THE TEAM
Russ Gulliford is the owner of Illinois Portable Toilets, part of Gulliford Services, in Urbana, Ill. Merle Metz manages the portable restroom division, which accounts for about a third of the company’s business in addition to septic and plumbing and heating segments. Eight of the 30 employees are in the restroom division. The company dedicated one technician, Jonathan Nicholls, to work full time for the Farm Progress Show, although everyone was involved at some point in loading, unloading, preparation, maintenance, and cleaning.
COMPANY HISTORY
The roots of the business go back two generations to 1939 when Gulliford’s grandfather started a septic business. Gulliford restarted it in 1985, a few years after his grandfather died. In 1987, when a college student asked Gulliford if he could provide restrooms for a frat party, Gulliford quickly bought 12 used fiberglass units and began a new line of work. The business mushroomed and they now have an inventory of about 1,000 units and six vacuum trucks, serving a 110-mile radius.
MAKING CONNECTIONS
The company served the Farm Progress Show for the first time in 2009. They won the bid, but price wasn’t the sole deciding factor for the client, Metz says. “Our reputation preceded us. We were not the lowest bidder,” he says.
THE MAIN EVENT
If you’re in the market for a $500,000 combine or want to check out the latest seed varieties, the Farm Progress Show is the place to do it. The 2009 event marked its 56th year, and organizers call it the largest show of its kind in the nation. From Sept.1-3, 600 exhibitors introduced 250,000 people to all that’s new in the agriculture industry. The 478-acre Decatur, Ill., site is set up like a small town, with campground, vendor area and demonstration fields. It’s not all business, though. Events included a country music concert, lumberjack and tractor pull contests, and an antique equipment display.
THE JOB
Besides providing portable restrooms for the general public, the company supplied private units for a number of vendors. And they were on hand full time in the area for campers who flagged them down to pump out their RV holding tanks.
BY THE NUMBERS
The company placed 150 orange and blue PJN3 units from PolyJohn Enterprises Corp., all with hand sanitizers. About 100 of these units were for public use, while the others were contracted by exhibitors at a price specified in the master contract. The company also brought in 12 PolyJohn Enterprises Corp. Comfort Inn wheelchair accessible units and five hand-wash stations.
Public units were located in six areas, with the most at the main gates. Others were placed in key locations, such as the Red Cross tent, administrative offices, resource areas and the demonstration fields. Some 30 units were set aside solely for the Wednesday night concert.
Private units were located behind vendor trailers; the more visible ones locked to avoid public use.
LET’S ROLL
The company began service July 1 with five units provided for setup crews and landscapers. Because the event site was nearly an hour from Illinois Portable Toilets’ headquarters, the area route driver brought in 14 units on a trailer each time he was in the area during July and August. The units were stored in a cordoned-off area.
All units were on site by Aug. 28, at which time the company moved them into position using a vacuum truck with a carrier. To avoid premature use, they taped a sign on the doors indicating where the nearest restroom was, and then shrink-wrapped them. “We didn’t know if this would work or not,” Metz says. “We figured any guy with a pocketknife was going to get in there. But believe it or not we had very few people who cut the plastic off and used them.”
Monday the shrink-wrap was removed on all but the concert units, which were unveiled Wednesday afternoon, and everything given a final cleaning.
The show ended on Thursday evening, at which time the company pumped most of the units. They took their time removing them from the site over a period of weeks.
KEEPIN’ IT CLEAN
A team of three technicians cleaned 60 to 70 units each day of the event, beginning as soon as the crowds thinned around 6 p.m., usually finishing just after dark. They used two trucks, a 2004 International 4300 outfitted by L.T. & E., Inc. with a 1,700-gallon stainless steel tank (1,100 gallons waste/dual 300-gallon freshwater tanks), and a 2007 Ford F-550 from Lely Manufacturing with a 1,500-gallon aluminum tank (1,100 gallons waste/400 gallons freshwater), both with Masport Inc. pumps.
Many units got extremely heavy usage, but day servicing was not possible. Illinois Portable Toilets representatives feel more units were needed. “We would have put double the number there,” Metz says. “We knew well before noon a lot of them would be full.” Those units were locked. The company doesn’t always use scented disks but felt this event required it. “We knew that by the end of the day all these toilets would be what we call ‘blown out.’ The chemistry would be taxed to its limits. These little scent disks really make a difference.”
Nicholls kept in touch with event personnel via two-way radio and checked supplies throughout the day. Because crowds were always heavy at the restroom banks, it was not always an easy sell for him to step to the front of the line to restock units.
Despite the challenges, the company prides itself on its commitment to cleanliness. That includes company vehicles, which are washed and polished daily. Drivers, although not uniformed, must wear clean clothes and gloves.
A GOOD FIT
Illinois Portables was right at home in the agricultural setting, as a major part of their business is providing restrooms for agricultural workers. In fact, they had hoped to rent a booth at the event, however, costs proved to be prohibitive.
They won't bid on the 2010 show in Iowa, but hope to be back serving the Decatur site in 2011, Metz says. “We really got high accolades for our services there from the event company,” Metz says. “I’m working hard to get them to commit to a second year.”
