Lacroix Equipment Rentals was founded in 1975 by Aurèle Lacroix in a bit of an unorthodox manner. When he purchased his first loader, all he wanted to do was plow the parking lot in front of his barber shop.

That winter saw an uncharactersitic amount of snow, even for Ottawa, and Lacroix found he could make extra money on the side by plowing other businesses' parking lots. Twenty five years later and Lacroix is out of the hair business and runs the daily operations of Aurèle Lacroix Equipment Rentals Ltd with his sons, Kevin and Steven.

The business rents out a fleet of around 50 pieces of heavy machinery, from backhoes to excavators to bulldozers to dump trucks to payloaders...The list goes on. What sets the family-run business apart from their competitors is the fact that they focus solely on equipment rentals. Other rental firms bid against contractors for their share of a contract. Not so at Lacroix. They believe that in order to offer their customers the best possible service, they must focus on their clients needs, not on competing with them.

The team at Lacroix is made up of about 30 operators, mechanics and office staff. Lacroix cares for their team, and staff loyalty is alive and well.