Latam Rental 45 ranking reveals solid regional growth

Even after the growth seen in Latin America in our 2022 Latam 45 survey, the rental market in this region has demonstrated impressive resilience and growth in 2022.

The 45 companies listed in this ranking - created by KHL’s CLA Construccion LatinoAmericana - show combined revenues of around US$2,921.5 million in 2022, which represents an increase of 27.8% compared to the US$2,286.5 million in 2021. This growth not only highlights the strength of the market, but also points to the potential for future opportunities in the sector.

Here we will focus on performance of the top 10 Latin American rental firms. For the complete report (in Spanish and Portuguese), please visit CLA Construccion LatinoAmericana.

Top 10 in 2023

In the 2021 ranking (analyzing 2020 revenues) we had already seen how Grupo Vamos took first place and then lost that position to Aggreko the following year. In this 2023 survey (considering 2022 revenues) the Brazilian conglomerate took the undisputed lead and not only regained leadership, but did so with a difference of more than 50% in relation to second place.

Grupo Vamos’ rental revenue during 2022 would have reached US$380.1 million, showing a significant increase of 79.8% since 2021, making it the leading equipment rental company in Brazil and Latin America.

Second place goes to a company that has been growing consistently in recent years. Organic growth and strategic acquisitions allowed Mills Solaris to occupy the second position in Latin American rental, a jump of two positions compared to last year’s ranking, and no less than 10 positions above the 2021 ranking.

UK-based Aggreko, which topped this list for many years, has been losing momentum and although its revenue in the region increased 5.7% to US$241.0 million, this was not enough to meet the Brazilian growth.

In fourth place we find another Brazilian company that has grown consistently. Armac recorded an impressive 132.1% increase in revenue, reaching US$203.3 million in 2022, reflecting a jump of eight places compared to last year’s ranking.

This expansion of the rental market in Brazil not only gained positions for Aggreko, but the Mexican Madisa CAT fell to the fifth position. Although the Caterpillar dealership experienced healthy growth of 8.1%, its revenue of US$ 146.0 million did not allow it to maintain the third place it held in the last two years.

It is no surprise that another Brazilian firm occupies sixth place, rising two positions compared to last year. Ouro Verde (heavy equipment) generated revenues of approximately US$136.0 million in 2022, registering an increase of 47.3% compared to the previous year.

And while Ouro Verde grew two positions, SK Rental Group fell the same number of positions to seventh place. The Chilean company had revenues of US$116.0 million, showing growth of 10.5% versus 2021. APR Energy also fell two positions and came in eighth place, with revenues of US$108 million.

Two other Brazilian companies round out the Top 10, Casa do Construtor and Locar Guindastes e Transportes Intermodales, both with revenues of US$105.0 million and growth of 11.8% and 23.5%, respectively.

Fleet investments reflect strength of Brazilian market

Investments made in 2022 reached US$1,246 million, a record for Latin America Rental 45. And reaffirming the strength of the Brazilian market, it is worth highlighting that almost 80% of this value is explained by the acquisition and renewal of fleets from companies from companies in Brazil.

In fact, four of the five main investors correspond to Brazil and are effectively its leaders. Grupo Vamos invested no less than US$303 million during 2022, just under a quarter of total investments. Armac, Ouro Verde and Mills would have jointly invested another US$511 million.

Within the Top 5 investors, we cannot fail to mention Madisa CAT, which, although it has fallen in position due to Brazilian strength, continues to be one of the strongest players in the market and last year made investments of no less than US$184.6 million.

Performance by country

As we saw earlier, Brazil continues to dominate in terms of presence and performance, with companies like Grupo Vamos, Mills Solaris and Armac leading the way. In total, listed Brazilian companies generated approximately US$1,592.8 million in revenue during 2022, thus representing 54.4% of the ranking, 9.1 percentage points above last year’s listing.

Chile, represented by SK Rental Grupo and others, generated around US$280.1 million, accounting for 9.5% of Latam rental’s revenue and placing in second place. This is new as the UK, thanks

An SK Rental machine operating at a port in Chile

to Agrekko, had generally remained unchanged in this position, however, on this occasion it was in third place with 8.2% of total income.

In conclusion, the rental market has proven to be resilient and with potential for significant growth, particularly in Brazil. Investments in fleets suggest that these companies are optimistic about the future.

Notes and thanks

CLA especially thanks George Bahnke, Juan Francisco Morales and Jonathan Klouba of Caterpillar for their help in compiling this list.

We also thank all those companies and people who contributed information to this study. If you have any comments or would like to be included next year, contact CLA editor Cristián Peters at  [email protected]

The ranking is based on income from rental and sale of used equipment in Latin America in 2022. For companies that have fleets and warehouses outside of Latin America, an attempt was made to determine the direct influence of the region on their operations.

Some figures have been estimated by CLA.

When income has not been provided in US dollars, the value of the currency during 2022 was used to make the corresponding calculations.