EquipmentShare Launches Team Orange to Strengthen Disaster Readiness and Community Resilience
EquipmentShare, one of the fastest-growing equipment rental and connected jobsite technology providers in the United States, has announced the formation of Team Orange — a company-funded, highly trained volunteer corps dedicated to improving community disaster preparedness, response, and recovery.
The initiative formalizes what has long been part of EquipmentShare’s culture: a deep commitment to service and a readiness to respond when communities need help most. Team Orange represents the company’s evolution from an equipment solutions provider to a force for humanitarian aid and disaster resilience — using its technology, people, and national footprint to bring resources where they’re needed in real time.
A Mission Built on Service and Action
Team Orange is composed of employees with military, emergency, and first responder backgrounds, as well as other volunteers trained in coordinated disaster operations. The corps focuses on building community resiliency, supporting rapid response during hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires, and other natural disasters.
Disasters do not wait, and neither do we,” said Jabbok Schlacks, co-founder and CEO of EquipmentShare. “We’re staged near high-risk areas, supported by our T3® platform for real-time visibility and logistics, so we can move assets and people quickly when minutes matter.”
For Schlacks, Team Orange is not only about logistics and technology — it’s about empowering people to serve.
Disaster response is unpredictable, but our commitment to people is constant,” he continued. “Team Orange is how we invest in our employees so they feel prepared and supported as they serve those in their communities who need it most. We equip them with training, gear, and partners on the ground so they can arrive safely, stabilize conditions, and stand shoulder to shoulder with local organizations through recovery.
A Nationwide Network of Trained Responders
As of late 2025, Team Orange includes more than 75 trained responders organized into multiple regional crews. These teams are strategically positioned across high-risk zones, including:
- The Gulf Coast, covering Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida.
- The Southeast Atlantic Coast, including Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina.
- The Midwest, where new teams are forming to respond to tornado outbreaks.
- The West Coast, preparing for wildfire season and post-fire recovery.
This geographical distribution ensures that EquipmentShare can mobilize quickly after disasters strike. The company’s crews are already on standby to support those impacted by Hurricane Melissa, including displaced families seeking refuge along the Gulf and Southeast Atlantic coasts.
Company-Funded, Partner-Supported
All Team Orange deployments are fully funded by EquipmentShare, with substantial support from original equipment manufacturer (OEM) partners such as JLG®, JCB®, Genie®, and Cummins®. These partnerships supply essential machinery and financial contributions that enable rapid and safe response operations.
Team Orange members are trained to operate common construction and industrial equipment and serve as auxiliary personnel for federal, state, and local disaster-response agencies. Their typical deployment package includes:
- Pumps, generators, and light towers to restore essential services.
- Skid steers, telehandlers, and excavators for debris removal and site clearing.
- Debris-handling attachments and accessories for precision cleanup in urban and rural environments.
- Communication and tracking tools powered by EquipmentShare’s proprietary T3® technology.
When deployed, Team Orange also works alongside the EquipmentShare Foundation to establish relief centers, prepare hot meals, and distribute essential supplies such as water, hygiene products, and safety gear.
Real-Time Visibility Through Technology
What sets Team Orange apart from traditional volunteer organizations is the integration of EquipmentShare’s T3® platform — a connected jobsite technology that tracks every piece of machinery and asset across EquipmentShare’s nationwide network.
With T3, Team Orange operates from a single, connected interface that provides:
- Fleet health and diagnostics for hundreds of thousands of assets.
- Fuel and maintenance tracking to ensure readiness during prolonged operations.
- Real-time GPS monitoring for precise movement and safety oversight.
- Geofencing and keypad access controls to prevent theft or unauthorized use — issues that often spike during disaster chaos.
“Team Orange turns our nationwide capabilities into a simple, well-coordinated local response,” explained Jim Parnell, Team Orange’s Disaster Response Program Manager. “Crews are staged near high-risk areas, and our connected T3 platform ensures we can mobilize assets, supplies, and trained personnel the moment they’re needed.”
Through this digital backbone, EquipmentShare can track, redeploy, and service assets dynamically, ensuring that the right machines are in the right place — ready, safe, and reliable — when recovery efforts begin.
Industry Partners Strengthening the Mission
Several of EquipmentShare’s OEM partners have voiced strong support for the initiative, seeing it as an example of how construction technology and community responsibility can intersect.
Disasters have the potential to upend lives, so every act of support matters,” said a JLG spokesperson. “By supplying dependable, high-performing access equipment to Team Orange, we’re helping trained responders and everyday heroes take action quickly and safely. Together, we’re restoring essential services and stability to impacted communities.
Ben Bradshaw, Executive Vice President of North American Sales for Genie, added: “When disaster strikes, access to reliable, high-quality equipment is essential. Supporting EquipmentShare’s Team Orange puts our Quality by Design mission into action, helping responders restore communities safely and efficiently.
Andrea Whelan, Executive Vice President at JCB, noted: “Our goal is to help responders work safely and keep critical equipment ready. Partnering with EquipmentShare aligns our teams to move quickly when minutes matter.”
A Cummins spokesperson echoed these sentiments: “Communities depend on reliable partners to help restore safety and stability. Cummins is honored to support Team Orange in their mission to deliver power, equipment, and hope to families in crisis.”
How Team Orange Supports Communities
Team Orange’s structured response strategy is built on five key pillars:
- Pre-Positioned Readiness
- Crews and equipment are staged near hurricane, tornado, and wildfire-prone regions.
- Teams conduct seasonal readiness drills and equipment checks to ensure rapid activation.
- Coordinated Deployment
- Team Orange collaborates closely with emergency management agencies, utility providers, and public works departments, as well as vetted nonprofit partners, to integrate seamlessly into official disaster operations.
- Safe Operations
- Members receive factory and OSHA-compliant safety training, and all deployments follow strict PPE and site safety protocols to protect responders and civilians.
- Humanitarian Aid
- Beyond debris removal and infrastructure support, Team Orange works with the EquipmentShare Foundation to prepare hot meals, distribute clean water, and conduct wellness checks for residents in affected areas.
- Connected Logistics
- The T3 platform provides asset tracking, fuel monitoring, and maintenance scheduling, ensuring that critical equipment stays operational under harsh conditions.
A Model for Construction-Led Community Resilience
While the focus of Team Orange is disaster relief, its foundation lies firmly within the construction and infrastructure industry. EquipmentShare’s expertise in fleet management, equipment operations, and technology integration is precisely what enables the program’s effectiveness.
By leveraging the same tools and practices used on major construction sites — real-time data tracking, safety training, and predictive maintenance — Team Orange demonstrates how the construction sector can play a vital role in community resilience and emergency response.
This initiative illustrates a broader trend in the industry: construction companies expanding their mission beyond building structures to protecting and rebuilding communities when disasters strike.
Team Orange continues to grow, with new crews added monthly and expanded partnerships in development across key regions. EquipmentShare’s vision is to establish a national volunteer infrastructure capable of immediate response to disasters anywhere in the country.
At EquipmentShare, we believe service starts with people,” said Schlacks. “Team Orange gives our employees the tools and training to make a difference where it matters most — helping families, stabilizing communities, and rebuilding hope. This is who we are, and this is what we stand for.
Through Team Orange, EquipmentShare is proving that construction expertise, when combined with compassion, can build far more than structures — it can build resilience, unity, and recovery when the world needs it most.
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