ERA celebrates 20 years as rental awards winners announced in Maastricht

Rental companies from Norway, Belgium, the UK and Germany were winners at the 19th European Rental Awards ceremony held in Maastricht on 3 June.

Former ERA president and a long-time leader of Cramo, Vesa Koivula, won the Lifetime Achievement Award, while Daniela Niederstätter of Niederstätter AG won the Person of the Year award, partly in recognition of her initiatives to promote diversity in the rental industry.

Norway’s Utleiecompagniet (UCO) won the Large Rental Company award, while Euromat from Belgium was the Small/Medium Rental Company of the Year.

The Rental Product of the Year accolade went to Instagrid for its ONE and GO portable power packs, while Nixon Hire came out top in the Digital Solution for Rental with its its Renewable Power Hub.

The event also saw past presidents Gerard Deprez, Vesa Koivula and Pierre Boels and current president Stephane Henon cut a 20th anniversary cake on stage before the awards.

Past and present ERA presidents Gerard Deprez, Vesa Koivula, Pierre Boels and Stephane Henon cut the 20th anniversary cake during the European Rental Awards ceremony. (Image: IRN)

More than 400 attended the awards, which were jointly organised by the European Rental Association (ERA) and International Rental News and held during the ERA’s 20th Convention, which was co-located with the IRE and APEX exhibitions. The host was Maarten Bouwhuis.

The full list of winners was as follows:

Lifetime Achievement Award
Vesa Koivula

The judges’ citation included the following: “This award recognises an exceptional leader in Europe’s equipment rental industry, someone who led an important rental business, gave direction to the ERA itself as president for three years, and who continues to use his experience to help grow companies.

“Vesa was known for his thoughtful and constructive leadership, and for his ability to bring people together and move the association forward in a united way.”

Rental Person of the Year
Daniela Niederstätter of Niederstätter AG in Italy.

The judges citation included the following: “This year’s Person of the Year award recognises a young leader who has brought a fresh perspective to the equipment rental industry; someone who believes that business success and social progress are inseparable, and that true transformation begins with people.

“Daniela is an advocate for inclusion, diversity, and cultural change, both within her own rental company and across the wider rental sector. Her philosophy is simple: talent should matter more than gender.”

Large Rental Company of the Year
Utleiecompagniet (UCO) (Norway)

The judges said: “In difficult market conditions UCO managed to grow, increase its profitability, and also improve its customer satisfaction rating – a triple success.”

Small Rental Company of the Year
Euromat (Belgium)

The judges said; “The company made a strategic switch in 2025, successfully winning bigger rental contracts with its specialist surface treatment services and developing new products in support of its business.”

Product of the Year
Instagrid – Instagrid ONE & GO (Germany)

The judges said: “New power technology was a major feature of the shortlisted entries this year, and the Instagrid products won out because they lend themselves to rental applications, and in recognition of how rapidly they have established themselves in rental fleets.”

Digital Solution for Rental
Nixon Hire – Renewable Power Hub (UK)

The judges said: “Nixon is to be congratulated for developing a practical tool that helps customers reduce fuel consumption, cut emissions and maximise uptime across their hired fleet.”

Best Safety Initiative by a Rental Company
Ardent Hire – Ardent Eye safety system (UK)

The judges said: “Ardent has developed an effective system to detect and prevent accidents involving mobile machinery on sites, and also provide alerts on risky behaviour or sites.”

ERA Sustainability Committee Award – Most Outstanding Rental Sustainability Initiative
Zeppelin Rental – Renovation of Mönchengladbach town hall (Germany)

The ERA’s Sustainability Committee said: “Among three very strong shortlisted entries, we chose Zeppelin Rental’s initiative because of the impact it had on a project and for the way it signposts how the rental industry can have a meaningful influence on sustainability in construction.”

ERA Technical Committee Award – Outstanding Contributor to the Committee
John Smeets, Director of Fleet Uptime at Boels Rental.

The ERA Technical Committee said: “Since joining the ERA Technical Committee in 2017, John has been a constant and highly committed contributor. This award recognises not only his expertise, but also his long‑standing dedication and the positive spirit he has brought to the Committee’s work over the years.”

Full list of shortlisted companies

Large Rental Company of the Year (revenues more than €30 million)

• Utleiecompagniet (UCO) (Norway) WINNER
• Mollo Noleggio (Italy)
• Nixon Hire (UK)
• Sunbelt Rentals UK & Ireland

Small Rental Company of the Year (revenues less than €30 million)

• Euromat (Belgium) WINNER
• CES Power UK & Ireland
• Equipa de Aluger (Portugal)
• Georent (Georgia)

Product of the Year

• Instagrid – Instagrid ONE & GO (Germany) WINNER
• JCB - G60RS H Hydrogen Generator (UK)
• Manitou – MT 1440e and MT 1840e telehandlers (France)
• Pess Energy – Rock-e battery power (France)
• Volvo CE – New generation ECR25 excavator (Sweden)

Digital Solution for Rental

• Nixon Hire – Renewable Power Hub (UK) WINNER
• Alias - Rental Expert (Italy)
• Calculus – Calculus Portal (Belgium)
• Kiloutou – GO! mobile app (France)
• MCS Rental Software – MCS AI Insights (UK)

Best Safety Initiative by a Rental Company

• Ardent Hire – Ardent Eye safety system (UK) WINNER
• Mollo – Mollo Academy & safety training (Italy)
• Utleiecompagniet (UCO) - Real-time safety system & simulator training (Norway)

ERA Sustainability Committee Award – Most Outstanding Rental Sustainability Initiative

• Zeppelin Rental – Renovation of Mönchengladbach town hall (Germany) WINNER
• Nixon Hire – Sustainable site solutions (UK)
• Sunbelt Rentals UK & Ireland – Multiple initiatives on emissions, investment & people

The judges were:

• Pascal Ameloot, CEO, Huurland
• Stéphane Hénon, President, ERA
• Murray Pollok, Director of Content, KHL Group
• Marco Prosperi, Director, Assodimi/Assonolo
• Dave Stollery, International Rental Sales Manager, Gorman-Rupp Europe
• Non-voting chair: Carole Bachmann, Secretary General, ERA

The awards sponsors were:

Gold sponsor and ERA 20th anniversary sponsor: JLG.

Silver sponsors: Calculus, Develon, Hilti, Liugong, Perkins and Volvo.