Ahern Rentals Company History
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John Ahern Turns a Service Station into a Rental Business
It all began when John P. Ahern, at the age of 45, decided he wanted to be in business for himself.
John graduated college with a degree in agriculture and then went on to serve in the military during WWII. After returning home, he worked as a County Extension Agent, where he used his degree to work with farmers and ranchers throughout Southern Nevada. John then spent several years managing a local dairy in Las Vegas.
Finally, in 1953, John purchased a Signal Oil & Gas station on the Las Vegas Strip, where the 1,100 foot Stratosphere Tower now stands. John and his wife, Martha, started by selling gas and diesel and renting equipment.
One of the first items they rented were automobile window-mounted swamp coolers used primarily by tourists traveling to California. Later, he expanded the rental inventory to include trailers, hand tools, and trucks. These items were soon followed by construction equipment and homeowner items such as lawn and garden equipment. Within a few years, John and Martha decided to move the rental business into its own location so it could grow outside the confines of the service station. John and Martha ran both businesses until 1958, when they sold the station and focused all their energy on renting tools and equipment to residents in the Las Vegas area. Thanks to the hard work of some very special employees who have spent many years with the company, Ahern Rentals has provided personal, quality service to our customers year in and year out. The Ahern family has always felt a sincere love for its customers and employees. This is truly a family run company.
Don Ahern Expands the Business
"I, Don F. Ahern, was born into the family business in 1953, the same year Dad started the company. I am the youngest of four children and seemed to be destined to steer the company into the future. Mom and Dad passed away in 1986 and 1994 respectively, but their presence will be felt forever. In 1978, I started the aerial work platform division in Las Vegas and later expanded into California in 1982. We now have 81 locations.
In recent years, my older brother Paul Ahern has joined the company as a partner. Paul, a certified architect, brings an extensive amount of knowledge from his successful 25-year career designing and building public schools in Arizona. With Paul’s expertise, we now design our own buildings for future Ahern locations. I also work closely with my son, Evan Ahern, the President of Ahern Rentals. Evan has brought an unprecedented amount of new technology to the company which has enabled us to streamline processes, facilitate growth, and provide even better customer service than before."
Ahern's Commitment to Its Customers
Ahern Rentals has developed excellent working relationships with original equipment manufacturers such as JLG, Genie, Skyjack, Multiquip, Snorkel and Kubota. We buy equipment from a large variety of manufacturers to provide our valued customers with a “one-stop” solution for their rental needs.
We are the largest independently owned equipment rental company in the United States, and according to RER (Rental Equipment Register, May 2015), our industry’s national magazine, Ahern Rentals, Inc. is rated as the 7th largest equipment rental company in the United States.
We offer a selection of over 41,000 rental items to choose from including over 23,200 high reach units, such as fork lifts, boom lifts, and scissor lifts. We also offer over 18,200 general rental units, such as backhoes, skid steers, skiploaders, trenchers, compressors, generators, light towers, welders, lawn and garden equipment, hand tools and much more.
Our family’s commitment is providing quality customer service. We promise to always provide the youngest rental fleet, quality service, and the finest professionally trained staff in the rental industry.
Don F Ahern
Chairman and CEO
