Larry Green, owner and CEO of Stoughton, Mass.-based Rentals Unlimited, last week announced the sale of his company to PPC Event Services, parent company of Woburn, Mass.-based Peterson Party Center, Table Toppers of Newton, and Reserve Modern. Both firms are included on the latest edition of the Special Events "30 Top Rental Companies."
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. In the latest Special Events "30 Top Rental Companies," Peterson Party Center predicted 2015 rental revenue of $29 million, while Rentals Unlimited was pegged at $17.5 million.
"PPC and Rentals Unlimited had been competitors in New England for many years," Eileen Saliba, vice president of sales and new business development for Peterson Party Center, tells Special Events. "RU is a well-run company with a talented professional staff located south of Boston that offers similar products and services to PPC. Our cultures are similar. RU has complementary locations to PPC’s north Boston location and very little customer overlap."
She adds, "The opportunities to consolidate allow PPC to increase their regional presence and to expand tenting opportunities, access additional resources, and offer more job opportunities for all employees."
TRAINA TO STAY AT HELM Bob Traina, president and CEO of PPC Event Services, will lead the consolidated company. Green will remain president of RU and also take on additional responsibilities in business development and inventory purchasing at the consolidated company.
At present, there are no plans to consolidate warehouse space. "There is some overlap in our showroom locations in Boston and Woburn but there are no plans currently to close any showrooms," Saliba says. "RU has showrooms in Newport, R.I., Providence, R.I., and Hartford, Conn., which will continue to operate and allow PPC to strengthen its presence in the southern New England market."
Saliba adds that all staff is being retained.
START WITH FUNERAL CHAIRS Founded at the turn of the century, Peterson Party Center got its start renting chairs to funeral homes. The company has handled many marquee events including the 2010 wedding of Chelsea Clinton. The company was recapitalized at the end of 2014 by big investment firm Dubin Clark.
Green, formerly a caterer, founded Rentals Unlimited in 1999. He received the Special Events Gala Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2015.
"After years of hard work and continued growth for Rentals Unlimited, the time was right," Green said in a statement, "and I’m very positive about the opportunities created by joining these businesses to create a family of brands."
Green will continue to serve as president and CEO of International Event Products, a wholesale supplier of event products and equipment, which he owns.
