When Chris Ibey and Mark Williams, entrepre-neurs and partners in Ottawa, Ontario, recognized a gap in the area’s portable restroom market, they decided they were the ones to fill it.

In 2019, the partners built Purple Potties & Environmental Services. Within the first year of business, the COVID-19 pandemic had drastically reduced indoor gatherings, but outdoor venues and events remained active so the timing worked out. Construction projects continued and communities still sought safe ways to gather.

“We started with smaller-scale construction clients and have expanded to service any size construction project,” says Williams, the company’s vice president. “Weddings, too, are a huge part of our business. Our purple units are a big hit. The time and energy we put into marketing to wedding venues created word-of-mouth business that has spread like wildfire. We have seen a 30% to 40% increase in our wedding business year over year.”

Williams adds that their versatility is evident in their clientele. In addition to weddings and construction sites, Purple Potties services corporate clients; they have government and military contracts; and they have a long-term contract with the National Capital Commission, servicing events for example.

Building inventory

“We started using PolyJohn as the main provider for our washrooms and handwashing stations,” explains Williams. “They have amazing service and a great team. Then we were introduced to Satellite Industries three years ago and decided to get our newer units for our Quebec branch from them. For the most part, they all make great heavy-duty plastic units.”

Purple Potties’ upgraded standard unit, made by PolyJohn, is the most popular, with an open-faced tank, four toilet paper holders, antislip flooring, an occupancy signal latch, a sanitary seat deck and floor design, and a translucent roof for better lighting. They are also outfitted with a sanitizer bottle mount and some come with sanitary bins.

At the other end of the spectrum are Purple Potties’ luxury trailers from The Trailer Factory. They have heating and air-conditioning options, luxury vinyl flooring and Bluetooth sound systems, perfect for VIP occasions.

In the middle sits The Palace. The unit, also from The Trailer Factory, is used on many construction sites across the Ottawa region, according to Williams. “These units are heated, have running water and better meet Ontario’s regulations for long-term usage. They’re also bigger and perfect for larger projects that need something reliable for months or even years and can support the price of a larger unit.”

Whatever the style of the unit, Purple Potties can have hundreds of units on sites across Ottawa, Kingston, Gatineau and Montreal at any given time, he adds.

“Most of our vehicles are smaller in size for maneuverability,” Williams says. The company uses mostly Dodge Ram 5500s, Ford F550, Hino 195, a couple of larger International 4300 or CV515, and a couple of Chevy pickups. The trucks hold mostly 450 gallons of waste with 190 gallons of freshwater and 160 gallons for winter brine or backup water in the summer. Most trucks have heated collars for discharge during the winter. All of the trucks have a pressure washer, and most have a rear drop-down carrier or liftgate for deliveries and pickups.

“For larger deliveries, we have three 12-unit trailers, two 16-unit trailers and a 24-unit trailer as well as a flatbed hauler,” Williams says. “Our trailers are from McKee Technologies, which is a sister company to Vacutrux.”

All trucks except one were outfitted by Vacutrux, he adds. One pickup and delivery truck was from Satellite Industries.

Customer care

Ibey and Williams often heard firsthand from event organizers about inconsistent service, delayed maintenance and low sanitation standards from other portable washroom providers. They are determined to treat portable sanitation as a hospitality service, and clients as worthy of the best service possible; that philosophy became the foundation of Purple Potties’ reputation and growing loyal clientele.

“We ensure that we always have teams ready to respond when clients encounter challenges with the product, whether big or small,” says Williams. “A few years ago, we had a tornado hit the Ottawa region, and many units were knocked over from the high winds. Clients were panicked, but we deployed teams within the hour to go around the city and clean up quickly. We operate 24/7 in the summer to provide reliable service.”

Whether nature hits, or a crowded event requires additional trailers, Purple Potties’ teams are adaptable and can be counted on to provide quick, reliable service. Because of that, the company has seen success. “Over the past seven years of operations, we have grown significantly and have become a multimillion dollar business that’s able to compete on the largest playing fields with nationally established brands,” Williams says.

Building the brand

According to Williams, the partners wanted a brand that people would remember immediately. They chose purple to stand out in a crowd and, to go alongside the look, they dedicated themselves to responsive customer service and setting the bar high for quality and cleanliness.

