One-Stop-Shop Experience Transforms County Fair Operations

One of the largest county fairs in the country draws more than 750,000 visitors each year and features concerts, rides, food stalls and more during its three-week run. Setting up and running the event requires months of planning and hundreds of pieces of rental equipment. The scale of the fair is so large that in previous years, the nonprofit entity that hosts it had to enlist multiple equipment vendors to fulfill the power generation needs alone.

Working with so many vendors created significant challenges. Bidding out contracts was laborious and time-consuming. When a piece of equipment broke down, a ride or vendor booth could be closed for hours while the fair organizers tried to determine which company had provided the equipment, who to contact, and when someone would arrive to service it.

One sales call changed it all

At first light the morning after the 2023 fair ended, a United Rentals representative dropped by the fairgrounds to see the equipment on rent. He ran into a fair manager and inquired about the equipment vendors and the fair’s experience with them. Soon thereafter, United Rentals brought 13 employees from divisions across the company to learn in depth as 12 fair supervisors described the services they had used and the challenges they had experienced.

After hearing about vendors who struggled to keep pace with the project and provide adequate service, United Rentals knew it could deliver a better -- and more streamlined -- experience.

“Within 48 hours, we came back with a list of solutions and equipment we could provide for them,” said Nathan Getz, Manager, Strategic Accounts, at United Rentals.

A one-stop-shop approach transformed the rental experience

In 2024, thanks to United Rentals, the fair association was able to rely on a single vendor to support the entire fair for the first in time decades.

Drawing on its extensive inventory, United Rentals provided all the rental equipment the fair required, such as, but not limited to forklifts, aerial lifts and heavy machinery; power generation equipment, including more than 30 generators the size of semi-trailers, to power everything from rollercoasters to concert stages to taco stands; trench protective systems; light towers; radios; and temporary site infrastructure including fencing, composite mats, portable restrooms, office trailers and storage containers. United Rentals also supplied equipment the fair chose to purchase rather than rent, such as ground-level offices.

By leveraging its expertise across specialty divisions, tapping local branches, leveraging Worksite Performance Solutions and working together as one team, United Rentals provided a seamless, one-stop-shop experience.

Cooperative purchasing agreements eliminated bidding

Because the fair is funded by the state through the nonprofit entity, the organizers had the option of leveraging cooperative purchasing agreements, which eliminated the need to go to bid for each contract, as is normally required.

United Rentals presented the fair association with a catalog of equipment and services with pricing pre-approved by Sourcewell, a government-run cooperative purchasing agency that negotiates contracts for its cooperative members. After screening multiple suppliers, Sourcewell awarded these contracts to United Rentals.

Using the Sourcewell contracts saved the fair association significant amounts of time and effort. No bidding meant no spec lists to create; no RFPs to publish and advertise; no job walks with potential vendors; and no bid-related administrative overhead.

A proactive vs. reactive approach 

In close partnership with the fair association, United Rentals began planning for the event more than six months in advance. Unlike previous vendors, it took a highly proactive approach to meeting the fair’s needs.

“Failing to prepare is preparing to fail,” said Getz. “We worked with the fair to help them understand our business, which is preparation and organization.”

Details mattered. For instance, United Rentals planned how to deliver equipment in phases to minimize disruption at the event site. It delivered, set up and tested the equipment well before other vendors arrived, which helped avert the chaos that had occurred in previous years. During the fair, it took steps to prevent problems. On the two days a week the fair was closed, it had crews on site to check equipment and perform preventative maintenance.

Single point of contact enabled faster response

United Rentals made itself readily available to fair supervisors as if it were an arm of the fair association. For example, it created a custom email address key decision-makers could use to contact the entire United Rentals team.

During the fair, it sent out an email every week that contained the phone numbers of every United Rentals representative on call in every division. If a generator broke down or the fair needed another light tower in a hurry, the supervisors knew exactly who to call for a fast response.

Total Control^® made equipment management easy

Fair supervisors could access Total Control, United Rentals’ worksite management platform, to see on a map all the telematics-enabled equipment on rent and monitor its status. Alerts notified them via text or email when a piece of equipment required fuel or maintenance. For example, an alert was sent if a generator’s fuel levels dropped below 30%. Thanks to this functionality, workers no longer had to visit all the generators spread throughout the fairgrounds several times a day to check fuel levels.

Invoicing was also streamlined, which saved fair administrators a tremendous amount of work. In Total Control they could simply check a box to make a payment.

A partner in planning

The equipment and services United Rentals provided helped keep fair operations running smoothly from setup through breakdown.

United Rentals looks forward to working with the fair organizers on the same fair next year, as well as on other events held throughout the year on the fairgrounds. When the time comes to begin planning the 2025 fair, United Rentals will be able to furnish a complete and accurate list of the equipment and services it provided in 2024, giving the fair organizers a considerable head start.