At this year’s event, the Hire & Rental Industry Association (HRIA) celebrated 50 years of Australian Hire Industry Conventions! Taking place from the 30th – 31st May at the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre the show was host to over 1500 attendees and 100 exhibitors making it the biggest and most successful convention to date.

Firstly, we would like to thank the HRIA for organising such a fantastic event that had a variety of products on show from Access Equipment and Generators to Rental and GPS Software. There was a range of delegates, speakers, and partners from all over the globe, all bringing vast amounts of worldwide hire and rental knowledge to one place. This provided focussed networking opportunities for every attendee.

Hire18 gave us the chance to exhibit some exciting new features we have implemented into our software including the Asset Tracker as well as Telematics integrations with Trackunit, JCB LiveLink, and CanTrack Global. The Asset Tracker functionality utilises inbuilt Google Maps integration to visualise the current location and status of equipment, alongside the telematics integration this allows live GPS tracking, meter readings, hours of operation and key equipment inputs to be monitored and analysed.

Young Professionals Network

The HRIA Young Professionals Network (YPN) is an initiative created for people under 40 that have chosen a career in hire. It aims to provide a voice for the next generation of the hire industry while developing their skills and networking opportunities. At Hire18 the HRIA hosted a private networking evening, presentations from industry leaders and mentors as well as a skills workshop that provided real-world skills designed to advance the careers of participants of the YPN programme.

Women in Hire Breakfast

The Women in Hire Breakfast with more than 90 attendees was also a big talking point of Hire18. It marked the launch of a programme that supports women within the hire and rental industry in breaking down the barriers they may face through mentorship, awareness and education. The breakfast also celebrated and recognised successful and inspiring women, such as keynote speaker Naomi Simson, who is one of Australia’s most renowned entrepreneurs and business leaders as well as being the countries most followed person on LinkedIn with more than 2 million followers. During her speech, she encouraged attendees to find someone who challenges them to greatness and to become someone who can make things happen, not just watch what happens.

Gala Dinner

At the end of a brilliant couple of days the HIRA hosted a Gala Dinner, this brought attention to outstanding and high achieving members of the industry giving awards to those who have been exceptional over the past year. Among the winners were; Rental Companies of the Year Forkforce Australia, United Forklift & Access Solutions and for Under $5m Complete Hire Equipment.

Overall, Hire18 was a great event and a pleasure to be a part of and we are looking forward to attending again next year.