Ask Jim Reisinger how the recession is affecting his company, R & R Sanitation in St. Louis, Mo., and he’ll tell you it’s barely registering on his business radar.
“My sales have never been down, ever,” he says. “It keeps getting better every year.” The growth isn’t as robust as it has been — only 20 percent in the first quarter this year compared to 48 percent this time last year. “But that’s just counting portables,” he qualifies. “I don’t have any history with roll-offs yet.”
That’s because he just added roll-off containers to his service line. It’s part of an overall strategy of aggressive growth and measured diversification.
“Sure,” Reisinger admits, “we’ve had a lot of construction sites that have quit growing or just stopped working. But instead of cutting back, we’re doing just the opposite: We’re getting really aggressive. I figure that for the next year and a half, we’ll have to own 50 percent of our market share to maintain current profitability. I think we’ll level off at some time, but I don’t ever want my sales to be down. My ultimate goal is 65 percent of the market.”
THE FORECAST IS SUNNY
That’s a bold aspiration, but a laser-like focus on targeted goals allows the industry veteran faith in his ability to remain successful when many are struggling. That faith is founded on a proven track record.
Reisinger has built R & R into a company with about 5,000 restroom units, roughly 3,000 for construction sites and 2,000 for events. “From April to mid-October, we put 250 units out every weekend,” he says. “Some weekends, like Mardi Gras, it’s 900 units.” He says many of his special events customers order 50 to 150 restrooms. “A slow weekend for us is 100 units. St. Louis is a great special events town.”
Still, construction pays the bills, representing about 70 percent of gross revenue. “Events are gravy,” he says. The firm’s main customer base is comprised of many refineries and power plants, and the Chase Park Plaza hotel construction, where R & R places 20 units with twice-a-week maintenance.
Targeted goals are absolute commitment to customer service excellence, aggressive growth and selective diversification. The most important of these is customer service.
“I don’t have salespeople,” says Reisinger. “I train every person in my company to be a salesperson. The more our employees know about our business, the better they communicate our value to the customer. I insist on constant, clear communication between my route drivers and my dispatchers. The drivers know what customers want, and the dispatchers can make that happen.’’
Reisinger explains that the company is responsive 24 hours a day. R & R doesn’t have an answering service; rather the office staff takes turns answering calls from home on nights and weekends.
How does he find and retain employees capable of realizing his dedication to customer service?
“I have no turnover,” he says. “If I trust my employees, they’re loyal to me. You can train them in their duties, but you can’t train loyalty. I treat them fairly and I work as hard as they do. But we all have the same common goal — to service our customers and make money. The way our employees get treated, they feel a sense of ownership.”
ROLL-OFF SYNERGY
R & R’s business is about 80 percent portable sanitation rentals, with the remaining 20 percent split evenly between roll-off rentals and boom truck service.
“My roll-offs are going to catch up with restrooms within a year,” Reisinger predicts, “because we’ll have the same customers for both. That’s why I bought the business when it became available.
“There was a company going belly-up last fall and I saw the opportunity. I wasn’t planning on it, but roll-offs go hand-in-hand with portables. They had 100 boxes and two trucks. Since then, I’ve ordered 20 more boxes and two more trucks.”
He has eight vacuum service trucks: a 2008 Kenworth T300 with 2,200-gallon Progress aluminum tank and Masport HXL4F pump; a 2007 Kenworth T300 with 2,000-gallon Progress aluminum tank and Masport HXL15F pump; two 2006 GMC 7500s with 1,000-gallon waste/500-gallon freshwater Progress aluminum tanks and Masport HXL15F pumps; a 2005 GMC 5500 with 2,000-gallon Progress aluminum tank and Masport HXL15F pump; a 2005 Chevrolet 5500 with 1000-gallon waste/500-gallon freshwater Progress aluminum tank and Masport HXL15F pump; a 2007 Ford F-550 with a 600-gallon waste/350-gallon freshwater Satellite Industries stainless steel tank and Masport HXL400WF pump.
