Soon I’ll have the opportunity to renew acquaintances with many of you and meet many more PROs for the first time in Louisville at the Pumper & Cleaner Environmental Expo International.
It’s great to meet face-to-face with folks I communicate with through e-mail and phone calls for most of the year. The Expo always reinforces my belief that the portable sanitation industry is chock full of good, hardworking people. I am continually impressed with contractors’ small business smarts and willingness to share expertise and experience.
WHAT’S ON YOUR MIND?
At the Expo every year, a few issues seem to be foremost on the minds of PROs walking the exhibit hall at the Kentucky Exposition Center and attending Education Day seminars. A few years ago, skyrocketing fuel prices dominated discussions. And last year, there was an air of uncertainty just a few months after the economic collapse of 2008.
It was almost as if contractors were collectively holding their breath, worried about the impact the deflated economy would have on their own businesses. There was a bit of foreboding about the 2009 construction season, wondering how many builders would be calling for portable restrooms or other site services.
To their credit, many portable sanitation companies kept their date with the Expo last year. Despite economic concerns, they made the trip to attend Education Day seminars and sharpen their skills for the future. They checked out the latest equipment, looking for new services to offer or timesaving products that could help as a hedge against an economic downturn.
It’s been that way throughout the 30-year run of the Expo. We’ve been through many economic ups and downs, but all those challenges haven’t stopped contractors from making the Expo an annual tradition. Remember the stock market crash of 1987, the boom of the late 1990s and the bust of 2000? How about the aforementioned $4 per gallon diesel fuel of a few years ago? Through it all, PROs have shown to be an optimistic bunch.
If there’s a lesson to be learned from looking back, it’s that business conditions run in cycles. When the economy is down, you know it will bounce back. When your company is flying high, you must be vigilant in preparing for lean times.
I wonder what the message will be this year. Anxious to hear about your outlook, I have a greater anticipation about the Expo than ever before. Among the topics I expect to hear more about are:
Disposal opportunities
Is your company looking at a dewatering system or new strategy to confront rising disposal costs? More and more, I’m hearing from contractors who want to get out in front of this issue. They’re hearing rumblings from regulators or their local treatment plants that disposal costs will be going up or that there’s limited capacity to take on portable restroom waste moving forward. A wealth of information will be available at the Expo concerning disposal options, both from seminars and exhibitors on the show floor.
Stimulus trickle-down
Will the 2010 busy season bring more business through infrastructure projects we’ve heard are coming due to the federal 2009 Recovery Act? According to the government Web site, www.recovery.gov, close to $200 billion in stimulus money has been awarded, but only a small fraction of the funds have been received. At the Web site, you can track the money awarded and received for each state. The numbers are big, and we can only hope they include road projects and the type of large-scale construction efforts that will require portable sanitation services.
Technology and efficiency
Even if you don’t add significantly to the customer base this year, are there products and techniques you can employ to increase profits from your current revenues? How about new accounting or truck-routing software that seems to provide more comprehensive service every year? What about a new service truck that will reduce downtime and unexpected repair costs? Maybe a specialty restroom or restroom trailer is on your shopping list for the Expo? Talk to the Expo vendors for all these products. They want to help you succeed.
STOP AND SAY HELLO
We want to hear what you expect in the coming year. Stop by the COLE Publishing editors’ booth at the Expo and share stories about how you’ve weathered the economic ups and downs. We also want to know about your plans for participating in an economic recovery. Tell us a little about your company and your crews, and the challenging jobs you perform. Your insights help shape our coverage of the portable sanitation industry.
See you in Louisville!
