Published June 2007

Do-It-Yourself Pumping

By Marian Bond (page 58)

Owners of an Indiana mobile home park start waste-hauling business to serve their own package system plant

Frank Powers III was frustrated with the service he received from local pumping companies for the package sewer plant at a mobile home park he manages for his father. So he decided to go into the pumping business to provide his own service and take care of others in the area looking for liquid waste hauling providers.

Powers says he was not planning to get into septic pumping, but it’s turned out to be a winning small business venture.

“The problem with the service we were getting was that the (package) system needed to be pumped at a specific time of the day,” Powers explains. “There is a low-tide flow time and a high-tide flow time. The idea is to pump at a low-flow time.

“High-flow time is between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. There would be a light flow at lunchtime, and high flow between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. I’d schedule for service at low-flow time, but we had trouble getting the service at the proper time. I just could never get the idea across.”

He explains that the package sewer plant runs like a septic tank with aeration, which speeds up the solids separation process. The aeration makes bacteria a lot quicker, whereas a septic tank takes years. “You have to get rid of the byproduct on a monthly basis to keep it running properly.”

The Suburban Estates Mobile Home Park, located in Noblesville, Ind., has 141 home lots on 20 acres. The sewer plant consists of two systems totaling about 40 feet in length and 12 feet in width. In aeration chambers, the sludge settles to the bottom. The clear water goes to the top and is drained off, while the heavy material goes back into the aeration tank. Dating to the 1960s, the park’s original system can handle 35,000 gallons per day.

“Motors do wear out, and we’ve had to replace the pump. But the plant is in good shape. Everything is replaceable,’’ Powers says.

New pumper in town

When Powers decided to start a pumping business, the first task was securing funds necessary to launch. With a business plan in hand, he and his son, Frank Powers IV, sought money from their local bank. Their business plan spelled out that both men had full-time jobs, but with the expectation that the younger Powers would be able to quit his job and work in the new business full time.

“We didn't know a lot about the septic-pumping business, but we figured that since most of the loan covered equipment, we could sell it if we didn’t have success in the effort,” Powers explains.

With capital in hand, they took a conservative approach and bought a 1994 Kenworth chassis and had Quality Tank Trucks & Equipment add a 3,000-gallon steel tank and a pump from National Vacuum Equipment Inc. The truck came with a handsome red, white and blue paint job, which became the company colors for Powers Septic and Sewer.

Within six months, the younger Powers was working full time with his father in the newly formed company.

Promotion the key

With the equipment ready to go, but months before a telephone directory would be published with their ad, the question was how to promote the business in the meantime. They circulated fliers and made contact with contractors they knew, but the most beneficial advertisement was the patriotic-looking truck.

As it turned out, the mobile home park location proved a huge advantage, as it fronts a heavily traveled highway, Indiana 19. The company name and telephone number are nicely displayed on the service truck, so when it wasn’t in use, it was parked parallel to the highway. By the time the telephone directory came out, the Powers had marked one full year, and the business had grown beyond expectations.

Another promotional plus turned out to be company magnets with their phone number and a suggested return date for pumping. At first, Powers made the magnets himself using business cards and adhesive magnet material. Then he sought a more professional product and bought a three-year supply of magnets at the Pumper & Cleaner Environmental Expo from Stamp Works. He said the truck-shaped magnets bring in a significant amount of work.

“With the magnets and that date, people seem to be responding,” Powers says. “Sometimes we’ll do a mailing and not get much back. But people are calling and saying that they are past their noted expiration date for pumping. It’s important to have that suggested return date on the magnet.’’

Powers says they also wear shirts or sweat shirts with the company name and pictures of their trucks on the back, as well as company hats.

Finding business partners

From the outset, the Powers’ plan was to work with onsite installers rather than try to compete with them. Because they don’t install systems, installation contractors are more apt to call them for pumping jobs and not consider Powers a threat to take away business. The concept of working with related companies, but not competing directly with them for customers, has become a successful strategy for the small company.

