Company History

Tates Rents was family owned for three generations before selling to its employees in late 2020. In 1946, Paul Tate began the Safway Scaffolding Company on the second floor of a building at 16th and Main in Boise. The company’s first delivery truck was made up of Ford, Plymouth and assorted other parts. It cost $650. Pick-ups were hard to come by after World War II, explaining both the cost and composition of the vehicle. Later, a new 1949 one-ton International truck was acquired that served faithfully until the seventies when it was traded away

Over the years, ladders, liquefied gas, Ramset and Porter Cable tools, and other lines were added to the scaffolding inventory. In the early fifties the property at 2923 Idaho Street was purchased and served as the headquarters for many years.

In 1962, Syd came to work with his father in what was then called Tate Scaffolding and Power Tool Company. Syd opened the first branch store between Main and Fairview on 23rd Street. Upon Paul’s partial retirement in 1969, Syd became President and the 23rd street location was closed and consolidated back at 30th and Idaho.  In the early eighties, with the help of Jim Hawkes, an advertising consultant, the company refined its marketing efforts and changed its name to Tates Rents.

The family operated the business until 2020, when Tates Rents was sold to its employees. Tates Rents is now proudly employee-owned and continues to grow and serve the Treasure Valley.