The purple units are instantly recognizable and are part of their identity; impossible to miss at festivals, weddings, sporting events, summer camps, food truck locations and construction sites.

“We leaned into a bold, vibrant identity that stands out on any site and creates immediate brand recall,” says Williams.

That branding worked, and Williams says the company is recognized and respected. So much so that Mauve Mobile, Purple Potties’ sister brand, has been launched in Quebec on the same high standards that built its reputation in Ontario.

“Our goal is to expand in the next five years to have 2,000-plus units covering larger areas of Ontario and into the Quebec market,” says Williams.

Even with that ambitious growth strategy, the company remains cautious about scaling too quickly. “We will only grow as we can maintain our level of service,” he adds. “We won’t compromise our cleanliness and other standards, and we are currently seeing growth of more than 65% over the most recent year.”

Three pillars

The Purple Potties core team includes Ibey, Williams, Caley Walker, director of administration, and Kaley Morris, office manager, who joined the team in 2022 and is affectionately called “rock star” by their clients. A team of 20 drivers, yard and field technicians, and office staff round out the company’s workforce, which can vary seasonally.

Although Canadian winters are notoriously cold, outdoor events are a big draw, and Purple Potties is active year-round.

“We provide units for several winter events,” says Williams. “This year, the Rideau Canal Skateway (on the Ottawa Canal) season lasted about three months; Winterlude (a large winter celebration) lasts three weeks; and other events such as snowshoeing races occur throughout the winter.”

They’re motivated by the three pillars established seven years ago that they believe set them apart:

A unique brand

Purple Potties’ visual identity may be eye-catching, but Williams says the brand is about more than color.

Their focus on cleanliness and presentation has helped redefine customer expectations in the local portable sanitation industry. Units are pressure-washed, scrubbed inside and out between clients, and maintained regularly for long-term rentals such as construction projects.

While some competitors may limit cleaning products or servicing frequency to reduce costs, Purple Potties prioritizes sanitation standards regardless of expense, says Williams.

“We treat portable sanitation as a hospitality service, not just a utility. Our focus is on hygiene and VIP standards even for standard units. This approach has changed local expectations.”

Adaptability

Flexibility is also a hallmark of the company’s operations.

“Whether it’s an extreme Canadian winter or a high-traffic summer festival, our fleet and logistics are engineered to pivot based on the client’s unique needs,” says Williams.

Especially for large events, where attendance and demand can fluctuate unexpectedly, clients may order a certain number of units, then find out a day into a multiday event that that number is insufficient.

“One client recently ordered two trailers, then realized the usage was heavier than they anticipated. When they called on the second day, we were able to immediately send out a third unit,” Williams says.

He also recalls an Ottawa Senators hockey game where a patron noticed paper towels were running low inside the units. After receiving a phone call, Purple Potties immediately dispatched a truck to restock supplies before the event ended.

“We want to continue to level up, and even while the event is still going on, we can make adjustments,” he says. “Seemingly little things can make a big difference.”

A culture of cleanliness

That mindset extends beyond the visible appearance of the units to include environmentally responsible waste disposal and sustainable operational practices.

While some providers subcontract pumping and waste removal services, Purple Potties manages disposal carefully through multiple approved dumpsites across the region.

“Using several locations allows us to continue to service our clients in a timely fashion and in an environmentally responsible way,” says Williams. All of the company’s pump trucks have waste-level bubbles that show how full the tank is; they do what they can to ensure the trucks don’t fill up. This allows them to optimize routes and cut down on commutes. Each truck also carries the different fittings to enable them to connect to the different ports at dumpsites.

“We treat portable sanitation as a hospitality service, not just a utility. Our focus on hygiene and VIP standards, even for standard units, has changed local expectations.”

The company also uses environmentally friendly products, including biodegradable toilet paper, urinal disks and cleaning chemicals designed to minimize environmental impact. Purple Potties doesn’t scrimp on the chemicals they provide. Cleanliness is job No. 1.

Over the past year, Purple Potties recorded tremendous growth while servicing more events within their core region. It expanded its fleet of trucks and added equipment to support the increased demand.

And client reviews have been overwhelmingly positive, with constructive feedback that led to improvements, such as adding sanitary bins to their units, especially at events such as weddings.

“We do everything we can to go above and beyond,” says Williams.

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