Twice Scott and Lisa Weld bought Buck’s Sanitary Service, a portable sanitation company, when it was ailing and each time breathed new life and energy into it to create a thriving business that supported their family and their employees’ families. In 2023 they added a second division with the purchase of Royal Flush Environmental Services, a septic service company.

Both divisions are in Eugene, Oregon. Buck’s also has satellite offices in Roseburg 70 miles south and Sweet Home 40 miles north. Their service territory runs about 170 miles north-south and 140 miles east-west. They have 33 employees including three at each of the satellite locations and eight at Royal Flush.

The Welds’ three children were young the first time they bought Buck’s but are now taking on key leadership roles, which allows Scott to focus on big-picture oversight, and for Lisa to work on what she calls the fun stuff — marketing and design projects, decision-making, planning the parties.

Son Sten Weld, 27, is managing the septic division. Daughter Milah Weld-Melcher, 23, just out of college with an accounting degree, is handling the books, working in the field, and learning all aspects of managing the portable sanitation division. Daughter Maren, 19, a nursing student at the University of North Dakota, continues to help out in the summers and played a key customer service role during the difficult days of COVID.

Buck’s was featured in PRO almost 11 years ago, in February 2013, with Scott posing on the cover with daughter Milah. The kids were already helping out at special events then, and have grown up in the portable sanitation industry.

A SECOND CHANCE

The Welds and Scott’s father Sherman Weld first bought Buck’s in 1995, when they heard the 20-year-old business was struggling. They saw it as a good addition to their trash and septic business. Four years later, when Sherman retired, they sold everything to a national solid waste company and Scott went to work for them. By 2009 he was ready to try his hand at self employment again and began a garbage truck dealership.

Three years later, just as they were feeling defeated when they learned they were going to lose their lease, the national trash company asked the Welds if they wanted to buy Buck’s back. They jumped at the chance. “We knew Buck’s had potential,” Scott says. “So we stepped away from the dealership.”

The restroom business had downsized from 25 employees to six. There was a lot to do to build Buck’s back, but they worked hard and had the enthusiasm for it. They updated the equipment, replaced trucks, and renewed the business, customer by customer. Timing also played a role, Scott admits — “We had a good economy and we just grew with it.”

EXPANDING OPERATIONS

On Jan. 1, 2023, the company purchased Royal Flush. Scott’s father and grandfather had owned septic companies, one of which Scott managed, so he was familiar with the work. The services they provide include pumping, repairs, installations and drainline cleaning.

The company has three Caterpillar excavators (304, 305, 300.9) transported with Ford F‑550 and F‑450 trucks with tilt-deck trailers, and two service vans, a 2019 Ford and a 2014 GMC, which carry their RIDGID cameras and locating equipment and Spartan line-cleaning snakes and jetters.

Vacuum trucks include a 2008 Kenworth T880 with a 4,200-gallon waste/300-gallon freshwater aluminum tank from Davidson Tank and a National Vacuum Equipment blower, a 2000 Kenworth T800 with a 4,100-gallon waste/100-gallon freshwater aluminum tank from Davidson Tank and a Masport pump, and a 1988 Peterbilt 357 with a 4,000-gallon waste/100-gallon steel tank from Lely Manufacturing and a Masport pump.

Scott says they may need extra help with the new service line, particularly in the busy summers, and are already working on cross-training between the divisions.

CREATING A BRAND

On the portable restroom side, the company’s inventory stands at 4,000 units, including 450 that are either wheelchair-accessible or ADA-compatible, and 200 hand-wash stations (all from Satellite Industries). Scott is happy to report that, although they still have 12 white units for weddings and 30 pink ones for special events, their units will soon be all one color — gray. “We’re very aggressive about replacing and standardizing our units,” he says. “We feel that’s part of the look that people come to expect. It’s our brand.”

The company also has 17 restroom trailers from Satellite Suites, Forest River and A Restroom Trailer Company (ART Co.) in sizes ranging from two stalls to 10.

