2025 EUROPEAN RENTAL AWARDS
Award Categories
- Large Rental Company of the Year (revenues more than €30 million)
- Small Rental Company of the Year (revenues less than €30 million)
- Product of the Year
- Digital Solution for Rental
- Best Safety Initiative by a Rental Company
- ERA Technical Committee Award – Outstanding Contributor to the Committee (no submissions required)
- ERA Sustainability Committee Award – Most Outstanding Rental Sustainability Initiative
- Rental Person of the Year
- Lifetime Achievement Award
Shortlisted companies receive two free tickets to the awards dinner.
Please read Guidance Notes below before submitting your award entries.
For further details email:
- Murray Pollok: murray.pollok@khl.com
DEADLINE: FRIDAY 27 FEBRUARY 2026
2025 ERA AWARDS
Judging Criteria
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For a large rental company that has demonstrated an excellent and improving performance in one or more areas of its business in 2025 and early 2026. This could include improvements to customer service, staff recruitment and retention, efforts towards decarbonisation, enhancements to employee training, notable fleet investment, financial performance, or new and successful initiatives.
For a small or medium sized rental company that has demonstrated an excellent and improving performance in one or more areas of its business in 2025 and early 2026. This could include improvements to customer service, staff recruitment and retention, efforts towards decarbonisation, enhancements to employee training, notable fleet investment, financial performance, or new and successful initiatives.
This award will go to a new product introduced into Europe during the final months of 2024, during 2025, or early 2026 and will recognise a fantastic product that has benefitted rental businesses, either by offering operational benefits (such as improved ease of use or lower cost of maintenance) or new revenue streams (for a new product concept or new application).
This award will recognize an outstanding contribution to Europe’s rental industry in 2025 (or in recent times). The award may recognise a significant performance in any one of a number of areas, including safety, sales, operations, fleet management, senior management, etc.
This award will be judged by the Sustainability Committee and requires award submissions. It is open to a rental company, rental association or manufacturer. The award is not designed to award an OEM for a single product, but rather a wider project or initiative relating to sustainability. Applicants should clearly demonstrate how their initiative contributes to the four pillars of sustainability:
- People – initiatives that support employee well-being, diversity, inclusion, or community engagement.
- Business Ethics – practices that promote transparency, integrity, and responsible governance.
- Safety – measures that enhance health and safety for employees, customers, and stakeholders.
Environment – actions that reduce environmental impact, promote circular economy principles, or improve resource efficiency.
No entry submissions required and judged solely by the Technical Committee members.
The selected winner could be an individual or an organisation behind an innovative and impactful project or achievement that has significantly shaped and advanced the work of the Technical Committee over the past 20 years.
The award will assess an occupational health and safety initiative or programme implemented by a rental company in late 2024, during 2025, or early 2026. It will consider issues including workplace accidents/incidents, mental health projects, or training in relation to the safe use of equipment by staff and customers.
Judges will be looking for detail on the outcomes of initiatives, with data where available.
This award is open to rental IT suppliers, rental companies and OEMs. It will cover an innovation, initiative or implementation relating to digitalisation of the rental business, including areas such as rental software, AI implementation, telematics or eCommerce. The product or initiative must have been launched during late 2024, in 2025, or early 2026.
Judges will be looking for details of the initiative or product as well as information on how it benefited a rental company or its customers. Data demonstrating the success of the initiative will be required.
Joint entries by rental companies and technology partners are welcomed.
This award will recognise an outstanding contribution to Europe’s equipment rental industry over the course of a sustained period or full career.
Guidance notes
- Companies are invited to put themselves or their products forward for the awards. It is not necessary to get a nomination from an external company or individual. Companies can submit entries for more than one award.
- When you submit your award entry, please supply two relevant digital photos for possible use in International Rental News (IRN)/Rental & Access International. (Digital photos with 300 dpi quality and at a reasonable size.) Please also include a company logo in digital format to be used if shortlisted during the awards presentation
- The awards are for activities predominantly undertaken during late 2024, 2025 and early 2026.
- The awards are open to all companies active in Europe. Products in the ‘Product of the Year’ category must be available in Europe.
- Please submit entries and supporting materials by e-mail, up to a maximum size of 5 MB.
- The judges will meet in late March 2026, after which the list of shortlisted companies will be published at internationalrentalnews.com
- The winners will be announced at the European Rental Awards on the evening of 3 June, during the European Rental Association’s annual Convention in Maastricht, The Netherlands.
- Shortlisted companies will be given two free tickets for the awards. Please contact Carole Bachmann, ERA, at: CBachmann@kellencompany.com
2026 ERA AWARDS
Judging Panel
Pascal Ameloot, CEO, Huurland
Stéphane Hénon, President, ERA
Murray Pollok, Managing Editor, International Rental News
Marco Prosperi, Director, Assodimi/Assonolo
Dave Stollery, Business Development Manager, Industrial Power Systems – Global Rental, Caterpillar
Non-voting chair: Carole Bachmann, Secretary General, ERA
