18.09.2025

Sunbelt acquires Rabern from Tadano

Tadano has sold its Texas based Rabern Rentals business to Sunbelt Rentals.

Tadano acquired Rabern within the recent Manitex acquisition in January of this year. The sale includes Rabern Rentals’ four locations in northern Texas – Hereford, Lubbock and two in Amarillo along with associated assets and contacts etc. The current fleet includes telehandlers and some aerial work platforms in addition to general rental equipment.

Manitex purchased a 70 percent stake in Rabern Rentals in April 2022 for $25.9 million, at the time the company ran a fleet of 1,700 machines with revenues of around $21.5 million and an EBITDA of $8 million. Founder Steve Berner retained a 30 percent stake in the business and continued to manage it under Manitex.

Tadano says that the move is part of its long term strategy to focus on designing, engineering and manufacturing lifting related products, mostly cranes and aerial work platforms.

Tadano America chief executive Dean Barley said: “Tadano’s core expertise is designing, manufacturing and supporting the most dependable lifting and access equipment, and the Rabern Rentals sale reflects our commitment to staying true to that focus. Rental operations require a different business model and priorities. Under Sunbelt Rentals ownership, Rabern Rentals will have the flexibility and focus necessary to continue growing its rental business and better serve customers.”

Rabern was established in the summer of 1984 by Gene Rahll and Steve Berner under the name Rabern Rental Center aimed at party rentals and small do it yourself equipment. They were later joined by Seth Havens just as Rahll retired, he was the one that advocated the move into heavier equipment but sadly passed away in mid 2019 at the age of 37.

Vertikal Comment

This should not be surprising move, but it is interesting to compare Tadano’s strategy with that of Manitowoc and other manufacturers.

A good number of equipment manufacturers, Manitowoc being one of them, are acquiring or opening distribution and rental outlets as they look to increase the percentage of their revenues obtained from services, which tend to be less affected by the normal economic cycles when companies tend to cut back on new equipment purchases. Such cut backs tend to lead to the purchase of more replacement parts and services as their fleets age.

Tadano is instead looking to expand its product range and geographic coverage as it looks to become the world’s leading crane manufacturer. It will be interesting to see how these two strategies play out over the longer term. As to Sunbelt this looks like a sound move that reinforces its coverage in the north of Texas.