- In 2016, the American company Electro Rent acquired its British competitor Microlease in 2016, which had itself taken over Livingston in 2014.
- The three entities specialising in the rental of electronic test and measurement equipment, as well as the sale of new and second-hand instruments, nevertheless continued to operate in different countries under their own brand name and with relative independence.
- The integration of the three companies from the commercial, IT, technical and logistics points of view is now complete.
- Since the beginning of March, Microlease, Livingston and Electro Rent Europe have been united under the Electro Rent banner.
“We have combined the entire range of instruments and services of the three brands into one single entity. This gives Electro Rent the largest portfolio of test and measurement products on the market. Customers can find from a single source all the instruments that meet their specific needs, projects and applications. But we don’t want to be just a supplier. Our goal is to help customers solve specific test problems in a practical way. We have set up technical teams to support them in their choices. “, explains Peter Spillman Global Vice President of Product Strategy at Electro Rent.
In fact, as a result of the integration of the three entities, Electro Rent has a portfolio of electronic test and measurement equipment worth approximately $1.2 billion and comprising no less than 100,000 devices. It offers instruments from approximately 300 brands such as Keithley, Keysight Technologies, Rohde & Schwarz, and Tektronix.
This unification is accompanied by the creation of a new website presenting the detailed characteristics of the equipment and offering functionalities to guide the user in the choice of instruments that meet the requirements of his project. In particular, it is possible to compare the specifications of several instruments of the same type: oscilloscopes, spectrum analyzers, cable and antenna analyzers, signal generators, data communication testers, cable and fiber network equipment, etc. “We are not instrument manufacturers. Our independence allows us to guide the user to the most appropriate solution without taking sides,” says Peter Spillman.
Electro Rent believes that the purchase of an instrument is not necessarily the best choice for short term projects or for projects that need to be implemented for testing rapidly evolving technologies such as telecom and wireless communications. When a user needs an instrument for a project using a new technology, Electro Rent can deliver the instrument available for rental to meet the user’s needs within 24 hours, whereas it can take several weeks to purchase a new instrument. Obviously, in this context, the company preaches for its parish by advising renting rather than buying. This frees up investment budgets and allows the use of the instruments to weigh on the operational budgets for the projects concerned.
