Thanks to two acquisitions, Arkansas Portable Toilets achieved a dramatic increase in revenue since co-owner Scott Thone established the company in 2000. But with the second acquisition, he gained something just as valuable as financial growth: marketing savvy, courtesy of his partner, Bubba Wood, now the company’s vice president.
In 2004, Arkansas Portable Toilets bought a portable restroom company in Little Rock. The company owned about 500 restrooms and had well-established connections with area contractors.
“We doubled our business overnight,” says Thone. “Plus, the company was located inside our business footprint, so we achieved a lot of efficiencies by eliminating route duplications and reduced operating costs like fuel and labor.”
In the second transaction, which occurred in 2008, Arkansas Portable Toilets merged with a 300-restroom company, also located in Little Rock. As the business grew, so did its fleet of equipment. The company now owns about 1,300 portable restrooms, mostly from Satellite Industries. That total includes about 25 handicapped-accessible units and ADA-compliant units.
The move boosted gross revenue by another 30 percent, Thone says. Wood owned the other company and agreed to stay on board as Thone’s partner.
“I already knew Bubba through mutual friends,” Thone explains. “My father was easing into retirement, and Bubba had the sales and marketing background that I lacked, so our strengths dovetailed well.
“Also, we were beating ourselves up competing for the same customers,” he adds. “So by joining forces, we essentially eliminated a competitor and gained operating efficiencies, plus we now have two guys that excel in different areas.”
The acquired companies continued to operate under their original names to leverage the already established brand equity and goodwill. But now Thone is moving to get them all under the same identity, noting the acquired companies’ trucks will soon sport the newly redesigned Arkansas Portable Toilets logo and vinyl wraps. The integrated marketing effort also will include the company’s website and restrooms, he adds, so everything is uniformly branded.
Watch as Scott Thone gives you a tour of Arkansas Portable Toilets’ branding success.
Want to learn more? Check out a full profile on Arkansas Portable Toilets.
