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Terrence “Terry” Horan has been named president and CEO of STIHL Incorporated. Horan will be responsible for the management of the STIHL Group’s largest market and subsidiary. Horan joins STIHL Inc. after a successful career as RPM Consumer Group president at RPM International Inc. Horan has also held various senior leadership roles including president and CEO of DAP Products Inc., president of The Master Lock Company, president and CEO of the Robert Bosch Tool Corporation North America, and president of Dremel Power Tools. Do it Best Corp. has promoted Todd Miller to director of merchandising strategy and execution. Miller most recently served as the company’s Merchandise Manager for Plumbing and has more than 25 years of industry experience. He joined Do it Best in 1997 as an associate merchandise manager in plumbing before being promoted to merchandise manager of housewares and cleaning in 2003. In 2008, he returned to lead the plumbing department. Miller will now be responsible for the development and deployment of the company’s category management strategies, assortment planning, pricing, and development teams.

Horan 84 Lumber has named Denton, Texas Store Manager Matt Born as its Manager of the Year. Nick Boyd, who oversees stores across Texas, has been recognized as the 84 Lumber Area Manager of the Year for the second year in a row. Chris Moudy, co-manger of the company’s Clovis, Calif. Store was named Rookie of the Year.

Miller Matt Born and 84 Lumber President Maggie Hardy.

Emery Jensen is our biggest single vendor partner and we rely on them very heavily. Emery Jensen is critical to our success and we wouldn’t enjoy as much success without Emery Jensen by our side.

- Jay Ward Ward Lumber

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Or visit emeryjensendistribution.com

LBM Advantage has hired Joe Burlison as vice president of Southwest Operations. Burlison has a rich, 30-year history in the lumber and building industry, having served in several key trader and sales roles, including a long period as south-central regional manager at a cooperative. Burlison will lead LBM Advantage’s new branch office in Houston, Texas, which is expected to propel the co-op’s plan for continued westward expansion. Both Burlison and Dan Ohmer, director of member sales, will also spearhead the recruiting and hiring of a southwest member sales team. WD-40 Company announced that CEO Garry Ridge will retire as the company’s top executive on Aug. 31. The move is part of a planned leadership transition, the San Diego-based manufacturer said. Steve Brass, who has served as the company’s president and chief operating officer since 2019, has been appointed to become Ridge’s succes-

sor, effective Sept. 1. Brass has also been appointed to serve on the company’s board of directors. J.M. Huber Corp., the parent company of Huber Engineered Woods, has named Gretchen McClain as its new president and CEO. McClain has served on the board of the Burlison directors of the 135-year-old family-owned company. She succeeds Mike Marberry, who is retiring after a 25-year run. House-Hasson Hardware has named William Hauge as senior vice president in addition to his role as chief financial officer. Hauge has served for five years as House-Hasson’s CFO. He has served as senior financial reporting manager for General Electric, a business unit controller for Alstom Power, Inc., and plant controller, American Safety Razor Company.

Ridge Brass McClain

Hauge

Action at the rental desk

THE HOME DEPOT RENTAL PLANS TO OPEN 50 NEW CENTERS IN 2022

By Richard Porter

The Home Depot Rental has spent the past 25 years offering pro-quality tools, trucks, and large equipment for almost every job. While learnings and improvement have been made each year as the company learns and evolves, the past 12 months have been a unique milestone with the rollout of new technologies, rental centers and fleet options. We, like many of you, felt like the world turned upside down in 2020. But this shift also enabled us to pause and adjust to the needs of our customers while reasserting our company’s values in an ever-changing landscape. While there was much excitement over our new offerings, we also continued to closely analyze trends and intensifying market demand to identify how to best serve the rental community. We’re taking what we’ve learned over the past two years to inform our multi-year rental expansion program, kicking off in 2022 with the opening of 50 new Rental Centers across the country.

In 2021, we opened two Rental Operations Facilities in Houston and Nashville focused on enabling The Home Depot Rental to dispatch larger-class equipment more efficiently to jobsites from a centralized location. Rental Operations Facilities have become even more important as the needs of Pro customers have grown. In anticipation of a need for large equipment rental beyond the construction industry, we opened Rental Operations Facilities in New Orleans and Los Angeles to also serve as a disaster response resource. Hurricanes, tornados and earthquakes can devastate a community and accessible rental solutions can aid in a swift recovery response. Our hope is to continue identifying ways our business can serve the community, expanding our footprint outside of the construction realm.

In addition to being prepared for intense weather, we also expanded on the needs of our Pro and DIY customers and created a resource to help make everyday life easier: Rent Online Pickup In Store, which offers the convenience of online reservations for tools and vehicles in the Rental Centers. Accelerated demand has yielded the need for new Rental Centers in new markets. Our rental solutions footprint has never been stronger, and we’re excited to continue rolling out Rental Operations Facilities and Rent Online Pickup In Store capabilities across the country. The need for a strong equipment rental partner has been underscored by the success of the housing market of the past 18 months. Home inventory is near record lows and turnover is strong, and the influx of homebuying means an influx of home renovating. The rental industry is reaching new customers endeavoring their own DIY projects and having the option to rent tools for these projects has been a successful area of growth over the past year. The Home Depot Rental saw an all-time high demand for outdoor tool rentals last spring, and we’re anticipating an equally hungry market this year. With the option to rent landscaping products from tillers to skid steers, we are empowering homeowners and professional landscapers alike with the tools to create a dreamy backyard oasis.

With an ever-expanding Rental Center offering, we are equipping Pros with best-in-class products. 2021 saw more work for contractors across all segments. More work means more large equipment, tools, trucks and trailers will be necessary, and The Home Depot Rental is committed to offering top of the line products. Pros can see exciting new offerings in our Rental Centers including a wide variety of cordless tools and gas-powered tools from brand partners like Milwaukee, Makita and Hilti.

Renting removes the time and cost commitment that comes with buying and maintaining new tools, and offers Pros the flexibility to rent for hours, days or, even weeks — offering Pros the freedom to grow their businesses at their own pace.

The Home Depot Rental has experienced many notable moments in our 25-year history, but 2021 will certainly be a year to remember. We’ve learned from the rollercoaster ride of 2020 and implemented measures to better prepare for the twists and turns. Ultimately, the ride was worth it, and we are excited to bring everything we’ve learned into this new year.

Home Depot Rental expects 2022 demand for outdoor tool rentals to match last year's all-time high.

Richard Porter, vice president of rental, repair, RLCs & services, The Home Depot, has served as vice president of The Home Depot Rental since 2017.