Hurricane Harvey hit Rockport, Texas, just a few months after PRO last visited Texas Gold Skiddos in 2017. Jordan Garcia and her father, David Wells Jr., were enthusiastically just getting started with their portable restroom and septic pumping business, which was intended to complement Wells’ septic installation work. The plan was to focus on construction accounts, gradually expanding into special events, while Wells worked his way towards retirement.
But things did not go according to plan. The company was suddenly thrust into the role of emergency services provider for Rockport which, in 2023, is still recovering from the hurricane. That disaster was followed a couple years later by the COVID-19 pandemic. And in 2022 Wells passed away and Garcia had the sad task of reorganizing the company without her father.
Today the business has a new name, new ownership structure and a new focus. It’s now called A1 Texas Gold and Garcia’s husband John, sister Jessee Pilgrim and brother-in-law Jordan Pilgrim are her co-owners. And, with life returning to normal and the recent acquisition of another company, they are finally getting back to their plans to grow the business and break into the special events market.
ESSENTIAL SERVICE
Rockport had no water, sewer or electricity for 35 days after Hurricane Harvey, Garcia reports. Not only was the company able to provide portable sanitation, but they had access to water from a well on their 6-acre property.
The team sprang into action. “We had to cut our way out of the driveway,” Garcia says, “But we had portable restrooms for first responders and we had our well set up with generators. My dad was kind of a prepper so this was his moment to shine and we were still able to operate.”
In the aftermath, they provided services to cleanup and construction crews. “We were subbed out to another provider,” Garcia says. “They had all the units but subbed the servicing to us — which actually helped us out tremendously. I would say it single-handedly probably kept us in business. We also serviced a lot of the FEMA [Federal Emergency Management Agency] base camps, electric substations and private individuals working on their homes.”
Garcia can’t guess how many units they lost. “We’d find them in crazy places — like in the trees,” she says. They were able to quickly get their hands on more units through the resale market. But Garcia laughs that she had to give up her original idea to have all their units perfectly matched in the company’s signature gold color — “Now we kind of look like the circus.”
Just as events started coming back online, everything was shut down again due to COVID. Construction stalled at first but eventually picked up. “People were trying to escape the big cities and were attracted to the coast,” Jordan Pilgrim says. “So there was a lot of home construction and new homes needing septic tanks.”
A DEFINING MOMENT
The company’s next big challenge was losing Wells in October 2022. It was unexpected, although his health had been declining. Garcia’s first concern was the employees — four service technicians and one septic installer/maintenance provider. “We focused on making sure everybody felt taken care of and safe in their job,” she says.
Then she had some decisions to make. “We had to decide what to do with the business. The problem was, the disaster stuff had shrunk, market share had shrunk.” She also needed help running the company. She was actually doing so from Florida due to her husband’s job with the U.S. Coast Guard.
Answers began to appear. Earlier in the year, Pilgrim’s parents sold their hotel, which he and his wife had been actively involved in. “So we were looking for a new venture to get into anyway,” he says. “The obvious choice was to step in and help with this.”
NEW NAME, NEW OWNERS
“I had been talking off and on to A‑1 Norm’s Portables,” Garcia says. “The owners, Rene and Wayne Price, were wanting to retire.” A‑1 was an 18-year-old business with 300 portable restrooms and two vacuum trucks.
She says it was an all or nothing moment. “I felt like we either acquire this company and move full steam ahead or we don’t. I thought this was a way for us to really continue on and be able to make money and make the economies of scale make ultimate sense.”
The purchase went smoothly. They combined the two names, keeping portions of each, to create A1 Texas Gold. Then they worked with a local company, Persona Digital Marketing, to create a logo. They are now going through the process of changing decals, marketing materials and the website. The biggest challenge was converting everything to one billing system and method of charging.
To reassure customers, the Prices sent out a letter introducing the new owners and also rode with the drivers for a couple weeks to familiarize them with the routes and meet the customers.
COMPANY ASSETS
The company now has about 450 restrooms and 10 hand-wash stations (PolyJohn, Satellite Industries). Service vehicles include two RAM trucks (2011 and 2014) with 800-gallon waste/350-gallon freshwater stainless steel tanks and Masport pumps, and a Ford F‑350 and Ford F‑450 built out by KeeVac Industries with 300-gallon waste/135-gallon freshwater stainless steel tanks and Conde Super 6 pumps (Westmoor Ltd.). A recent addition is a 2023 Ford F-550 built out by Iron Vac with a 900-gallon waste/350-gallon freshwater tank and Masport pump.
Septic work, which used to account for half the company’s business, had been declining with the poor health and passing of Wells. But Garcia says they are determined to reinvigorate that side of the business and get it back to 50/50. Luckily, they have a young, enthusiastic guy who can help them do that, Gerardo “Jerry” Lopez, who had worked under Wells for a long time and recently became licensed as an Installer II and septic maintenance provider.
COMING TOGETHER
Things are still in flux as everyone works out job duties and makes plans for the future. But they are working it out step by step.
Jordan Garcia will be moving back to Texas in the latter part of 2023 when her husband retires from the Coast Guard.
Jessee Pilgrim currently works as a travel agent but also performs administrative tasks for the company. Jordan Pilgrim works as a full-time sales rep for a food service company, which he will probably leave in 2024, but is also working on sales and marketing for A1. He’s focusing heavily on social media.
“We were wildly successful with it for our hotel business, to the point Facebook added me to an exclusive group of about 700 small businesses in North America,” he says. “I’m hopeful we can do the same here.” He also believes in personal contact and is on the board of the local chamber of commerce.
The company is now networking with event organizers and bidding on projects. And on the septic side they are looking at buying a dedicated Class 6 vacuum truck. Pilgrim says they are now one of the largest sanitation companies in the area.
Garcia adds that they market themselves as a full-service waste company and they’re excited about the future. “It’s our third month operating as A1, so we’re just trying to see where we’re headed. I think it’s good.”
