Builders in Hawai‘i are turning to rental equipment to fill the gaps in their own fleets and to offset the state’s labor shortfall.
Critical in emergencies, rentals also allow Hawai‘i builders to take on more work without depleting their capital base.
HAWTHORNE CAT
“For light equipment, the new Next Generation Cat compact track loaders (CTLs) are in constant high demand,” says Michelle Muranaka, rental operations manager at Hawthorne Rentals in Waipahu.
Cat’s versatile CTLs feature many different attachments that allow customers to work on “multiple applications like land management, loading, sweeping and more,” she says.
As for heavy equipment, Cat loaders and dozers are currently top choices.
“Many are equipped with Trimble technology that provides additional guidance and accuracy to operators, thereby improving jobsite efficiency,” says Muranaka. “We are also starting to roll in a new line of Next Generation Cat compact track loaders. These newer CTLs offer a larger and more comfortable cab for operators, increased lift height and newer engines that offer increased torque to improve working performance.”
Matthew Elvin
BACON UNIVERSAL
Matthew Elvin, Bacon Universal president and CEO, says the firm’s continuing light equipment rental standouts include the BOMAG BMP 8500 trench compactor, favored because “it provides a safe means to compact base layers of trenches.”
The popular Kubota SCL1000 stand-on compact track loader joined Bacon’s rental fleet in 2024 and can “navigate into confined spaces with ease,” Elvin says. Available attachments include a trencher, stump grinder, hammer and fork tines, among many others.
New equipment available in 2025 includes additional power generation units, light towers and 5-yard trucks.
“The Dipperfox stump grinder attachment [is] designed to fit onto compact and mid-sized track loaders,” Elvin says. The high-torque grinder is a new addition that lets contractors navigate tight areas and remove tree stumps with a rotating blade.
“[The grinder] does not require a large safety zone, and all debris stays close to the drilling position, reducing cleanup,” he explains.
HAWAIIAN CRANE & RIGGING LTD.
Hawaiian Crane & Rigging Ltd. (HCR) maintains a rental fleet of three 275-ton Manitowoc 999 crawler cranes that have been very popular.
“[This is] mainly due to the abusive duty-cycle work that needs to be done at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard Dry Dock 5” by general contractor DHOJV, says Kerwin Chong, HCR vice president.
HCR’s Spyder URW295 mini-crawler is another popular crane among rental customers.
“[Its] main advantage is [that it’s] small,” says Chong. “It folds up to a 24-inch by 48-inch profile … [and] can get into areas not available to equipment like forklifts.
“Also, being electric, it works great indoors where exhaust fumes may harm the surroundings.”
SUNBELT RENTALS INC.
“[Our] most popular rental equipment are our manlifts,” says James Allison, Sunbelt Rentals Hawaii district manager. “Our largest manlift allows you to reach up to 185 feet of height.”
The lifts are used by many industries in Hawai‘i, from construction and facility maintenance to landscaping, he says.
Sunbelt also expanded its fleet of solar-powered lights, offering “4,000-watt towable light towers” for customer use, according to Allison.
“[The towers are] 100 percent electric and capable of running through the night,” he says. The lights are supported by three attached solar panels that recharge the batteries during daylight hours.
“Sunbelt Rentals [also] rents several types of trucks for the construction industry,” Allison says, noting Hawai‘i continues to see robust demand for truck rentals. “We carry full-size crew cab pick-up trucks, 12-foot stake bed trucks, 3- and 6-yard dump trucks as well as 2,000-gallon and 4,000-gallon water trucks.”
SERVICE RENTALS AND SUPPLIES INC.
“[There’s] a huge demand for mini-telehandlers like the Genie GTH-5519.” says Rysan Ouye, Service Rentals and Supplies Inc. (SRS) outside sales representative.
Their compact size and versatile lifting capabilities are ideal for typical jobsite tasks — unloading/loading containers, carrying trash bins from place to place and moving light loads to higher floors for vertical construction. Attachments include augers, grapple buckets and skid-steer-style buckets and can fit any type of job.
Ouye says SRS also plans to add JLG X770AJ crawler booms to its fleet, which “[can] be used on the interior or the exterior of any project.” In locations where narrow doorways and soaring ceilings rule out the use of conventional boom lifts, the X770AJ is “the perfect solution,” he adds.
“The machine is only 3 feet in width, it can reach up to 77 feet, making it the perfect machine for working on gymnasiums, buildings with atriums or jobsites with narrow profiles,” says Ouye.
SRS also offers battery/hybrid-style rental equipment.
“SRS has added several of these new units to our fleet and we are excited to introduce them to jobsites this year,” Ouye says.
PACIFIC PUMP AND POWER
“Our Godwin Dri-Prime pumps have been in very high demand due to the large amount of sewer work that is going on across the state,” says Paul Leonard, Pacific Pump and Power general manager. “[They’re] reliable self-priming units available as both diesel and electric-powered.
“Our current projects range from small bypasses where we are only seeing under 100 gallons per minute all the way up to huge ones that are seeing up to 20,800 gallons per minute,” he adds.
Leonard sees increased use of electric units and more variable frequency drives [VFDs] paired with them.
“This can help our clients by reducing the noise levels of the equipment as well as allow the equipment to run on greener energy,” he says. “We can utilize existing available power efficiently rather than [constantly] running diesel engines.
“We’ve been adding more electric-powered units into our rental fleet as well as more VFDs,” continues Leonard. “The VFDs … adjust the rpm on our electric units but also allow a lower full-load amps draw.
“[This] makes a smaller load capable of running our equipment than would be acceptable without them.”
