THE TEAM
John Baranzelli is the CEO and general manager of All Cal Services LLC in Sacramento, Calif. He has three partners, Joe Ruffaine, vice president of sales and business development; Joe Sestito, COO, and Tony Sestito (now retired). Working with them are eight drivers, two office personnel, and one yard man.
COMPANY HISTORY
In August 2006, Tony and Joe Sestito created J & J Sanitation in Sacramento. Baranzelli, with experience in the portable sanitation industry, came on board in 2007. Baranzelli brought Ruffaine with him, a minority owner of Atlas Disposal Industries, an independent waste and recycling hauling business in Sacramento. The four men formed a new company, All Cal Services LLC, placing units mainly in the construction market. In August 2008, they got their feet wet in special events, doing an air show at Travis Air Force Base.
THE CONSTRUCTION SITE
The Thunder Valley Casino in Placer County, Calif., 25 miles northeast of Sacramento, opened in 2003. It is currently undergoing a two-year, $1 billion expansion, which will add one-third more floor space to the existing structure, as well as a 22-story hotel, a 10-story parking garage, and a 3,000-seat performing arts center. The United Auburn Indian Community, comprised of Miwok and Maidu Indian tribes, owns the casino.
MAKING CONNECTIONS
General contracting for the expansion project is being handled by a joint venture between JE Dunn Construction Group, Kansas City, Mo., and Davis Reed Construction Inc., a California builder that had worked with Atlas and knew Ruffaine. The company put out a bid in March 2008, and by June All Cal was notified it won the contract.
Because of the size of the project, All Cal purchased an additional 500 portable restrooms and several new pump trucks (six new rigs over one year).
THE JOB
All Cal is the sole portable restroom and holding tank provider for the project. “They didn’t want any other trucks on the site so everybody on the job has to go through us,” says Baranzelli. As a result, the company has contracts with about 40 subcontractors. “The good news,” he says, “is that that’s only for the holding tanks. The restrooms are all with the general contractor.”
BY THE NUMBERS
The company met with the general contractor to decide how many units to bring in for the 1,700 workers on the job. “It’s basically one toilet for every 10 guys,” says Baranzelli. The company brought in 170 tan Aspen portable restrooms from Five Peaks Technology, 20 PolyJohn Enterprises Corp. PolyLift high-rise units, and 85 Five Peaks Sierra ride-along sinks.
They also supplied 50 holding tanks for the subcontractors’ trailers. Each holding tank sits in a wood-framed rubber containment tray in case of leakage. The trays were designed by the company and built by the general contractor.
LET’S ROLL
By mid-July the company placed 20 holding tanks and 15 units on site in preparation for the groundbreaking. Most days after that, for two months, the company brought in units, tanks and sinks until full ramp-up in November. This was done using its Isuzu flatbed truck or one of its two hauling trailers (one carries eight units, the other 12) connected to a Ford F-350 pickup truck.
Units were placed in two main areas. One was the subcontractors’ compound, which was set up on part of an existing parking lot about a half mile from the casino. The rest were set up in various locations around the construction site.
Although badges are not required, all company personnel entering the jobsite for any reason must be uniformed and wear personal protective gear (hard hats, orange vests, boots and glasses).
KEEPIN’ IT CLEAN
The company is dedicating one full-time technician to the project, Rick Vinson, and one service vehicle, a 2008 Kenworth T270 from Tank Technologies & Supply Company LLC. The truck has a 2,000-gallon aluminum tank (1,500 gallons waste, 500 gallons freshwater) and a Masport Inc. pump. As luck would have it, the county has a dump station only two blocks from the site.
Each unit and tank is being cleaned three times per week. This requires 150 services a day, six days a week. High-rise units are brought down by crane last thing in the day for an early morning servicing, then replaced first thing in the morning.
Baranzelli says graffiti is a big problem. “We don’t ever leave it,” he says. So, after the usual cleaning with bleach, oven cleaner for the urinals, Ever Pro Gold Tablets from J & J Chemical Co., the company uses Wipe Off from Sunrise Environmental Scientific to remove unwanted markings.
ON THE GROW
The size of the casino project has been a big boost for the young restroom company. But even before that job, they were growing by leaps and bounds. In a one-year period of time, they increased their service cleanings from 270 units a week to 1,800.
In August 2008, they secured an even bigger contract, the Sacramento International Airport modernization plan, a $1.9 billion, seven-year project.
Baranzelli is enthusiastic about his company’s future. “We’re going to continue to grow,” he says. “Our next move would be to start expanding geographically.”
