Now in its 50th year, Hertz Equipment Rental Corp. plans to spin off from its parent firm as soon as Hertz Global Holdings Inc. restates its earnings from 2011-13, expected by year-end. HERC also plans to launch a new brand name.

"We are not allowed by the Securities and Exchange Commission to spin off until our financial statements are whole," Lisa Farrar, senior director of marketing and e-business, recently told ENR. "As soon as we work through that, we are ready," added Farrar, who came to Hertz from Nissan, where she helped launch the LEAF electric car in the U.S.

FARRAR

Hertz had planned to offer HERC publicly in early 2015, but an accounting audit and SEC investigation have delayed the original timing of the separation. Meanwhile, Hertz has conducted a round of management personnel changes. In November, Hertz Global installed John Tague as president and CEO and activist investor Carl Icahn amassed a 10.77% stake in the company. Tague replaced Brian MacDonald, who was interim CEO and stays on as president and CEO of HERC. Ahead of the spin-off, the equipment rental company plans in March to move into a 55,000-sq-ft headquarters that it is leasing in Bonita Springs, Fla.

Farrar, who joined HERC last July, said the new brand would help to distance the equipment company from its parent. HERC is not as visible as the car-rental business; however, among contractors, "Hertz Equipment Rental is well known," says Frank Manfredi, a heavy-equipment analyst in Cocoa, Fla.

"As we are going through this renaming process, we are working with preeminent naming consultants," Farrar said. "Although I'm not at liberty to say what the new name will be at this point, please stay tuned."

See the full interview with Farrar at ENR.com.