Powers saw another opportunity to work with fellow contractors in doing drain cleaning and camera work. He’s bought numerous pieces of equipment from Ridge Tool Co. to expand his services, including a K-75 mainline sectional machine, a KJ-3000 waterjetter, a SeeSnake Color Tool Case with VCR and two black and white Mini SeeSnake units. He also invested in NaviTrack and Scout locator units. He is careful to tailor his services so he doesn’t compete with traditional plumbing contractors in the area.

“We knew one plumber who had been in the area since the 1950s. We contacted him about our capabilities, and then word-of-mouth took off,” Powers says. “Plumbers don’t do camera work. They don’t do drain cleaning. I don’t know how it got started, but our message spread. Once they found out we didn’t do any plumbing, they loved us. We now have a lot of plumbers who call us when they need drain work for a customer.”

For all its business, Powers tries to stay within a 25-mile radius. “We had one plumber who wanted us to be a subcontractor for all their work, but they cover a huge area and we didn’t want to get involved.”

After six years in the business, Powers estimates that about 25 percent of the business is in drain cleaning, camera work and line locating. On the pumping side, he says 75 percent of that business is in residential accounts and 25 percent for installers.

The company prospers

With the purchase of a 2006 Volvo service truck with a 3,800-gallon aluminum tank and NVE pump from Quality Tank, the pumping fleet grows and continues to be displayed alongside the highway. And with two service vehicles, father and son are actively engaged in the operation. Powers IV is full time and primarily handles the septic pumping, while his father manages the mobile home park and handles drain cleaning and other business matters for the company.

“When we got into the drain cleaning and camera work, we knew we would do a little bit of business, but didn’t realize how busy we were going to be,’’ Powers says.

In addition to taking care of the Suburban Estates package plant, Powers has taken on several other similar clients in somewhat of a complicated pumping niche market.

“On those package plants, they have to get the sludge hauled out. Package plants are also used at rest areas, gas stations on the highways. People in our industry know about this business, but you have to get in with the right people to get the business.”

A package plant needs a certified operator, which requires a state test. Powers says he is not certified, and they have hired a certified operator. “I operate our plant on the day-to-day basis, and we have a company that sends in a certified person once a week to collect samples and do the paperwork. As far as pumping, no certification is required, and the person certified to take care of the plant will call the pumping company.”

Powers says they have become affiliated with the certified company that handles this requirement, and thus they are called to do the pumping at other facilities.

Area on the grow

Noblesville has a population of about 30,000, but the area is growing rapidly. And many of the new homes rely on septic systems. In some sewered subdivisions, lift stations are required to move septage from the house to the mainline. While Powers recommends septic system customers get pumped every three years, he advises that the more maintenance-heavy lift stations be serviced annually.

“These have a grinder pump, and we go in and service these lift stations more frequently to try to get all the grit and stuff off the bottom of the tank. This helps keep them from having trouble. Those pumps are expensive to replace, and they will last longer if serviced properly,’’ Powers says. “We pump it and power-wash it. We want those pumps to last as long as possible for our customers.”

The lift stations are similar to a septic tank, but instead of the effluent going into a field, the city takes it and leaves the solids stay in the tank.

“This is the only place I know with a system like this. It’s a tank within a tank. If it’s not pumped out, the pump will get messed up. It’s cheaper to have these pumped (regularly).”

Looking forward

For a company that formed to deal with a specific personal pumping need, it’s been a surprising and fulfilling enterprise. Naturally there are thoughts about just how much to grow.

“Right now we’re doing the residential (systems) and the package plants. If we jump into a bigger business it might be (vacuum) work for the cities, which means another investment,” Powers says. “Once you go into that kind of business, you have to be on call every day. Right now if we want to take a vacation with the family we can shut down. If you start working for the small towns, it’s a 24/7 thing year-round.

“Right now we’re not looking to expand,’’ he says. “As we are now, we can control the quality of the work we do, and that’s very satisfying.”