Rental Snapshot

JUDY FISHGOLD

of Altra Rental & Supply

Judy Fishgold, vice president of Altra Rental & Supply, in Ontario, N.Y., shares how she got her start in rental, her favorite part of the workday and more.

Rental: How did you first get your start in the rental industry?

Judy Fishgold: I met Jim Pedulla, CEO and owner of the company, in the summer of 2014, and we have been together ever since. My background is in agriculture, real estate and retail. Jim was a general contractor who used to loan his tools to his friends. They would break them or not return them, so he started renting them.

Altra has grown from a small shop with two employees to 20,000 square feet of space and 23 employees. Jim asked me to come work for the company in the spring 2017. We added 16,000 square feet of space that year and opened our new state-of-the-art showroom.

Rental: Can you give us some insight on your current company?

Fishgold: We are a construction supply superstore, celebrating 25 years in business this year. We have sales reps come in all the time and say they have never seen anything like our store. We do sales, rental, service, parts, lawn and garden, concrete consumables, work boots and clothing. Our latest venture is our new “store within a store” work shoe and safety clothing division. We call it the Shoe Lodge, and we carry well over 200 styles of work boots, safety clothing, personal care items and accessories.

We have a diverse customer base that includes contractors, municipalities, farms, masons, carpenters, utilities, mechanical and serious DIYers. We carry only major brands, contractor-grade equipment and supplies. We’re a complete one-stop shop where you can rent anything from a wallpaper steamer to a telehandler, and you can purchase things like construction equipment and supplies, concrete consumables, power tools, fasteners, garden equipment, socks and more.

Altra Rental & Supply

ECONOMIC SLOWDOWN AND INFLATION

HOW DO THESE FACTORS AFFECT US AND HOW CAN WE FACE THEM?

Since 2020, many things have changed and evolved. Now, countries and businesses are fearing some new uncertainties. It looks like inflation and a global economic slowdown is looming, slowly but surely.

Many factors make us think that unfortunately, this situation is going to last for a long time: the war in Ukraine, the shortage in the international supply chain, and in general the frustrating feeling of instability that has been felt in America since the beginning of the pandemic. The price crisis affects us all, but our industry can be seriously damaged by this particular situation. We are consumers of some of the most affected products at the moment: energy, machinery, and electronic components.

What are your plans to tackle these changes? How is your business entering this challenging environment?

In Cojali, we develop three solutions that are intended to increase your savings and improve your long-term management strategy by reducing expenses on fuel, new machinery, and electronic components: • Diagnostic tools: they will boost your in-house repairs and ensure your maintenance independence. • Telematic solutions: these will reduce fuel consumption and increase the life of your assets by improving predictive maintenance and reducing your repair expenses. • Fleet Management Software Solutions: they will help you to coordinate your team, enabling better management of your resources and increasing your overall business efficiency.

DIAGNOSTICS & TELEMATICS

WORRIED ABOUT THE PRICE INCREASE IN YOUR FLEET MAINTENANCE SERVICES?

CONTROL EVERY REPAIR AND AVOID DOWNTIME

Rental: What have been some of the challenges and successes you’ve had over the years you’ve been in business?

Fishgold: One of the biggest challenges right now is keeping up with all the continuous price increases and surcharges on nearly every product and freight, as well as the slower delivery times on new equipment and parts. Our other most recent challenge over the past two years has been finding qualified employees with the right skill sets during the pandemic. Increased wages and benefits have also been a consideration for us during this time, so we’re paying up to 30 percent more per employee and introducing more robust benefits packages to keep up with retention. New York State labor laws and mandates continue to change, allowing employees more paid leave time that impacts coverage, scheduling and increased cost per employee.

Rental: What is your most used business technology or aid, and why is it important for your business?

Fishgold: We are currently looking at new rental software that includes rental equipment conditions. It’s a real challenge for us as we have a very large retail division, along with our rental division, and we’ve found that strong rental software doesn’t support our retail requirements, but strong retail software doesn’t support our rental side. We are currently onboarding with SmartEquip and look forward to getting that up and running for ordering parts as we have a strong parts business and service department.

Altra Rental & Supply

Rental: OK, fun question! What is your favorite hobby?

Fishgold: My favorite hobby is repurposing old items into art! Like taking antique costume jewelry and making it into wearable modern pieces. Or making bracelets out of old cufflinks. Or even converting your grandmother’s baby pearls into earrings you can wear every day. I also really enjoy converting old furniture too. Painting old furniture and lamps is always fun!

Also, we live on Lake Ontario where I can gather amazing driftwood and build pencil trees for the holidays. I used to own a wholesale florist supply company and like to keep my hands in nature. It grounds me.

Alexis Sheprak

Freelance Columnist

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