Starting as a small family venture, McMichael Waste Services keeps their roots at the company’s core while facilitating rapid business expansion and growth.
Located in Glencoe, Alabama, and owned by Erica and Chad McMichael, the company is anything but a mom-and-pop operation. It is a multifaceted waste services company with two locations in Glencoe. One is a 7-acre main office/maintenance yard, and the other is a storage facility with two 80-by-100-foot buildings. The company also has a satellite office in Birmingham, Alabama, and a staff of approximately 17 full-time employees which scales up to 35 during major storm responses.
This is a major change from the early days. “When we started, there was me and Erica, two route drivers, and one septic pumper and installer,” says Chad McMichael. He credits the substantial and steady growth to a refusal to adhere to a single niche — instead evolving the company into a one-stop shop for construction, events and disaster relief through a philosophy of sheer grit and adaptability.
Seizing an opportunity
Chad started working in the portable restroom industry in 2000. In 2009, he and his wife Erica decided to take the plunge running their own business by purchasing an existing firm in Etowah County.
“I just saw a need for this type of company in the area that we are operating in,” he says. “I can’t really say there was a niche for me to get into — I just kind of fell into it.”
The company’s early days weren’t easy. As new owners with a low cash flow, the McMichaels had a hard time acquiring the equipment they needed compared to today. To make it happen, they relied on their relationships with local salespeople to get whatever inventory was available.
The company now
Today, all this has changed. Not only has MWS grown its staff, but it has also built an impressive roster of equipment.
For trucks, they have a 2023 Peterbilt with a 2,500-gallon Iron-Vac tank, and a 2015 Ford F-550 with a 1,000-gallon Abernathy tank. The company also has an Isuzu restroom hauler with a Crescent flatbed tank, a 2018 Ford F-750 with a 1,000-gallon Abernathy tank, and a 2019 Hino potty hauler.
The reason the McMichaels have achieved this growth is due to diversification. Portable sanitation remains the core of their business activities, with the company having a few thousand portable toilets, restroom trailers, shower trailers, wash stations and other items in its portable services inventory.
“As far as portable toilets are concerned, we have several units scattered out throughout the southeast on a regular construction site basis,” says Chad. “And then we keep close to a thousand toilets that are loaded up on trailers ready to go when the storm hits. In terms of brands, we have a lot of Satellite porta potties and a few PolyJohns. We have a lot of JAG restroom trailers, some Satellite restroom trailers and some Rich Specialty trailers.”
The key to their success: “We’ve never said no to any opportunity,” he says. “Say it’s in South Alabama and they need five restroom trailers, and they call at one o’clock in the morning and need to have them set up by 6 a.m. Me and my team just get up in the middle of the night, hook up, take off and we have everything ready by 6 a.m. as requested. That attitude has built our reputation over the years to where anytime anybody needs anything, they just reach out to us.”
Beyond construction, special events have proven to be a major market for their portable restrooms. For example, the company recently won the contract for “Rock the South” in Jacksonville, plus a two-year contract for another massive event requiring the maintenance of 700 restrooms.
Chad also attributes success to a commitment to quality customer service at these events. “We never just deliver the porta potties and then walk away,” he explains. “When we do a large-scale event, we set up shop and stay there at the event to make sure everything is taken care of from start to finish, and to make sure the customer has everything they need.”
Expanded offerings
Disaster and storm response is another core area for MWS. It is derived from Chad’s personal experience in 2005 following Hurricane Katrina, when he delivered 50 toilets to Kiln, Mississippi. “Ever since we started MWS, we’ve been working on disaster and storm response just about every time the wind blows,” he says.
Mindful that disaster can hit suddenly, MWS keeps a number of 53-foot dry van trailers permanently preloaded and ready to go. This is where the 1,000 porta potties mentioned earlier factor in, along with hand-wash sinks, toilet paper and chemicals ready for immediate brokered transport. They also provide support for camps during these operations with bunkhouse trailers, laundry trailers, shower trailers and full-service catering under large tents. All of this equipment is ready to be deployed nationwide, often operating on generator power in areas with destroyed infrastructure.
The company’s third core business is construction and septic services. They maximize revenue from a single construction site by handling every phase of the project where possible.
“The first call that a builder places normally with us is for portable toilets,” says McMichael. “Once we get that call for somebody, then we’ll go out there and clear the lot for them to get it ready for them to build the house. Next, we’ll bring a bulldozer out and build the road for them to get in there, and then we can dig and pour the footing. And then, of course, after the house is built, we install the septic system and service it afterwards.”
Doing business right
McMichaels has been able to build its reputation by always putting the customers first. But this can’t happen without a happy, motivated workforce. This is why “we are very good to our employees,” Chad says. “We offer good pay and solid health insurance, which is very important in this industry. Top management is also willing to get out in the field and help out when needed. I’ll never ask any of my employees to do something that I haven’t done before or something that I’m not willing to do again.” When on site at disaster situations, management sleeps in the same bunkhouses/trailers and eats from the same food trucks as the staff.
Chad also shares credit where credit is due. “I could not do any of this without the managing partner, my wife, because she keeps me in line of where we need to go and what we need to do,” he says.
Planned future growth
With 17 years done, McMichael Waste Services has done well for itself. But the McMichaels want it to do even more going forward. “We anticipate opening up at least two more locations in the state of Alabama for regular day-to-day work and then continue to grow the storm business to all different aspects,” says Chad.
As for his advice to others in the portable restroom industry wanting to grow their own businesses? “Just stay motivated and keep pushing forward: Never look backward. We try to stay motivated and keep pushing to reach new goals, to make new customers and to meet new people every year — because you never know what kind of opportunity could come up based on something or someone that they know.”
