Attendees of The ARA Show 2025 had a lot on their hands. Before the tradeshow opening, talks on what the Future of Equipment Rental may entail started with April Rinne discussing “Leading and Thriving in Uncertainty.” Educational tracks followed the day after, including lessons learned, rental business strategies, and insights into leadership.
Hosted by the American Rental Association, The ARA Show 2025 was held in Las Vegas from January 30 to February 1. The ARA Show 2026 moves to March 2-5 in Orlando, Florida.
While the majority of exhibitors were found in the West Hall, one of the more unique features of the Las Vegas Convention Center is an outside location. Set just a short walk across the hallway in the “Diamond” lot; exhibitors had a chance to demo their machines live and stretch their lifts to height. The space included outdoor meeting areas, locations to allow attendees to find some much-needed reprieve by playing a round or two of pickleball or cornhole (bag toss), plus a massive tent providing some shade from the concrete desert sun. Inside spanned everything rental stores could think about providing – from events, technology, and software to equipment and more.
The general session kicked Thursday off with welcoming speeches from the current ARA President, Jeff Crotto, ARA’s CEO, Tony Conant, CAE, and ARA Board President-Elect Robert Pedersen, with an entertaining keynote from CBS News Sunday Morning Correspondent David Pogue. Pogue walked us through the current state of artificial intelligence and explained some of the latest news (even some changes from the night before). We even had some fun with image and music generation.
Making its official debut for the U.S. market, Magni announced its new rotator telehandler model TH 6.19 (3.6), which promises to be a game changer for rental companies. As the company’s most compact fixed telescopic handler, the compact design, advanced safety features, and performance should provide versatility for equipment rentals looking to maximize their fleet’s utilization. Even though it has a compact design, Magni spared no expense on the performance or comfort features. The pressurized cab includes standard A/C, heat, radio and Bluetooth connectivity, and more.
One of JLG’s goals for their electric equipment is to match the duty cycle of their fueled-equivalent machines. Continuing at this goal, the company featured many of its more popular models for equipment rental and allowed rental professionals a first-hand look at their latest. Launched its EC6000AJ boom lift just a week earlier during World of Concrete (Jan. 21-23), its compact design allows it to fit two on a trailer, helping equipment rental transport significantly. It boasts an unrestricted platform capacity of 550 lbs. (750 lbs. restricted) with an up-and-over height capability of 27 ft. 1 in.
Manitou featured two launches at their ARA 2025 booth. One is their entry into the scissor lift market with the SE1932 and SE2632 to add to their lifting offerings. In total, the company now has 26 different “lifting” machines. Using lessons learned from their other machines, Manitou’s scissor lifts feature an electric-drive system with steering in front for quick, precise operation. Manitou is known for smooth controls, and operators should find this to maintain continuous familiarity between machines. They are capable of both indoor and outdoor work, and both feature a basket capacity of 507 lbs. for job site versatility. The compact design, zero turn footprint, and standard extendable three-position working platform (up to 8 ft. 4 in. by 2 ft. 5.5 in.) make it extremely versatile in providing stable access in all applications.
JCB launched a new backhoe loader at ARA 2025. The 3CX Pro is their top-of-the-line model featuring every bell and whistle you can think of. As quoted in the official release, “JCB’s latest backhoe loaders build on a legacy of innovation, offering solutions that empower operators to be more productive,” says James Gill, product manager at JCB North America. “These machines represent the perfect blend of advanced technology and operator-focused design, reaffirming our dominance in the global backhoe market.”
One of the most essential things for any piece of equipment is the need for strong tires to support the work it needs to do. OTR knows this and announced their new LiftBoss A/T all-terrain tire for lift equipment, which will continue to fill out their product line for customers. The central portion of LiftBoss A/T is the same as other OTR tires; they’ve designed a new aggressive tread pattern.
