Sustained, consistent growth for 20-plus years is more than most business owners can hope for. And explosive growth, well, that's something reserved for wish lists and sweet dreams, right?
Not so for Mark Zimmer and his company, A-1 Rocket Portable Restrooms in Amarillo, Texas. In the past two years, the company has diversified from primarily a portable restroom provider to a full-blown site services contractor for construction and other industries.
A-1 Rocket has acquired two companies and expanded to offer fencing and barricades, and, most notably, has seen its container business bloom. Modified containers are used for anything from construction project offices to temporary storage facilities to mobile kitchens. They have proven to be a profitable add-on to traditional restroom services and now account for 20 percent of total business.
So what was the catalyst for Zimmer to step into new markets after running an established business for many years? Many changes over the past two years are attributable to Zimmer's son, Ryan, joining the A-1 Rocket Portable Restrooms team. Ryan grew up in the family business – servicing restrooms with his dad at special events by the time he was 8 – but went on to become a civil engineer and worked for a construction company before deciding to return to his roots.
Ryan, now the company's vice president, brought A-1 Rocket a fresh perspective on new opportunities in the construction industry, as well as a fierce commitment to networking and finding solutions customers want. The company now provides portable restrooms, fencing and containers for construction sites and special events throughout the state. It also expanded its reach 500 miles south, where a new branch is offering products to oil and gas companies near San Antonio.
"It's amazed me from the start. A lot of times Ryan will field 20 calls a day from businesses that want extra storage – something airtight and watertight – and storage for their tools or when they're remodeling."
Mark Zimmer
CONTAINED EXCITEMENT
Mark Zimmer, the company's president, built a foundation in portable sanitation with A-1 Rocket, which continues to operate within a 100-mile radius of Amarillo in the Texas panhandle. He grew from an initial 100 restrooms to 500, catering mainly to special events customers. Most of the units are from Satellite Industries. A handful come from PolyJohn Enterprises, and the company's 24-foot restroom trailer is from Olympia Fiberglass Industries Inc. Restroom rentals account for 70 percent of revenue.
Enter Ryan, who during his time as an engineer had witnessed a growing and specific demand for containers at construction sites. Mark recognized the risk, but knew it was an educated one, so they started by ordering four units. Neither father nor son had any idea just how strong demand would be. Today their container inventory is around 250, amassed in the past two years and with the acquisition of a couple smaller businesses.
"It's amazed me from the start. A lot of times Ryan will field 20 calls a day from businesses that want extra storage – something airtight and watertight – and storage for their tools or when they're remodeling," Zimmer says.
Once, he says, a motel had 15 of them to store furnishings during a remodeling project. The uses have been countless and the units are relatively easy to service.
"We drop them off, forget them, and pick them up at the end of the job. There's no need to put them on a route," Ryan says. A 20-foot unit rents for about $100-$125 per month with a delivery and mileage fee.
The company offers several different configurations, can install heat, air conditioning and running water, and rents them to construction sites, schools, oil and mining fields, golf courses, hospitality and other industries.
"You don't really realize what people do with them, but we've had everyone from ranchers to people who really want secure storage. They like them on the ground where you can walk into them. They're different than the boxes you see on the trailer rigs. Ours weigh two to three times more and the top is made of the same things as the sides, so they're heavy duty."
The fact they're new – shiny and well painted – also helps, according to Zimmer.
CONTAINERS TAKE OFF
Marketing was key even before the first four containers were delivered, Mark says. "Before we got them, we were advertising them and had them all rented out before he came here, and that caused us to buy more." The company has since acquired two businesses that have fed into the 250-strong fleet of 20- and 40-foot models. Ryan sources the containers – made of 14-gauge corrugated steel with 1-inch marine grade plywood floors – from wholesalers across the nation.
These wind and watertight containers often come from Dallas or Houston, both hundreds of miles away but still the closest ports. They are transported to Amarillo via truck. They also stock some newer models for retail jobs where they're more visible to the public.
More inventory means more work to be done. "With the addition of the container service and the new business in South Texas, we've added six employees in the past year and a half, and as far as vehicles, we've added five," Mark says. In the past year and a half, company revenues have doubled.
