And just like that, here we are crossing into 2025 and closing out the year of our 40th Anniversary celebrations! We feel so grateful for all that the last four decades have brought us - from incredible customers and fantastic employees to new equipment that we can’t wait to unveil at the upcoming ARA Show in Las Vegas.
As a final, delightful bookmark to the celebration, a very special opportunity came to us this year by way of Seattle-based customers, Handy Andy Rent-A-Tool. Handy Andy has helped keep Seattle moving for over 45 years, being one of Barreto’s very first customers all those years ago. The crew at Handy Andy reached out to us and offered to donate back one of our very first tillers ever built - Ol’ Blue, as we have aptly named it.
Back in 1984, our founder Greg Barreto designed and built the industry’s first all-hydraulic rototiller in his home garage. He worked in a rental yard by day fixing broken equipment, and spent his evenings at home building and testing his tiller in the garage.
With the support of his growing family, Greg launched the tiller into circulation and continued to build as he made time between his day job and home life with wife, Chris, and two young girls.
He tested paint colors in those early days, trying to strike the right balance of eye appeal and brand awareness. The very first tiller he designed was painted in our classic “Barreto Red” color. He went on to test out a new color - blue - only building a few from that first run of machines. He found he didn’t like the blue color as much and made the choice to return to producing the red color full-time. There have only ever been a few blue machines in circulation in the history of the company, and we estimate six were made in total.
Upon investigating this old, blue tiller, we learned that Handy Andy Rent A Tool is truly a family run business. When Office Manager Zac initially reached out, we visited with “one of” his uncles – Rob Saunders. The current Handy Andy’s business is family run - with a grandfather, brothers, sister, and nephews and nieces that work for the business in some capacity. Of the ten full time employees, eight are family.
Rob said his father and his business partner bought the company in December of ‘77 from the original owner of Handy Andys, who was a large contractor at the time that started renting tools out of a garage after the war.
He recalls his younger brother driving with their father down to Keizer to pick up the tiller from Greg’s home workshop.
The memory of those early days is still clear to Greg, who, when asked about the short run of blue tillers, immediately exclaimed, “Was it from Handy Andy’s?” They would have seen the Barreto tiller at a tradeshow and ordered the machine there. It’s certainly a special relic from the past, and one we are thrilled to have back home with us.
“The Barreto is pretty much bulletproof,” Rob said. “They last forever, we probably have 20 of these tillers. We also pick up used ones here and there just to keep for parts.” The blue tiller performed well for them all these years. “Just put a new motor on it, and away it would go again,” he said.
Ol’ Blue certainly has seen the hard mileage that comes with so many years in rental, but aside from a few Frankenstein-esque replacement parts, it’s clear that the efficacy of the original design hasn’t faltered. It’s an incredible invention worth its salt all these years later. Today’s Barreto tillers are largely the same design as those earliest models, despite a few improvements made to the body and hydraulics.
As far as what his advice would be to encourage others in the industry to develop a specific rental strategy, Rob laughed off the question and said, “We just buy it and run it into the ground - half of them we buy used and then sell them off.” It’s a process that has worked well for them so far.
When we thanked them for their generosity of time and resources, Handy Andy's quickly said, “No problem at all. We are happy to see it return home after all these years. It would be cool to see it restored if you choose to go that route.” Many thanks to Zac, Rob, Robert and the whole Handy Andy team. Who knows, we just may do a full restoration on Ol’ Blue one day!
For those just joining our journey and for those that have been around since the beginning, thank you for joining our 40th Anniversary celebrations and reflections. It's a special anniversary that marks many tools turned, machines tested, and creative solutions to customer challenges. Here’s to 2025, and here’s to another 40 years of service to an incredible industry!
Need a rental? You can find out more about Handy Andy Rent-A-Tool by visiting their website at https://www.handyandyrentatool.com/ or checkout their social media.