Equipment
Connection
Kitchener-based DOZR simplifies equipment rentals
By Barb Feldman
According to Kevin Forestell, the idea for Dozr was
conceived in 2015 on a Florida beach when it
occurred to him, his wife, Erin Stephenson, and
brother, Tim Forestell, just how easy and affordable
it had been to arrange their short-term rental property online.
Back in Guelph, Ont., their large family-owned landscaping
business owned a few hundred pieces of equipment, including
many machines that sat idle once snow-removal season
was over.
“The timing was right,” said Kevin, and what began
as brainstorming about how to solve their own problem
soon evolved into a much bigger idea. “We just realized
COMPANY PROFILE
we had to bring the sharing economy back to the heavy
equipment industry.”
The three soon came up with a pilot platform: “the
world’s first intelligent search for heavy equipment,” betatesting
it with a small group of contractors under everyday
conditions to spot possible flaws. When they saw that the
platform was working, they quickly started to scale, says
Kevin, who sold the landscaping business “and went all-in
on Dozr.”
The company, based in downtown Kitchener, Ont., now
has 15 full-time employees in addition to its three co-founders
and has been growing rapidly year over year. Kevin is the
The Dozr team at the Kitchener, Ont., head office
PHOTOS COURTESY OF DOZR
PILING CANADA 21