A to Z Equipment Rentals & Sales expands

BREAKING GROUND on the new digs for A to Z Equipment Rentals & Sales in East Valley, Ariz., are, left to right, as follows: Bob Colton, Colton Constructors; Bob Herwig, superintendent, Colton Constructors; William Wipff, Colton Constructors; Fred Matricardi, founder and general manager, A to Z; and Tom Robinson, East Valley store manager, A to Z.A to Z Equipment Rentals & Sales broke ground on a major expansion to its East Valley location at 1313 E. Baseline Road, Gilbert, Ariz., on July 20, 2009, just in time for the company’s 50th anniversary in 2010.

The new facility will include a 55,000-square-foot building with one drive-thru lane and a 30,000-square-foot “breezeway” with three additional drive-thru lanes. These drive-thru lanes, which run completely through the building, are a signature feature at A to Z, allowing the customers to drive into the building to pick up or drop off equipment, out of the elements.

The expansion will house a large sales and rental equipment showroom, warehousing, offices, equipment service and storage areas. The company’s executive and administrative offices, as well as its purchasing and shipping/receiving departments — all currently located at 4050 E. Indian School Road in Phoenix — will be making the move to the new Gilbert building.

A to Z personnel moving from Phoenix to the new Gilbert office will total about 20, and Fred Matricardi, the company’s founder and general manager, said that he expects to hire at least 10 more technicians and customer service employees after the building opens in May 2010.

The expansion of the East Valley A to Z location, which was opened at the corner of Baseline and Stonehenge in 2000, has been in the planning and approval stages since 2004. The architect is Barbes, Bidanjiri & Associates; Colton Constructors, Inc., which has built each of the three A to Z locations, is once again the general contractor.

When asked why he chose to begin a very significant expansion in the current uncertain economic climate, Matricardi said, “We have been planning this for five years — we ran out of room about two years ago. Now we have a building permit, the financing is secured, we can find subcontractors anxious to go to work, and costs are lower. We will need this expansion desperately once the economy recovers, and at that time we would have a difficult time trying to do it. So now is the perfect time to build!”