Gabriel Berthiaume never intended to follow in his father’s footsteps. However, world events and fate brought him back into the industry his family previously left.
Today, he and his wife, Erin, co-own and operate Slim’s & Berthiaume Sewer Service. Located in Charlton, Massachusetts, their company provides 24-hour residential and commercial septic services throughout Worcester County and the central Massachusetts area, as well as northwestern Connecticut, carrying over 60 years of combined history.
Prior to pumping
Berthiaume earned a degree in aviation management in 2006, and Erin earned a degree in business management from Nichols College in 2007. His plan was to become an airline pilot, but the aftermath of 9/11 changed the landscape.
“I went to college actually to become an airline pilot, and September 11th happened and changed that career right around,” Berthiaume says. “There weren’t a ton of aviation jobs available when I graduated college. So I came back home not really sure what to do.”
The uncertainty led him back home and into the construction and excavation work he was exposed to as a child. “I guess you could say it was in my blood,” says Berthiaume. “After I came home, I dabbled in construction and kind of liked it.”
Berthiaume was already involved in septic system installations through his excavation and general contracting work, but the business was financially challenging. He began looking more seriously at the pumping side of the industry, remembering the success his parents had experienced. “We were doing septic installs, so I was already in the septic industry, but I really wanted to get into the pumping business for cash flow reasons,” he says. “I saw my parents’ success and knew there was a better recipe than what I was doing. ”
His parents’ company, Joseph Berthiaume & Sons, was established in 1972. His father, who did heavy construction site work in addition to septic pumping, died in a car accident in 1990 when Berthiaume was only 7 years old. His mother continued operating the pumping division after her husband’s death, but sold the business in 1995 to a local competitor.
Although the original family business was gone, the industry remained familiar territory. In 2014, Gabriel and Erin found an opportunity to build something new from those old roots.
Merging past competitors
“I didn’t have the opportunity to take over my fathers pumping company, it was dissolved and sold long before I was able to do anything with it,” Berthiaume says. “I had to rebuild it.”
The chance to rebuild came from an acquisition that carries a bit of history. Slim’s Sewer Service was originally founded by Roger “Slim” LeBlanc and his wife, Yvette, in 1958, and after their passing, Roger’s son Russell and his wife, Wendie, took the reins until they decided to retire in 2014.
The Berthiaumes purchased Slim’s Sewer Service in January of 2014 and shortly after evolved the business to what it is known as today — Slim’s & Berthiaume Sewer Service, a name they felt gave tribute to the founding and hopefully future generations.
“They were my father’s biggest pumping competitor back in the ‘80s and early ‘90s,” said Berthiaume.
Despite their history as competitors, the LeBlancs went out of their way to help Berthiaume acquire their company and succeed. “They really made the transition incredibly easy,” he says. “We owe a large majority of our success to Russell and Wendie. The opportunity they gave us doesn’t happen every day.”
Russell taught the practical side of pumping and drain cleaning while Wendie helped Erin learn the company’s bookkeeping and scheduling systems. “I can figure out how to do just about anything septic-related, but Erin is by far the organization in this operation,” Berthiaume says. “Bills get paid on time because of her. I just make sure there’s money in the bank to pay them.”
Buying that business tripled the size of the Berthiaumes’ operation. “Before, we were a three-man operation doing half a million dollars a year,” he says. “Once we bought Slims, we just started growing exponentially.
For Berthiaume, the acquisition was a chance to carry forward a legacy that had started long before he entered the industry. “It’s in my genes, and now I feel honored to continue the legacy that two hardworking fathers built.”
All things sewer
Today, Slim’s & Berthiaume Sewer Service has a staff of about 30 people. The staff includes Gabriel, Erin and four other people who run the office and manage customer relations.
Their list of services includes septic pumping, drain cleaning, Massachusetts Title 5 inspections, new septic system installations and repairs, camera inspections, water and sewer tie-ins, perk tests and excavation. They also started a mechanical division that specializes in rebuilding pump stations and sewer lift stations.
