: “Rental companies cannot afford to make short-term decisions based on purchase price alone. The right power solution depends on the application, but reliability, training, parts availability and long-term support determine whether that investment continues to deliver value.”
Pragmatism anchored the debate on emissions. While battery-electric machinery excels indoors and in low-noise zones, modern combustion power remains vital where duty cycles are demanding or charging networks are absent.
Beyond formal panels, the summit gave emerging suppliers and established hire firms rare, direct access to align priorities. Sjoerd van de Velde, Managing Director EMEA at Briggs & Stratton, concluded: “The million-dollar question is how we create value for everyone: the manufacturer, the rental company and the end user… When rental companies have reliable and productive assets, manufacturers have a clearer understanding of what the market needs, and end users have equipment they can depend on.”
Manufacturing & Engineering Magazine | The Home of Manufacturing Industry News
