Equipment rental

Equipment rental, also called plant hire in some countries, is a service industry providing machinery, equipment and tools of all kinds and sizes (from earthmoving to powered access, power generation to hand-held tools etc.) for a limited period of time to final users, mainly to construction contractors but also to the industry and to individual consumers.

The equipment rental industry is relatively new. The American Rental Association was founded as early as 1955, and first waves of consolidation took place as early as in the 70’s in America and continued through the 90's, leading to the creation of companies with nationwide operations. Although, there were some companies bucking the trend to serve niche markets. Consolidation was slow in the 2000s, but seems to have picked back up again with a major consolidation of the 2 largest North American rental companies United Rental and RSC.

In Europe the industry has moved from mostly family-owned small businesses to the creation of a number of international groups, some of which have an annual turnover close to €1billion. The large majority of companies in the industry however still have fewer than 5 employees and concentration in the industry is expected to set for a pause in 2008-2009 as a consequence of the international credit crunch.

Philippines

Coordinates: 13°N 122°E / 13°N 122°E / 13; 122

The Philippines (ⁱ/ˈfɪlᵻpiːnz/; Filipino: Pilipinas [ˌpɪlɪˈpinɐs]), officially known as the Republic of the Philippines (Filipino: Republika ng Pilipinas), is a sovereign island country in Southeast Asia situated in the western Pacific Ocean. It consists of about 7,500 islands that are categorized broadly under three main geographical divisions: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. The capital city of the Philippines is Manila and the most populous city is Quezon City; both are part of Metro Manila.

To the north of the Philippines across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan; Vietnam sits west across the South China Sea; southwest lies Malaysia in the island of Borneo across the Sulu Sea, and to the south the Celebes Sea separates it from other islands of Indonesia; while to the east it is bounded by the Philippine Sea and the island-nation of Palau. Its location on the Pacific Ring of Fire and close to the equator makes the Philippines prone to earthquakes and typhoons, but also endows it with abundant natural resources and some of the world's greatest biodiversity. At approximately 300,000 square kilometers (115,831 sq mi), the Philippines is the 72nd-largest country in the world.

2012 in the Philippines

2012 in the Philippines details events of note that happened in the Philippines in the year 2012.

Incumbents

Events

January

February

Philippines 2000

Philippines 2000 was the socio-economic program of former Philippine president Fidel V. Ramos. The plan envisioned the Philippines achieving newly industrialized country status by the year 2000.

Platform

The Philippines 2000 platform largely hinged on five major areas:

The Philippines 2000 program formed the core of the Ramos campaign platform in the 1992 elections which largely centered on economic reforms and improved national security and unity.

Effects and legacy

The Philippines 2000 platform was widely successful, making it one of the greatest legacies of the Ramos administration to the Philippines. Ramos was successfully able to open the then-closed Philippine economy and break Marcos-era formed monopolies, especially with regard to Philippine Airlines and the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company, which were privatized and de-monopolized during his tenure. He was also able to resolve the power crisis in the Philippines through privatization of power plants and the construction of new ones. The reforms spurred additional investment into the Philippines.