The company expanded into portable restrooms in 2016 after purchasing the portable toilet division of A1 Septic Service, adding a wide variety of portable toilet rentals and restroom trailers.
“We do everything pretty much that has to do with septic and sewers,” says Berthiaume.
Slim’s & Berthiaume Sewer Service has a fleet of about 20 trucks, plus 20 pieces of heavy machinery, much of which is John Deere.
The company runs all Mack trucks and does the majority of building them out for pumping in-house. About six years ago, one of the company’s primary trucks needed a new tank. Rather than replacing it, Berthiaume saw an opportunity to keep his employees productive during the slower winter months. “We didn’t have a lot of extra money in the winters and I had skilled guys not doing much, so we bought a new 4,500-gallon tank from J Eagle Tanks in Florida and put it on ourselves.”
The project went so well that building and rebuilding trucks became part of the company’s winter routine. “We just built a 4,500- and a 5,000-gallon sewer truck,” he says. “Our people love the bigger tanks.”
Massachusetts allows up to 73,000 pounds on a 10-wheel chassis, so Berthiaume can haul enough capacity to complete multiple jobs before disposing. “Most septic tanks we service now are 1,500 gallon tanks, so if I can get three jobs on the truck, we can be more efficient with less trips to the dump station.”
Customer satisfaction
For Berthiaume, company growth is about more than being the cheapest in town. “Our goal is to provide good value in our servicing,” he says. “I want the customer to feel like they got good value for their money. We solved their problem when other people couldn’t, and we did it at a fair price.”
That commitment to good value extends to jobs of any size. “We don’t discriminate between the $100 service and the $100,000 service,” he says. “After all, I’ve gotten some really big jobs after doing a $400 drain clean. The customer was happy with how we left their property and how we cleaned up after ourselves. That’s how we got their septic install, which was $150,000. You just never know what new door is going to open up.”
Leading from the trenches
When it comes to managing his staff, Berthiaume believes the best way to lead is by working alongside them.
“A lot of times I’ll go to a job and nobody knows I’m the owner because I’m only 43 years old,” he adds. “I dress just like them and I’m usually in the hole working with them. You got to go to battle with them is the way I like to say it.”
He regularly gets out on the job site and helps crews see how they are handling the demands of the work and what kinds of support they might need. His goal is to manage his staff effectively to prevent burnout and maintain morale because he sees employees as his biggest asset.
“One of my main jobs is staying ahead of my employees and seeing potential problems that are already coming,” says Berthiaume. If someone has had a particularly difficult stretch of work, Berthiaume might ask a manager to give that employee an easier day.
Pacing for the family
Massachusetts’ regulations are fairly strict. Every time a house is sold with a septic system, a Title 5 septic inspection is required, creating a demanding market for inspection, repair, replacement systems and a customer base that expects and understands the process.
As for future plans, Berthiaume’s next chapter isn’t completely dedicated to expansion, but rather quality. Quality of work, quality of employees and quality of time spent with family. After years of working holidays and sacrificing family time to build the company, he wants to make room for the people who matter most — his wife, three daughters and family.
“Erin and I have poured our hearts and soul into this company,” he says. “I have spent too many Thanksgivings and Christmases at jobs, helping other families and I wouldn’t change it for the world. But now I have a great team that helps me carry the burden and allows me to spend some time with my family.”
For now, that means maintaining the company rather than aggressively expanding it. “The market’s pretty good at the moment,” he says. “It’s not wildly thriving, but it’s not a recession. It’s just chugging along.”
Berthiaume sees the next five years as an opportunity to enjoy time with his family while continuing to strengthen the business he and Erin have built. “We have a five-year window left to spend some time with our teenage daughters,” he says. “We have to prioritize that because you don’t get the years back. We will just keep maintaining the company as it is right now, then when they’re off to college — we’ll start growing again.”
