It's official after a month or so of rumours, US based United Rentals has acquired the aerial lift and general rental business of Australian rental company Alfasi Hire.
The basic details were confirmed in a letter to Alfasi customers from Alfasi managing director Elad Zohar and Neil Littlewood, vice president of United Rentals Australia. The text of which is carried below.
Alfasi Hire was founded in 2004 by Avri Alfasi, the current chairman. Based in Hallam- Melbourne, the company runs more than 2,500 aerial lifts and telehandlers from five locations - Melbourne plus four branches, Sydney, Brisbane and Mackay in Queensland, plus Karratha in Western Australia. Until last month, it also ran an extensive crane rental fleet, which it sold to contracting and manufacturing group Crossmuller in October.
United Rentals was established in 1997 by Bradley Jacobs, John Milne and six others, after they sold United Waste Systems, a company they founded in 1989, in order to consolidate the US waste industry. see: Change of management at United
Letter to Customers
To our valued customers,
We are excited to announce that, effective as of 4 December 2025, Alfasi Equipment Hire will be joining United Rentals, the world's largest equipment rental company. Together, we share a commitment to our customers, communities, and employees.
Since 2004, Alfasi Equipment Hire has focused on quality equipment, service, and innovation. As one of the country's leading suppliers of access solutions, we will continue to offer our customers safe, reliable specialist equipment.
As a formality, Alfasi Equipment Hire Pty Ltd (trading as Alfasi Equipment Hire) hereby gives you notice that it has assigned its hire contract with you, including any amounts outstanding to Alfasi Equipment Hire under such contract, to United Rentals Australia Pty Ltd with effect from 4 December 2025.
United Rentals Australia Pty Ltd will continue to trade with you under the name Alfasi Equipment Hire, as well as under the name United Rentals Australia Pty Ltd. However, how the Alfasi Equipment Hire team works with you to deliver services and solutions will not change. In addition, the team you work with today will also continue to be your partner.
As of 4 December 2025, our statutory and trade names and our banking details will be updated.
Additionally, Alfasi Equipment Hire will now be part of United Rentals Australia, giving you a much larger choice of solutions from our extensive portfolio of products and services supported by our local teams. This includes Australia's largest containerised solutions offering, worksite facilities, earthmoving, compaction, traffic management, shoring, propping and pumps solutions. United Rentals will continue to focus on delivering world class solutions and customer service in Australia. Please don't hesitate to contact your branch manager or sales representative with any questions or needs.
Thank you for your continued business. We are dedicated to your satisfaction and look forward to serving your equipment hire needs now and in the future
Elad Zohar
Managing Director
Alfasi Equipment Hire Pty Ltd
Vertikal Comment
This is a significant move on United’s front, and would seem to signal a move from acquiring very specialist rental companies in overseas markets to being more like it is in its home market.
United was founded in the US as a ‘consolidator’, building the world’s largest equipment rental company on the back of numerous ever larger acquisitions as it ‘rolled up’ a diversified industry. It looks as though it might well be on the verge of doing that in Australia and perhaps New Zealand.
For Alfasi, this provides a decent exit for the founders and owners, while presenting its employees with an interesting and possibly exciting future.
Watch this space
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