Cooper Equipment Rentals

Cooper Equipment Rentals

Cooper Equipment Rentals was founded in 1972 by current CEO Doug Dougherty in Mississauga, Ontario. The firm has grown organically and through acquisitions to service general contractors and specialty trades across Canada, with a footprint concentrated in Ontario, Quebec, and the Atlantic provinces. The firm deploys capital exclusively into heavy-equipment assets, maintaining a fleet that includes excavators, wheel loaders, telehandlers, scissor lifts, boom lifts, compaction rollers, and skid steers. Cooper rents to end users on daily, weekly, and monthly terms, focusing on mid-sized and large contractors in the non-residential construction, infrastructure, and industrial-maintenance sectors. The firm's asset base is purely physical — it does not make fund commitments, take equity stakes in operating companies, or participate in financial markets. Cooper has consolidated regional rental operators over the last decade, including the acquisition of Atlantic Canada's ALPA Equipment in 2021. In September 2024, the firm expanded its Quebec presence by acquiring Location d'équipement Jalon, an excavator and compact-equipment specialist based in Montreal. The firm also operates a dedicated traffic-safety division and a trench-safety division, offering engineered shoring solutions. Structurally, Cooper functions as an owner-operator with an acquisition-oriented growth model rather than a family office or institutional-asset manager. Its succession and governance remain closely held under Doug Dougherty's leadership, with no external private-equity sponsorship publicly disclosed. The firm's vertical integration into niche safety services differentiates it from generic rental houses that compete only on fleet availability.