A 2004 Chevrolet 6500 flatbed hauls water and water systems for office trailers with hot/cold plumbing and flush toilets. Rounding out the fleet are a 2009 GMC service pickup, four Chevrolet 3500 pickups (2004-2006), and five tri-axle Davis Trailer gooseneck trailers.
Current restroom inventory includes 1,300 Synergy World (a division of Satellite Industries) High Tech units for construction; 50-60 Synergy World High Tech II flushable restrooms for events and construction; between 2,000-2,500 Synergy World Taurus units with sinks; 65 Synergy World High Tech restrooms mounted singly on trailers for highway workers; 75-100 “Hi-Rise” units — Synergy World High Tech restrooms with slings for crane lifting; 75 wheeled “Lo-Boys” — PolyJohn Enterprises Corp. PolyLift short units, and Olympia Fiberglass Industries units with roofs removed — to fit in elevators.
These are joined by 300 two-station freestanding sinks — PolyPortables Super Twin, T.S.F. Company Inc. Tuff Jon Dual Sink and Satellite Industries Wave models; five VIP trailers — a 2009 Black Tie Manufacturing OPTimum; two Advanced Containment Systems Inc. Advantage Series trailers; and two Alpha Mobile Solutions Denali models.
R & R fabricates its own water systems from 330-gallon totes left over from chemical deliveries. These are fitted with a pump and a 300-450 gallon waste tank from T.S.F., PolyJohn or Satellite placed beneath the office trailers. There are about 50 of these with twice as many pumps.
Reisinger buys restrooms by the truckload to get a volume discount. The manufacturers send people to assemble them in R & R’s yard.
He’s already planning his next growth step. “We’re going to get into recycling, supplying collection boxes. We’re having some staff become LEED-certified Accredited Professionals.” They will explain to customers what paperwork is required and how to set up EPA-compliant waste streams. The LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) green building rating system — administered by the U.S. Green Building Council — promotes construction practices that increase profitability while reducing the negative environmental impacts of new buildings.
GETTING STARTED
In the early ’80s, Reisinger began working as a driver for a local portable sanitation contractor. In 1998, he left the company, bought a boom truck, joined the Teamsters Union and drove construction equipment to jobsites.
One of Reisinger’s boom truck customers asked him to provide portable restrooms. Reisinger figured it was a good idea to diversify and he already knew the business. He bought 300 Satellite Maxim 3000 units and a 2000 Ford F-550 service truck with a Satellite vacuum system.
Word spread, and his second order was from the St. Louis Mardi Gras celebration for 450 units.
“I went to a few friends to get the extra units, borrowed trailers and bought a few of my own to service that,” he recalls. From there, business just took off. “Through the years, we had our growing pains. The bank wouldn’t allow me to borrow money to build my inventory. For the first two years, I had to rent units from friends.”
Things started turning around in 2004. His successful track record prompted banks to lend, albeit at higher rates, for inventory. He was soon able to restructure his debt at a reasonable interest rate. “From there, I got a big line of credit and was able to take advantage of all new opportunities.”
Repeat business built. The Mardi Gras job has grown to 900 units covering the parade route and tavern overflow. Fair St. Louis orders 225 units with continuous daily service over July 4th, and the Rib America BBQ Festival uses 75 restrooms over Memorial Day weekend.
ROSY OUTLOOK
Reisinger believes sinks and water systems will become more important to portable sanitation contractors in the near future. “That’s where the growth is going to be. Eight years ago, water systems were around but we didn’t push them. Now we’re delivering 9,000 gallons a week.”
Regardless the exact service mix, he says how you do business is what’s most important.
“Do what you say you’re going to do. If one of my people makes a mistake and quotes a price, I’ll honor that price, even if it costs me. Then that employee and I will talk, and we’ll learn,’’ he explains. “The biggest thing is being honest with yourself and honest with your customer.”