The company's fleet in Amarillo now includes a 2006 International 4300 with a 1,000-gallon waste/500-gallon freshwater steel tank; 2011 and 2012 International TerraStars with 700-gallon waste/350-gallon freshwater stainless steel tanks; a 2006 GMC 5500 flatbed truck with Waltco Lift Corp. liftgate and 400-gallon waste/200-gallon freshwater stainless steel tank; a 2006 GMC 4500 with 600-gallon waste/300-gallon freshwater steel tank; and a 2010 GMC flatbed pickup with 300-gallon waste/150-gallon freshwater stainless steel tank. All the vacuum trucks were built out by Best Enterprises Inc. In addition, the company runs a 1999 Isuzu NPR with 16-foot stake bed and Waltco Lift Corp. liftgate, a 2000 GMC pickup with Tommy Lift liftgate and 20- and 24-foot restroom trailers from Custom Built Trailer Inc., Lubbock, Texas.
The satellite office, A-1 Rocket of South Texas, has a 2010 GMC 1-ton flatbed with a 400-gallon waste/200-gallon freshwater tank; a 2011 Chevy 1-ton flatbed with a 400-gallon waste/200-gallon freshwater stainless steel tank, both from Best Enterprises, and two 24-unit transport trailers from Custom Built Trailer Inc; 15 trash trailers and 10 custom-built cool-break trailers.
The cool-break units are flatbed trailers with a roof, benches and a Port-A-Cool portable evaporative cooling unit for workers seeking relief from the heat. They are usually 20 degrees cooler than the outside temperature. These trailers are fabricated and outfitted by Ryan and a friend with the help of Tumbleweed Manufacturing in Amarillo, Texas.
The company's other business units, American Portable Storage LLC, or APS, and Scott Box LLC, were acquired and added to the container fleet. APS Amarillo has a 1999 Sterling tractor; and 24-foot and 40-foot trailers from R & R Truck and Trailer Service, Citronelle, Ala., and 42-foot tilt container trailer from Contral, Marietta, Ga. These pull double duty hauling 20 restrooms each for large events.
And Scott Box has a 1999 International tractor and 42-foot Landoll Corp. container tilt trailer, and two 2012 Freightliner M2 tractors.
HEADED SOUTH
The company's newest branch, A-1 Rocket of South Texas, sprang up in part to serve the oil and gas industries in that region. One impetus was Jerry Don Thompson, who sold APS to the Zimmers, and owns a pipeline construction company in South Texas.
"(Thompson) said he wanted us to supply him and that would lead to other people," Zimmer says. "So we moved some units [portable restrooms] from Amarillo, bought some and bought two trucks, and we now provide trash trailers for these drilling sites." This location has two employees and a manager and maintains 130 restrooms.
Ryan recalls the genesis of the new business: "A friend, Roy Baring, who is now manager, called me on a Tuesday wanting to do something with the big oil field play down there – he didn't care what it was. On Wednesday some guy wanted to buy toilets, and Thursday Thompson said he thought it would be a good time to bring some restrooms down."
The three developments signaled a new opportunity for A-1 Rocket.
"We only have a few clients down there but they're running so many crews we're able to follow them around," Ryan adds.
"We have that synergy. He's got the well established companies and the old-school mindset. I bring in the new (ideas) and want to be more efficient."
Ryan Zimmer
INTELLIGENT DESIGN
The sudden expansion beyond A-1 Rocket's original territory called for changes to the company's business structure. After buying the smaller businesses, the Zimmers consulted with lawyers and accountants to pool each separate business – A-1 Rocket of South Texas, Scott Box, and American Portable Storage – into one LLC to protect the assets of each. Zimmer's wife, Jill, also is part owner and secretary.
The challenges of running businesses across long distances and paying for the investments they've made have kept the Zimmers busy. "I joked with my dad that I spent all the money he made in 22 years of business in one year," Ryan says.
So far, the dynamic works, father and son agree. "We have that synergy," Ryan explains. "He's got the well established companies and the old-school mindset. I bring in the new (ideas) and want to be more efficient."
"We talk a lot and exchange ideas," Ryan continues. "He has the experience and we're sounding boards for each other. And it works pretty well."
Mark says the father-son alliance is a meeting of the minds and resources. "I had the money, and he had the ideas," he says. But it was still very important for Mark to stress the foundation on which the business is built. "I made it very clear that how we've made the money was through the portable restrooms, and I would remind him this is how we paid the bills."