In 2020 they bought a shower trailer business. At first they had some regrets about their decision but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. “COVID came along,” Lisa explains. “They were rented out continuously for two years. So it ended up being a good deal.” They have five shower-only units and three shower/restroom combo units, all from Satellite.

The company built their 20 vacuum trucks working with Western Truck Center in West Sacramento, California. They use Hino 268A trucks with FMI Truck Sales & Service/WorkMate, FlowMark, Bruder Tank and Lely Manufacturing tanks (primarily aluminum) in sizes ranging from 650-gallon waste/300-gallon freshwater to 3,900-gallon waste/100-gallon freshwater, and Masport pumps.

They have nine transport trailers (McKee Technologies) in sizes ranging from 10-place to 20. They use Satellite deodorant products.

FOREST FIRES

The company’s business mix is about 20% seasonal (municipal parks, ballfields, boys and girls clubs, colleges), 20% permanent placements (horse arenas, log yards and mills, golf courses), 20% construction, 30% events and 10% miscellaneous.

Events include the Oregon Jamboree and the Eugene Pro Rodeo, both which Buck’s has handled for 24 years. They also do work for the Eugene Marathon, county fairs, Oregon State University athletic activities, the Eugene Emeralds minor league baseball team and Cuthbert Amphitheater.

They are a contractor with the National Forest Service to provide portable restrooms, hand-wash stations and graywater pumping for forest fire camps. There were three fires in their area in the 2022 season, Scott says, and they worked on all of them. “At one point we had over 1,000 units out on fires with daily service. I think we get called because we deliver on time and we do what we’re asked to do.”

Their restroom trailers are often rented out for weddings, truckstops and commercial remodeling projects at schools and big box stores such as Lowe’s, Target, Home Depot and Costco.

Scott says they do not play the pricing game.

“We continue to drive price in our market,” he says. “Along with that comes excellent service, an excellent product, a clean truck and a friendly [and well-paid] driver. I think that is one of the key factors that has allowed us to grow. We’re a debt-free company. We reinvest in our equipment and in our employees.”

EMPLOYEE MATTERS

When hiring, the company has the best luck tapping their own staff for referrals, especially their longtime employees. Occasionally they also use a recruiter.

They have loyal employees, Lisa says, some of whom were with them the first time they owned Buck’s. “We consider them our family because we’re with them all the time and they’re very important to us,” she says. “We couldn’t do what we do without them.”

Seasoned drivers train new hires, spending two or three weeks with them. “And one of the things we pride ourselves on is we have a very honorable rate of pay and provide 100% health insurance for the employee and a 20% contribution for a family,” Scott says. They also provide paid vacations, holiday and sick pay, a 401(k) program, uniforms and flexible scheduling.

Working at big events, they enjoy camping and cooking together at the venue. Prior to COVID they had an annual weekend family gathering at the coast, which they hope to get back to soon.

FAMILY MATTERS

A big focus for the family in 2023 is transitioning Royal Flush to Buck’s policies and procedures. The next goal, Scott says, will be to combine both companies into one location — “with a huge shop.”

Like any business, the company faces difficulties — competition, employee management, labor and fuel costs. And post-COVID raw materials, tools and equipment are still hard to get, interfering with their policy of retiring trucks at 350,000 miles.

The best thing about the business? Milah says every day is different and it’s never boring. Sten likes the mix of work. “It allows you to use all your different skill sets — and sometimes you have to use all of them on the same day,” he says.

Scott and Lisa both agree that working with their kids is a major plus. “We get together daily and sort out the events of the day,” Scott says. “Whether or not we see eye to eye, at the end of the day we always seem to walk away with a good feeling and have a bright outlook. It’s not something that’s drudgery to us.”

“It’s been a great thing for our family,” Lisa adds. “If Scott had stayed with that other company, we would have a much different life than we do now. Sometimes that’s good, sometimes it’s bad, but overall we enjoy working together. It’s been fun with the kids and to see them take on leadership roles — and not just take it on but they’re excelling.”