Wilmington-based A to Z Equipment Rentals of North Carolina has acquired a South Carolina company for an undisclosed amount of money, leaders with the company said this week.

The family-owned and -operated company purchased Hughes Party and Equipment Rental in December and is currently working on the finishing touches to the firm's expansion into the South Carolina market, said Austin Wilson, president of A to Z Equipment Rentals.

"We're extremely excited about the opportunity to add our service to another market," he said.

His father, Steve, purchased A to Z Equipment Rentals from its previous owner in 1999. The 50-year-old company has been in the Wilmington area since 1969.

The company rents construction equipment to the industry, everything from pressure washers to forklifts. It has four locations in Southeastern North Carolina -- two locations in Wilmington, one in Leland and another in Southport.

The purchase of the South Carolina firm marks the company's entry into another market, Steve Wilson said.

"We were looking at the market in South Carolina, and we ran across this fellow that had this business and wanted to retire. And so that's how we came to buy Hughes rental," he said. "It was a good fit. It was an old family company and it was just something that we felt like was a good opportunity for us."

A to Z Equipment Rentals has 26 employees in the Wilmington area. 

There are 12 employees with the South Carolina firm, who remained with the company, between the party and construction equipment rental businesses. The businesses are located in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.

In addition to the Hughes employees retained with the acquisition, the Wilsons have added an outside sales employee in the South Carolina market, Steve Wilson said.

A to Z Equipment Rentals has no plans at this time for further expansion in other markets, he said, adding "we're just going to continue to do what we do up here in North Carolina, and we're going to grow that market in South Carolina."

The name of the construction equipment rental side of the former Hughes business has been changed to A to Z Equipment Rentals of South Carolina. Its party side of the business will remain Hughes Party Rental, the Wilsons said.

"They have a pretty good name in the party business down there so we thought it would be better off leaving [the name]," Steve Wilson said.

The company is currently working on finishing up the name transition for A to Z Equipment Rentals' South Carolina firm through signage and its web presence through social media and Google, said Austin Wilson, who is managing the South Carolina company.

The Wilsons have added some equipment to their South Carolina business and are also updating the firm’s computer and phone systems there, Steve Wilson said.

"We're going to install our computer system there, so we can link it to our other four stores up here," he added.

As for A to Z Equipment Rentals' Wilmington-area market, Steve Wilson said, "We're still growing."