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◀ Ron Barlet
“ I originally planned to help liquidate the business over the course of six months and then return to my job,” Ron explains.“ But the construction world is so different. I enjoyed developing my technical skills and working with lots of new people. I started to really enjoy myself.”
Ron found himself trading tailored suits for Levi’ s, learning to reseal hydraulic cylinders, paint equipment, and even drive trucks. His hands-on commitment quickly transformed what had been a temporary assignment into a turning point. One day, a local contractor asked to rent one of the few remaining machines in the yard, and Ron leapt at the opportunity. That single moment reshaped Bejac’ s future.
“ From that moment, Bejac pivoted into an equipment business,” Ron recalls.“ I had just turned 24 and was only recently married. As the newest addition to the family, I had taken on her father’ s legacy. Instead of liquidating the business, I created something new from it.”
Armed with a background in economics and an instinct for service, Ron began rebuilding Bejac around a new model: equipment rentals supported by exceptional customer care. His experience in white-collar industries gave him a unique perspective on what construction companies often lacked.
“ At the time, construction was more informal than a lot of industries,” Ron says.“ I decided that if I were to offer something different, it could be a bit of that ethos I’ d picked up in the business world. I professionalized Bejac and marketed it as a customer-first service provider.”
Throughout the 1990s, Bejac became known not just as a reliable rental house, but as a full-service equipment partner. The company carved out a niche in compaction equipment, then expanded its capabilities, adding strong manufacturing partnerships and beginning its expansion into other cities in California.
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