Paul Seppanen
NETA’s Corporate Alliance Partners (CAPs) are a group of industry-leading companies that have joined forces with NETA to work together toward a common aim: improving quality, safety, and electrical system reliability.
Our continuing CAP Spotlight series highlights some of their individual successes as NETA World interviews A-Rent CEO Paul Seppanen.
NWJ: Please briefly describe A-Rent
Seppanen: A-Rent specializes in electrical test equipment rental. We support customers nationwide, including NETA members, with our comprehensive fleet of the newest equipment in the sector. We’re now a 12-member team based in Burr Ridge, Illinois, outside Chicago.
NWJ: What is something NETA World readers don’t know about A-Rent Test Equipment?
Seppanen: We have four engineers on our staff. Our engineering depth lets us provide immediate first-line technical support for all of our equipment, with back-up from OEM partners as needed. Our engineers also develop functional test procedures (FTP) for every piece of equipment in our fleet. We rigorously test our rental equipment on specimen apparatus according to these FTPs before every new rental to ensure equipment works smoothly in the field.
NWJ: What recent company achievement or milestone are you particularly proud of?
Seppanen: Since our launch a little more than two years ago, we’ve built a solid base of several hundred regular customers, including virtually every NETA Accredited Company in the United States. We’re proud that these customers gave us a chance and that our responsive service and the quality of our equipment have kept them coming back for continuing rentals.
NWJ: What change do you see on the horizon that will have a positive impact on your work?
Seppanen: We’re thankful to be part of a healthy and growing sector. Continued nationwide investments in grid resiliency programs, new datacenters, and wind/solar/storage capacity expansions are requiring huge testing capacity among our clients, which we’re glad to support.
NWJ: What challenges do you see going forward for the industry?
Seppanen: Personnel shortages constrain every firm and the industry as a whole. We’re working to play a positive role by drawing newcomers from outside electrical testing into A-Rent. Our new team members then have a chance to become knowledgeable on equipment, testing procedures, logistics, and project expectations. We’ve been able to successfully grow our team and business with this approach, rather than trying to hire away people already in the sector.