The Rental Summit 2026, sponsored by Briggs & Stratton’s commercial power solutions brand Vanguard, took place last month under the theme Beyond the Price Tag – Powering the Future of Rental.
Held on 29 September at the Visitors’ Center and FRALounge at Frankfurt International Airport, the invitation-only event welcomed 82 senior industry figures from 43 organisations across 16 countries. Rental businesses, industry associations, OEMs, component specialists and technology providers came together to address one of the sector’s most pressing commercial questions: how total cost of ownership (TCO) can shape more profitable, resilient and lower-emission fleets.
With rental operators balancing profitability, equipment availability and sustainability, the Rental Summit 2026 reinforced why purchase price tells only part of the story. The cost of keeping equipment productive, from servicing and parts support to downtime, utilisation, energy use and residual value, is what determines its long-term commercial value.
Through its sponsorship of the event, Briggs & Stratton’s commercial brand Vanguard helped create a forum for the people who specify, manufacture and invest in rental equipment. The event also gave OEMs, suppliers and technology consultancies not yet represented through established rental associations valuable access to the EMEA rental network, creating new opportunities for insight-sharing and collaboration.
Whole-life value moves to the centre of fleet strategy
Rather than presenting a single route to fleets meeting the green deal's requirements, the Rental Summit 2026 explored how rental businesses can make commercially sound investment decisions over an asset’s full working life. Discussions focused on the value of industry collaboration, improving fleet uptime and resilience, and matching the right power solution to the application.
Carole Bachmann, Secretary General of the European Rental Association (ERA), highlighted the importance of bringing the full value chain together to address the sector’s shared challenges.
Bachman said: “I think it's all about collaboration. It's very important that the whole value chain works together. We create opportunities for our members to meet with rental companies, OEMs and other providers.
“No organisation or company can face the challenges alone, which is why it is important that each of us plays our part.”
The commercial reality behind lower-emission fleet investment was explored by John Smeets, Director of Fleet Uptime Compliance & Excellence at Boels Rental. He stressed the importance of understanding both lifetime and rentable-hour costs, and using robust data to determine when electric or combustion-powered equipment is the right fit: “It's all about lowering the lifetime and rentable hour costs, selecting the right application or technology for the right job.
“With increasing diesel and fuel prices, there is a tipping point. We need to work closely with OEMs to understand where that point sits, using the right data to explain to customers when it makes sense to shift from combustion to electric.”
Neil Bravery, Commercial Director of Hire Association Europe (HAE), also highlighted the pressure on hire companies to balance rapid industry change with sustainable profitability: “The industry is changing very fast. Standardisation of equipment, sustainability and net zero are all coming together, and that is making it harder for hire companies to make a good, decent profit.
“We need to look at the quality of the machinery first, because that is what will win in the long run when it comes to total cost of ownership.”
While Harald Schreibmüller, Head of Sales at Hainzl Motion & Drives, noted that TCO is influenced from the earliest stages of machine development, through the choice of components and lifecycle support: “It is becoming increasingly complicated for OEMs to deal with the regulations and machine directives coming up. This is where technology providers need to step in and take responsibility for the whole lifecycle of a machine. The real cost of a component is revealed over its lifecycle, not by its purchase price.”
Frederic Lietaer, CEO of manufacturer ELIET, explored how modular equipment design can give rental businesses greater flexibility to trial and compare power options, while managing the higher upfront cost of battery-powered machinery.
Lietaer explained: “Battery machines are very expensive, which can deter rental companies because of the high upfront investment. That is why we have a modular design concept: the same machine can be equipped with either a combustion engine or an electric motor.
“Running both within their fleet means rental companies can compare performance, see how they benchmark against each other and learn from it.”
Building on these discussions, David Frank, SVP & President of Electrification at Briggs & Stratton, emphasised that rental operators need to look beyond upfront purchase price and select power solutions according to the demands of each application, backed by the service and support needed to protect long-term value.
Frank said: “Rental companies cannot afford to make short-term decisions based on purchase price alone. The right power solution depends on the application, but reliability, training, parts availability and long-term support determine whether that investment continues to deliver value.
“By bringing rental companies, OEMs, technology specialists and industry bodies together, the Rental Summit helps turn those priorities into practical solutions that improve uptime, strengthen profitability and make the transition to lower-emission equipment commercially viable.”
A practical path to lower-emission fleets
The discussions also addressed the practical realities of reducing emissions across rental fleets. Rather than applying a single solution to every application, operators need to assess which technology best meets customer requirements while delivering reliable performance and a viable return over the asset’s working life.
Battery-powered equipment can offer advantages in indoor environments and locations with restrictions on emissions or noise, while efficient combustion-powered equipment remains a practical choice for other applications, depending on operating conditions, duty cycles and access to charging infrastructure.
Connecting the rental value chain
Beyond the formal programme, the Rental Summit 2026 created valuable opportunities for individuals and companies across the sector to enjoy direct conversations.
The benefit was clear across the value chain: rental companies gained insight and relationships to support better fleet decisions, while manufacturers and partners developed a clearer understanding of rental operators’ priorities and the demands shaping future fleets.
Sjoerd van de Velde, Managing Director EMEA of Briggs & Stratton, said: “The million-dollar question is how we create value for everyone: the manufacturer, the rental company and the end user. The Rental Summit brings those voices together, alongside associations, suppliers and technology partners, so they can understand each other’s challenges, form new partnerships, and develop solutions that work across the whole value chain.
“When rental companies have reliable and productive assets, manufacturers have a clearer understanding of what the market needs, and end users have equipment they can depend on. That is the value of working together.”
The event concluded with behind-the-scenes access to Frankfurt International Airport and networking at the exclusive venue of the FRALounge right next to the runways, allowing attendees to build on the day’s discussions and forge relationships across a rental network rarely brought together in one room.
By combining focused discussion of fleet economics with insight, access and relationship-building across the rental value chain, the Rental Summit 2026 demonstrated the role collaboration can play in creating more productive, profitable and sustainable fleets.
For more information, please contact BriggsStrattonPR@bwpgroup.com.
About the Rental Summit
The Rental Summit is a key industry event designed to bring together major stakeholders from across the rental sector. Having already taken place three times on its two-year cycle, the event brings together industry associations, OEMs, suppliers, service providers, and specialised solution partners to foster networking and strategic collaboration. Each edition centers on specific core themes—such as Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) in Europe and Electrification in the US in 2026. The next Rental Summit is scheduled for 2028.
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