Fifty years just wasn’t enough forTom Hawthorne. After handing over the reigns of the
San Diego area Cat dealership over tohis son-in-law in 2007, Hawthornewasn’t quite ready to call it quits.At the age of 79, Hawthorne saw an
opportunity on the site of a bankruptequipment rental business on MissionAve in Escondido. Rebel Rents, a longstanding rental service had vacated itsproperty, and despite the looming greatrecession, Tool Shed Rentals waslaunched there in 2008.“I saw a business opportunity, but
more than that I saw an opportunity tokeep the family together,” Hawthorne
said. The ‘family’ Hawthorne refers toare his three brothers, all of whom had,at various times, been key personnel atHawthorne Machinery, the Cat dealer-ship Tom formed with his father, JB, in1956. Today Tom, at 86, operates Tool
Shed along with brothers Paul, 74,Jack, 71 and Gary, 68. The four broth-ers bring more than 180 years of com-bined construction equipment experi-ence to the company. Each started in thebusiness in their twenties and have
remained throughouttheir respectivecareers.To say that heavy
equipment is in theHawthorne brothers’sblood would be anunderstatement. Theirfather, JB Hawthorne,founded L.A. Tractor& Equipment Co.Sales in the LosAngeles area in 1947.Nine years later, sens-
ing the growth the industry would seeas a result of the Federal Highway Actof 1956, he and his eldest son acquiredthe Caterpillar dealership for the SanDiego area.Tom was 27 at the time. He would
serve 10 years as president ofHawthorne and take over as CEO in1966. Hawthorne CAT’s first year inbusiness saw about $5 million in sales.The company’s sales would grow sig-nificantly under Tom’s leadership.Also during that time, the company
would add Hawaii, Guam and thePacific Islands to its territory.Meanwhile, the other three brothers
were all involved in the industry, and attimes with Tom’s dealership. Paulhelped his brother launch the firstCaterpillar Rental service in 1974, andlater became VP of Hawthorne CAT’srental division. Gary served initially asmarketing director of Hawthorne andlater in the sales department. Jack wascritical to the growth of the company’sservice department. Gary and Jack laterleft the business and started HawthorneContracting.In 2008 the four were reunited and
began the process of building a newHawthorne dynasty. Nine employees ofRebel Rents were retained, and allremain with Tool Shed today. Afterseven years, the number of employeeshas risen to 35. Later, the neighboringproperty of a plumbing business waspurchased, and Tool Shed grew to itscurrent size.Tool Shed rents equipment small
Hawthorne Seizes Growth Opportunities
CALIFORNIA STATE SECTION
Your California Connection – Dennis Hogeboom – 1-877-7CEGLTD – [email protected]
“The Nation’s Best Read Construction Newspaper… Founded in 1957.”
97
139395
395
29989
4444
299
101
101
1011
20
9970
50
49
36
89
89
299
70
65
1
1
152
33
101
101
198
198
33
180
41
190
395
395
6
120
140
120
99
99
49
120
395
101
1
46 178
65
58
127
395
1 101
14
86
95
14
5
5
5
5
5
515
15
15
40
10
505
280
880
80
5
5
5
5
5
515
15
15
40
10
505
8
280
880
80
80
680
580
1010
Crescent City
EurekaRio Dell
Burney
ChicoOroville
Leggett
FortFortBraggBragg
Point ArenaTahoe City
Auburn
SacramentoSanta Rosa
San Francisco OaklandOaklandBerkleyBerkley
San JoseSan Jose
Santa Cruz
Modesto
Sonora
San Diego
Oceanside
Palm SpringsPalm Springs
Riverside
San Bernadino
Long BeachSanta AnaSanta Ana
Los AngelesLos AngelesGlendale
Santa Monica
BarstowBarstow
Santa Barbara Ventura
Santa Maria
San Luis Obispo
BakersfieldBakersfield Baker
Death Valley JunctionDeath Valley Junction
Montery
MaderaMaderaFresno
King City
LuciaLucia
SouthLakeTahoe
The Hawthorne Brothers (L-R) are Paul, Tom, Gary andJack. Tom founded Hawthorne Machinery in 1956. Paul,Gary and Jack are managing partners of Tool Shed Rentals.
see HAWTHORNE page 20
MCLAREN RUBBER TRACKS FOR MINI EXCAVATORS & TRACK LOADERS, The most trusted brand in America
brings you quality tracks for your specific make and model.Call McLaren 888-492-4230
Sell Your Equipment TODAY!
GIVE US A CALL 866-372-1700Visit: barnoneauction.com
Upcoming Auction
Portland, OR March 25th
JB (L) and Tom Hawthorne stand on the site of thefuture Hawthorne Machinery site in 1956. Theoriginal building was in Kearny Mesa, Calif.
Page 20 • March 21, 2015 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • California Section • Construction Equipment Guide
Hawthorne Brings Years of Experience to Tool Shed Rentalsenough for the homeowner andlarge enough for the biggest earthmoving contractors. Landscapersalso represent a significant part ofthe business. The company main-tain more than 200 pieces of rentalequipment in addition to 100pieces in the earth moving divi-sion.Sales have grown to $10.3 mil-
lion in 2014.Gary heads up sales and market-
ing, Paul the finance end of thecompany, and Jack is in charge ofall equipment service and mainte-nance. He also has the final say onall equipment purchases. Although “Tom has effectively
turned over the keys of the busi-ness to the three of us,” accordingto Gary, he still is very active in thebusiness and maintains a five day aweek work schedule. Gary, Pauland Jack are the managing partnerstoday.Jose Alvarez, one of the original
employees from Rebel Rents, isrental and operations manager.A third generation Hawthorne, J
Paul, is sales coordinator.While a satellite location in
Hawaii does not seem to be in theoffing for Tool Shed, its continuedgrowth seems inevitable. Its equipment rental store serves
San Diego county and the cities ofEscondido, Vista, Oceanside,Encitas and Chula Vista, but theearth moving division reaches farbeyond. It rents and sells equip-
ment from most manufacturers,including Caterpillar, John Deere,Bobcat, Ditch Witch, Vermeer,Multiquip, Barreto and Tanaka.It also offers U-Cart Concrete
mixing trailers.Meanwhile, just a few miles
down I-15 in Rancho Bernardo,the family is still at the helm of
Hawthorne Machinery. Tee Ness,CEO, is Tom’s son-in-law (marriedto daughter Debbie), and grand-sons David and Michael Ness arenow part of senior management.
(This story also can be found onConstruction Equipment Guide’sWeb site at www.constructionequip-mentguide.com.) CEG
HAWTHORNE from page 19
Where it all began: The Firestone Street location ofthe first in a line of Hawthorne family-ownedequipment businesses — L.A. Tractor Co, in 1947.
A few of the machines currently in Tool Shed’s earthmoving rental and salesdivision.
The Mission Avenue, Escondido, Calif., site ofHawthorne Bros Tool Shed Rentals.
The company maintain more than 200pieces of rental equipment in addition to100 pieces in the earth moving division.
