Extreme Makeover

Rejuvenation of aging septic systems provides a profitable foundation for Washington State’s LDL Enviro Services Inc./Affordable Septic Services

From homes to wardrobes, extreme makeover reality shows are all the rage. But the do-over craze is old hat at LDL Enviro Services Inc./Affordable Septic Services, which during the last 16 years has thrived by building on a core business: rejuvenating septic-system drainfields in and around Tacoma, Wash.

The emphasis on drainfield makeovers, combined with diversified services and quality customer care, helped the company post sales of $1.2 million in 2008 and close to that in 2009, even in a down economy, says vice president Randy Skeen, whose mother, Carol Skeen-Gregory, owns the company.

The company’s cornerstone rejuvenation program is a comprehensive one-day process that saves customers money, brings septic systems into regulatory compliance and extends system life anywhere from five to 15 years — not to mention helps the company differentiate itself from heavy competition, Skeen says.

SAVING AGING SYSTEMS

About 40 percent of the company’s gross sales stem from the program, which benefits from a large number of aging septic systems installed in the area during the 1950s and 1960s. Homeowners also create demand by putting improper materials — such as grease — into their systems, causing components and drainfields to clog, Skeen says.

“We built the company on rejuvenation,” he says. “We can go into an existing system … and make it work the way it was originally designed to work for about one-fourth of the cost of a new system.

“About 95 percent of the time, we can go in and fix the existing system and save customers an average of $8,000 to $10,000,” he continues. “It’s advantageous because customers get the same warranty (as a new system), plus it’s a lot faster than installing a new system — no need to draw up plans, get permits and obtain bids. And unlike new installations, we even can rejuvenate a system in bad weather.”

Three Terralift machines, which restore compacted and saturated soil without disturbing the ground surface, serve as the backbone of the company’s drainfield rejuvenation services. The machines use a long, narrow probe and a pneumatic hammer to penetrate compacted soil anywhere from three to six feet deep. For deeper applications, an extended probe can penetrate down to 12 feet.

After the probes are inserted, they force air into the soil and inject polystyrene pellets that follow the path of least resistance and move horizontally and vertically the now-aerated soil, opening the passages for better drainage.

ONE-DAY MAKEOVER

A typical full-service rejuvenation begins by pumping out the septic tank. Then the crew installs a 24-inch-diameter riser from the tank to ground level.

Next, the crew installs risers at the inlet and outlet for easier future system maintenance. Moving past the tank, the crew uses the locator on a waterjetter to find lateral obstructions. “Wherever we find an obstruction, we dig it up with a mini-excavator, then continue to jet from that location,” Skeen explains.

Wherever obstructions occur, inspection ports are installed, making it easier to add things such as copper sulfate, which kills roots that cause clogs, and enzyme products, designed to “eat” sludge and fats that seep into the drainfield soil, making proper drainage difficult.

Educating customers about the dos and don’ts of septic system care is critical to rejuvenation efforts, Skeen notes.

“We always teach people what not to do … it’s what people put down into the lines that causes systems to go bad,” he says. “Grease is one of the biggest concerns. People pour grease down a sink drain and it hardens in the mainline or inlet pipe and clogs it up.”

ADDED SERVICES

System rejuvenations can lead to additional services that enhance cash flow. For example, six months after a rejuvenation, Affordable calls customers to see if they’ve inspected their outlet filter as instructed after the rejuvenation. If not, Affordable offers to do an inspection and cleaning for them.

If the home has been sold since the rejuvenation, Affordable sends the new owner a postcard, explaining that maintenance is required.

“if you remind customers about maintenance, the chances are better you’re going to get the work,” he adds. “If we can keep all five of our crews busy, providing all levels of our different services, (the company) can make $700 to $800 an hour. If they do just pumping, it goes down to $300 an hour.”

Affordable uses Outlook Express software to manage a customer database of 5,000 to 6,000 accounts, both residential and commercial (residential septic pumping and drainfield rejuvenations generate about 60 percent of the company’s business volume, and the remaining 40 percent comes from commercial accounts, such as restaurants, homeowner’s associations and school districts).

IT PAYS TO DIVERSIFY

Affordable started with system rejuvenation, and as the work piled up, it became apparent that getting into pumping tanks would make a lot of sense. It would not only provide an additional revenue stream, it would also increase productivity because crews wouldn’t have to wait for a third-party pumper to come and clean out a tank before the rejuvenation work could begin.

“We figured why not just do it ourselves and add that income?” Skeen says. “Plus, while you pump a tank, you might uncover drainfield problems.”

So in 2004, Affordable bought a vacuum truck: a 1999 Freightliner with a 3,600-gallon aluminum tank and Masport pump, built by FMI Truck Sales & Service. The company also owns three Ford service pickup trucks (two F-350s and one F-150), six trailers and a Kubota U15 mini-excavator.

Pumping septic tanks led to further service diversification: cleaning restaurant grease traps, sewer lift stations, catch basins and manholes; pipeline camera inspections; and residential drain cleaning.

“Offering more services broadens our reach to more customers and keeps employees busy when other segments lag,” Skeen says. “The more services we can offer, the more customers we retain, which we can then offer even more services. Once you have the equipment, one thing leads to another.”

KEEN COMPETITION

Affordable sees increased competition as workers in the industry start up their own businesses. The trend makes customer service and efficiency paramount, Skeen says.

“We’ve had four or five new companies open in the last five years,” he says. “So when we get a job, we have to figure out what the job is, and who the right people are — and the right number of people — to do it and make it more profitable.”

One thing Affordable has on its side, though, is name recognition. “Tons of people remember our name and give us referrals,” he says.

Affordable owns a 20,000-gallon holding tank, which helps the company handle the 35,000 to 40,000 gallons of waste it collects per week. It uses two county-run disposal sites, and either hauls waste to those facilities if route runs make sense, or stores the waste in the company’s holding tank until an independent hauler can pick it up.

New regulations also provide the company with more business opportunities. For instance, in the two counties where Affordable does most of its work, septic systems must be certified whenever a house is sold. That requires inspecting the tank for leaks, plus examining system components.

As demand for certifications continues, “We’ve been getting an extra five or six a week for the last year or so, and it doesn’t look like it’s going to go away any time soon,” Skeen says.

LESSON LEARNED

The most critical thing Skeen has learned at Affordable is to constantly scrutinize and control expenses. “If you don’t pay attention to expenses, your profit margins can easily go way out of whack,” he says. “If you can’t control that, it’s tough to stay in business.”

As an example, Skeen cites how Affordable sold five vehicles about two years ago. The company had been running two crews at the time until a terminated employee persuaded a few other employees to leave with him. That left the company with too many vehicles sitting idle not generating revenue.

“We had more vehicles than we could afford to make payments for,” Skeen says. “So we traded in five vehicles for two new pickup trucks. It shaved $1,300 a month off our monthly payments.”

At Affordable, makeovers — for septic systems and even company finances — are clearly anything but a fad.



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