Jeff Cossette, manager of Maki’s rental centers in Gardner and Lunenburg, said the company had been looking to expand its rental services into the area for several years. Then came the news late last year that the owners of Taylor Rental, Pete and Madeline Gamache, would be retiring and closing their Gardner store after nearly 50 years.
“We reached out to them and Greg (Tardiff), the manager over there, decided he wanted to come on board with us,” Cossette said. “So, we figured we’d take that opportunity to extend out to Gardner so that the people in that area could continue to rent locally.”
The Gamaches are in the process of selling off their inventory, and plan to permanently close their store by the end of April.
Tardiff, who worked at Taylor Rental for 37 years, said he was grateful for the opportunity to utilize his experience in the rental business for Maki.
“I wasn’t quite ready to retire, and when the guys from Maki were in our store a few months ago talking about expanding rentals into Gardner, they offered me the job and I took it,” he said. “When they first brought up the idea, I was kind of excited because to be quite frank, I wasn’t sure exactly what I was going to do after so many years in the same business.”
Cossette said there was a clear need for a rental service in the Greater Gardner area.
Maki Building Centers has been an LMC Dealer since 2011