Artificial Intelligence (AI) isn’t just a buzzword — it’s becoming a must-have competitive edge for heavy equipment rental companies looking to thrive in 2025 and beyond.
The good news? You don’t have to be a tech giant to harness the power of AI solutions. By focusing on practical, revenue-boosting applications, rental businesses can maximize equipment performance, streamline operations, and unlock new growth.
Recently, Josh Nickell (former VP of Equipment at the ARA) and Adam Kropf (Senior Director of Product at Texada Software) highlighted three standout ways AI is transforming the industry — and how you can apply them today.
1. Fast, Actionable Business Insights
Limited resources and tight margins are daily realities for most rental businesses. That’s where AI productivity tools shine — delivering insights you simply don’t have time to extract manually.
“Teams can use generative AI tools for website analysis,” Josh Nickell explains. “You can have a solution review [any number of your] competitors’ websites based on yours. I can compare the strengths and weaknesses and then get some examples of how I can improve the SEO on my website to lean into my strengths and be more competitive.”
By turning raw data into actionable insights, AI solutions can help you make smarter decisions faster — keeping you one step ahead.
2. Proactive Equipment Performance Monitoring
What if your equipment could tell you when it needs attention? AI, combined with acoustic emission (AE) technology, is making that a reality.
Sensors, placed on a crane, capture the subtle creaks and tensions unique to that machine. Then, AI tools can analyze those sounds, detect potential malfunctions, and recommend maintenance before a costly breakdown occurs.
“You’ve got companies out there that are using audio signals on cranes to detect issues with maintenance,” said Nickell.
“It’s expensive and difficult to maintain a crane because you have to get up into the air to understand what’s happening. Cranes make a lot of noises. The metal creaks, the wires whine, and different tensions emit different sounds. So, they’ve got devices that are sitting on these cranes learning what this particular crane sounds like, and can assess when the crane is malfunctioning.”
For rental companies using AI for predictive maintenance, the result is maximized uptime, fewer emergency repairs, and a stronger bottom line.
3. Smarter Maintenance and Troubleshooting
Beyond performance monitoring, AI is becoming an everyday tool for mechanics and technicians. Nickell shares a great example: “One of the AI use cases that I think will be a big value-add long term, and that we’re really on the cusp of realizing, is equipment maintenance and repair,” he said.
“On some levels it’s concepts like predictive maintenance, but also things that are a lot closer, like repair and troubleshooting. Using generative AI, I typed in that I have a Bobcat T190 that’s overheating and asked what could be wrong. It gave me some really good results. Then I asked how I can check for which one of those results is the root cause, and it gave me the right answer.”
By using the best AI tools for rental and service businesses, your team can diagnose issues faster, reduce trial-and-error, and accelerate repairs — turning downtime into uptime.
And this is just the beginning! According to the 2025 Rental Report, forward-thinking companies are combining AI with digitization, automation, and e-commerce to tap into entirely new growth opportunities.
Get Ahead with Texada’s AI-Driven Tools
As the accuracy of AI improves, equipment rental houses can look forward to expanding their business advantage.
But that’s not their only pathway to growth; the 2025 Rental Report details how rental companies are staying ahead by leveraging digitization, automation, and e-Commerce, as well as AI, to unlock new growth opportunities.
June 17, 2025
3 minutes read
