This month’s issue of PRO marks 20 years of COLE Publishing catering to the portable sanitation industry with its own dedicated publication. We took over a fledgling magazine that did its best to cover this youthful and dynamic industry and infused it with added coverage. This included detailed feature stories produced by a stable of experienced business writers, professional photography showing off featured contractors, and the high-quality production value COLE readers had come to know from receiving Pumper and Cleaner magazines that came before it.
We’re proud of the strides made by the portable sanitation industry over the years. And we’re proud of the product we’ve delivered to your mailbox and online since that first issue was released in October 2004. It’s gratifying to hear from our featured companies that they’ve enjoyed how we’ve included them in these pages. These PROs often request extra copies of the magazine they were featured in or tell me they ordered a framed copy of their cover story to display in their offices.
IN THE BEGINNING
When COLE Publishing bought PRO from publisher Kevin Gralton two decades ago, the portable sanitation industry was really starting to take off. Previously we covered restroom operations as part of Pumper magazine’s editorial focus. But it was decided at the time that PROs needed their own forum to network throughout the industry and source the products and services to help them succeed. We think we’ve played a vital role in reaching those goals.
The inaugural issue included many of the editorial features you’ve come to expect from any COLE Publishing product. Two main stories covered the work of Midwestern restroom companies that are still thriving today.
Our first PROfile story explored On Site Sanitation (now known as On Site Companies) in Minnesota’s Twin Cities region. At the time, owners Karen and Dave Holm had grown the family business to a large and respected company concentrating on quality service for construction and event customers.
Our first On Location story covered another growing operation, VandenPlas Sanitation (now VPS VandenPlas Portable Solutions), in the Green Bay, Wisconsin area. We followed owners Kurt and Kris VandenPlas and their family as they provided portable restrooms for the Artstreet festival. At that time, the couple’s young children all pitched in to help the company keep units clean throughout the three-day art and music festival in downtown Green Bay.
MAJOR CHANGES
Consider the technological advances that have revolutionized all small business since we began publishing PRO. This was three years before the introduction of the iPhone, the first smartphone. Today, our businesses couldn’t run without these amazing devices. At that time, internet websites were just becoming useful and wastewater businesses still relied on the telephone book as a marketing linchpin. And Facebook was born the same year as PRO came on board with COLE, and social media wouldn’t become a juggernaut of networking for years to come.
Back then, many of you were still writing paper invoices and rotating heavy old fiberglass units into service. On the human resources front, retirement benefits like 401(k) plans, comprehensive health insurance, flex time and the like were typically not even imagined by portable sanitation providers.
When I started, portable sanitation wasn’t always seen as a necessity. Too often restrooms were an afterthought at events. Construction contractors had their employees relieving themselves in the bushes or using a customer’s bathrooms. Now you wouldn’t build a house without one on site, running races post them every mile on a route, and event units and trailers have fueled the growth of outdoor weddings and remote corporate events.
Here are just a few positive industry changes in the past 20 years since COLE Publishing took over PRO magazine:
Improved sanitary equipment
As customers relied more on portable sanitation products, greater sanitary solutions have hit the market. Hand-wash sinks and sanistands have become closer to standard equipment, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic. Equipment today is designed for easier and faster cleaning, from units with sloped tanks, surfaces that repel dirt — some even with freshening scents built into the plastic panels — and sloped tanks and walls that wick away water during cleaning.
Lighter weight durability
Engineered polyethylene units are rigid, with panels that are lighter and easier to replace. The ergonomics of today’s units are vastly improved for greater efficiency when moving them around, reducing back strain or other injury. Gone are the cumbersome fiberglass restrooms that were heavy and difficult to move, had interior surfaces that trapped dirt and odors, and sported darker interiors for a less pleasant user experience. Newer units are engineered to be easy to transport in bulk numbers and easy to assemble upon delivery.
Emergence of restroom trailers
When we launched the new and improved PRO, very few portable sanitation companies offered restroom trailers. Today the story is just the opposite. You’d be hard-pressed to find a PRO who doesn’t offer specialized VIP equipment for events, weddings, disaster service, etc. The name of the game is being a full service provider to satisfy the needs of all of your customers. The result is continuing to fill all the niches in the marketplace and bringing up your billables. When offered the full spectrum of restroom products, many customers today will choose the VIP solution. And while a few years ago, trailers were limited to restrooms, these days PROs are adding shower, office, bunk and other specialized units to suit customers’ needs. These enhanced options also serve to build on the reputation of PROs as providers of cleaner sanitary solutions.
Truck improvements
Back in the day, vacuum service vehicles were less purpose-built, more often bolting basic steel tanks on the back of a pickup or flatbed chassis. Now our service vehicles are more well thought out, designed for improved ergonomics with things like convenient hose hanger location and more comfortable car-like cabs. Lightweight aluminum tanks are a more common choice to provide flexibility to meet weight restrictions and improve fuel economy. Fit and finish are vastly improved with better paint, graphics and wraps for effective marketing.
Better business software and routing options
Personal computing technology, especially through use of smartphones and tablets, allows every technician to carry the entire business in his or her shirt pocket or truck cab. A wide array of software products have come along to help make route mapping, invoicing, constant communication and marketing so easy. How did you operate your business before the computer age? These advances improve customer service, save fuel, extend daily routes and lower the cost per service — building your profits.
Responsible and effective chemicals
The way the industry has matured and developed, we can truly promote portable sanitation as an environmental service. New deodorants reduce PROs’ dependence on formaldehyde, which has proven to be a problematic chemical for many industries. New products have attacked the problem of poor portion control, reducing waste and any exposure dangers faced by your technicians. Pleasing scents and new formulations have increased effectiveness of these products, which helps remove the stinky reputation of portable restrooms.
Growing professional networking opportunities
The WWETT Show, formerly the Pumper & Cleaner Environmental Expo, has grown and changed all along to meet the needs of portable sanitation providers. Continuing education offerings have become more sophisticated and uniform to raise the bar for clean service. The Portable Sanitation Association International is light-years ahead of where it was 20 years ago in offering dynamic networking and training opportunities.
WE’RE HERE FOR YOU
When I reflect on 20 years of COLE serving PRO readers, I’m astounded at the way the portable sanitation industry has changed. A young person hopping on a vacuum truck for the first time today would scarcely understand the challenges of yesterday. And like all of you, I’m having a hard time imagining what our industry will look like in another 20 years. I would just say thanks for sticking with us and keep up the good work!
