Mikael Johansson, Regional Manager

At the age of 24, he wanted a job where he could meet lots of people—and today, he’s the Regional Manager traveling around and meeting just as many. Over the course of 15 years, both Mikael and the equipment rental industry have taken significant steps forward. We took a stroll down memory lane before also looking ahead. Welcome to Mikael’s journey at Renta.

In the spring of 2008, the construction industry was in a dark place, but somehow, things were looking bright for the local rental company Stål&Hyr. That spring, they decided to hire the well-spoken Halland native Mikael Johansson to work at their large Varberg depot.

– For four years, I was the first person construction workers would meet in the morning. And I met so many people—those were amazing years. The core of the depot team from back then is still around today, both at the Varberg depot and within the organization, says Mikael Johansson, who is now Regional Manager in Halland.

Stål&Hyr stepped up, and with Dennis, the Renta adventure began

During Mikael’s inside sales years, Stål&Hyr kept growing, and Stål&Hyr legend Jörgen Grubbesson felt “obliged” to offer Mikael the role of Depot Manager for the Varberg branch, which had 25 employees.

-He needed to take on more overall responsibility, and I felt ready to shoulder the staff responsibility for the depot. Even though it was tough in the beginning to become the manager of my friends.

Five years later, the same Jörgen asked Mikael if he wanted to become Regional Manager.

-I said yes to a major challenge, and that’s when a lot started happening. This was 2017, and that’s really where the entire Renta adventure began—we hired Joacim as CEO and opened in Halmstad.

The growth journey became even more tangible when Dennis from Skåne joined Stål&Hyr just months before Kari from Finland reached out.

-Since then, everything has gone incredibly fast, and I’ve evolved along the way. But that’s an entirely separate story—I’m just glad I said yes.