The Spokane family that founded A To Z Rentals in Spokane 45 years ago has re-entered the rental business by buying back the assets of the three-store chain it sold to Denver-based RentX Industries Inc. in the mid-1990s.


The family, which now operates the business as A To Z Rentals & Sales Inc., also has bought two former RentX stores in North Idaho, giving it all the former RentX operations in the Inland Northwest, says A To Z President Cheryl Kettrick.


The business is hopefully in an upturn, says Kettrick, whose father, Milt Neumann, founded A To Z Rentals in 1960. It needed a different management structure and an emphasis on customer service.


Kettrick says she and her father own the business along with two other relatives.


She declines to disclose the terms of the transaction, which was completed late last month.


The Spokane stores are located downtown at 1429 W. Second, on the North Side at 1413 E. Francis, and in Spokane Valley at 10903 E. Sprague. The North Idaho stores are in Coeur dAlene, at 6792 N. Government Way; and along Highway 95 North in the Sandpoint area.


A To Z Rentals employs a total of 30 people, and that likely wont change much in the near future, she says.


The company offers for rent light- to medium-duty contractor equipment, such as backhoes and man lifts, and yard equipment, such as tillers and aerators. It also rents out party supplies, from linens to silverware to large outdoor party tents.


RentX had bought the A To Z Rentals stores in 1996. The next year, the Denver company bought the two North Idaho stores, which previously had operated as U-Do-It Rental Centers Inc.