The team
Tony and Jennifer Beccio operate B-There Environmental Services LLC out of their home in McSherrystown, Pa. Their equipment and vehicle storage yard is five miles down the road in Littlestown, just a few miles north of the Maryland border. Jennifer handles bookkeeping, scheduling and sales while Tony works in the field.
Their sons T.J., 18, and Kirby, 16, work summers and weekends. For large events, even the younger kids — Chad, 14, Logan, 12, and Jessica, 10 — help out. In addition, the company has three full-time route drivers: Bill Lutz, Dave Miller and Ethan Conrad.
COMPANY HISTORY
Tony Beccio spent 13 years, and Jennifer Beccio 8 years, working in the portable and septic industry before striking out on their own in 2007. Today, 75 percent of their business is portable restroom rentals, but they also provide roll-off container services and septic and grease trap pumping in a 50-mile radius.
Because of their background, the Beccios quickly grew the business, serving events including the Preakness Stakes, the Baltimore Marathon, and a contract with the U.S. Naval Academy for its sporting events, as well as construction contracts.
MAKING CONNECTIONS
The commissioners of Thurmont send out requests for proposals every year for Colorfest. Although B-There Environmental Services is a new business, Tony Beccio had worked this event before, so organizers were familiar with him. “They know me, know my work ethic and how I like to do things,” he says. He bid on the event and won.
THE MAIN EVENT
As the fall colors start to spread across the Blue Ridge Mountains, the small town of Thurmont, Md., at the base of Catoctin Mountain gears up for the annual Catoctin Colorfest arts and crafts show on the second weekend in October. Locals also jokingly refer to it as the “town-wide yard sale” as everyone tries to get in on the action. The 6,200 residents host 100,000 visitors for this two-day event in its 45th year. Neighboring towns also participate with such activities as orchard tours, church dinners and apple butter boiling.
THE JOB
B-There Environmental Services was tasked with placing restrooms at the Community Park and the Activities Grounds where the arts and crafts booths were set up, as well as parking areas, food courts, and other pedestrian areas throughout the town — which basically shuts down for the event.
BY THE NUMBERS
The company placed 156 units in 19 locations. These were all dark green Aspen and Matterhorn (ADA-compliant) units from Five Peaks Technology. All units have interior hand-sanitizers. “A lot of companies don’t do that but we’ve had great feedback on it,” says Beccio.
Three banks of 20 standard and two ADA-compliant units were set up at the Activities Grounds and the Community Park (two banks). A bank of 20 standard units was set up at the American Legion, site of a large food court and parking lot. Eleven standard and two ADA-compliant units were set up at a large parking area. The other restrooms were placed in banks of one to six standard units at 14 other locations throughout the town: schools, car washes, municipal parking lots, and small businesses.
LET’S ROLL
Three Chevrolet 2500s with McKee Technologies Inc. trailers, each holding 20 units, were put into service to deliver restrooms Wednesday and Thursday nights. The crew returned Friday night to finish setting up and to open and stock all units.
Units near schools and businesses were removed Sunday night, the rest on Monday.
KEEPIN’ IT CLEAN
The festival ended at 5 p.m. each day but it took another couple hours for the crowds to disperse, so the company waited until 7:30 Saturday night to clean the units. It took about four hours. Units were pumped again Sunday night in preparation for removal. About 5,000 gallons were pumped out the first night, and another 2,500 the second. Two team members wearing company T-shirts operated the service vehicle, a Chevy 7500 from TankTec Tank Technologies & Supply Co. The vehicle has a 2,000-gallon aluminum tank (1,500 waste/500 freshwater) and a Masport pump. Waste was transferred to a borrowed 5,000-gallon tanker truck and disposed of at the township’s wastewater facility.
Using products from J & J Chemical Co., units were scrubbed, sanitized, and replenished. Beccio’s philosophy on cleaning is, “Would I let my kids use it? That’s how I expect them to be cleaned every time.”
CAUGHT BY SURPRISE
Attendance was heavier than anticipated, but Beccio and his team were on hand to do what they could. The crowds were too thick for B-There to get a vehicle in to clean or pump out units during the day, but it went in Saturday to replenish the paper. This year they’d like to start out with more units.
WORDS TO LIVE BY
“To be successful, you have to be able to keep the business you get,” says Beccio. “A billboard is great, but if you mess up the first time, they’re not going to call you again. If you provide a good service then that’s the word that gets around. People know we’re going to be there. That’s why we have that name — B-There means we’ll be there.”
