With 150,000 square feet of space to manage among three buildings, Plant Manager Robert Pulley isn’t intimidated by the sheer size of the PolyJohn Enterprises operation. He believes entering the portable sanitation industry right out of high school 26 years ago was an excellent choice. 

“I was young, right out of high school, and the original owner of the company (Edward Cooper) was like a father figure to me,” Pulley says. “He kind of kicked me in the butt and had me going the right direction.” 

Pulley started at PolyJohn as a general laborer in 1987 at 19 years old. “I came in off the street and applied for manual labor,” he says. “I started at the bottom and made it to the top.” His only other job was at McDonald’s during high school. 

Moving up from laborer, Pulley took over the production manager position in 1992. “The first five to six years when I became production manager I did all the machine operating and assembling of the units, then I just gradually moved up into scheduling production,” he says. 

Pulley has served as plant manager since 2007 for PolyJohn’s manufacturing facility in Whiting, Ind. He is in charge of scheduling production, inventory control, customer service requests, and he also maintains direct contact with the sales representatives. “I pretty much run the whole plant,” he says.  

Work smarter, not harder 

Managing about 120 employees and overseeing other department managers, he says the fast-paced work environment is what keeps him motivated. 

“It’s a change-on-the-fly kind of atmosphere,” he says. “You can have a schedule set out on the floor that you just worked on all day, and then two phone calls and it’s all changed around. There’s really a lot of verbal deals going on out on the plant floor.” 

While the fast-paced environment has its advantages, Pulley says it also can be one of the most difficult challenges when last-minute changes arise. “It wouldn’t be uncommon for me to come in and have the schedule going and a customer calls and wants 300 restrooms right away,” he says. “And usually at this time of year we could be booked out for two weeks. If you have someone who wants a large quantity of restrooms and you’re booked out, and he says we need this in two days or you’re not getting this deal, then you have to really deal with about eight to 10 sales reps and warehousing and shuffle things around to get it done.” 

The plant manufactures PolyJohn’s entire line of portable restrooms, hand-washing stations and sinks, sanitizing dispensers, tanks and portable showers. Restrooms include the Legacy, Fleet, PJN3, Comfort XL, We’ll Care III and GAP Compliant Restroom Package. “We do our own injection molding, rotational molding, CNC (computer numerical control) machining, thermoforming and plastic sheet extrusions,” Pulley says. 

With no previous training in restroom manufacturing, Pulley has taught himself and others how to keep the operation running smoothly. “I’m pretty much self-taught,” he says. “When I first got here, I was trained on the thermoforming equipment. And I just gradually went through the equipment and learned it. All the training was done in-house.” 

Meeting the demand 

The busy season runs from March to early July. That’s when Pulley says it can get hectic. “Everybody in the states needs units so it’s chaotic,” he says. “You’re constantly shipping restrooms out, probably three to four knockdown loads per day, not including assembled units.” If the plant is set up on all manufacturing equipment for PolyJohn’s standard restroom, the PJN3, they can produce up to 270 units per day during those five months. 

And Pulley’s brief stint at McDonald’s may have given him some helpful insight into the restroom manufacturing industry. “It’s really almost like a fast-food restaurant serving up restrooms for that five-month span,” he says. 

An average day for Pulley starts early in the morning and sometimes lasts long after he leaves the plant. “In the busy season, I’ll do 10 hours at the plant and then I’ll work right out of my house almost all the way up until nightfall if the salespeople need things,” he says. He stresses the importance of being available to change things around to satisfy customers’ needs.  

“My favorite part of the job is dealing with the customers,” he says. “It’s amazing to see what you can accomplish at the end of the day with all the changes and the orders. You’re constantly shuffling orders around to satisfy the customers.” 

Motivation is a big aspect of ensuring all orders get completed on any given day. “I motivate my employees with regular meetings,” Pulley says. “We will sit down monthly and go over the financial reports. The owner of the company is very generous so if they profit, we all profit.” Knowing that everyone needs to work together to get the product out the door keeps him motivated. 

Shipping Manager Jerry Watson commends Pulley’s motivational skills. “Robert is a cool and understanding person to work with,” he says. “He keeps us going when things get busy to push orders out in a timely manner and adapt quickly to any last-minute changes.” 

Maintenance Manager Rick Klemczak appreciates Pulley’s hard work and dedication to the team. “We are all like a small family here at PolyJohn,” he says. “I’ve known Robert for over 22 years, and we both know that we can count on each other to get the job done no matter what.” 

Leisurely fuel 

Even after working long days and keeping up with hectic scheduling issues, Pulley always makes time for fun. “If I have free time, I’m on the golf course,” he says. “I love golf. I’m not the greatest, but I really like it.” 

Pulley has plenty of room for leisure with 1.3 acres at his home in Valparaiso, Ind. “I love doing yard work and landscaping,” he says. “It just keeps me going.” 

Keep it going 

Pulley credits the PolyJohn approach to hard work and sincerity for his success. “We are a very open company,” he says. “What’s really nice about this company is that manufacturing has the mentality that sales is number one. We’re here to assist sales and customers. I think that’s what makes us successful.” 

The reliable corporation atmosphere also boosts morale. “The Cooper family is very loyal, and throughout the years I helped their company and they helped my family,” he says. “They really take care of me.” 

He says customer satisfaction is also deeply rooted in the company approach. “Customers can call me direct,” he says. “I will talk to them if they have issues or complaints, or if they’re custom-making restrooms.” 

Pulley steps into the customers’ shoes when he deals with them directly. “As a customer, it’s always nice if you can call direct to somebody that can answer your questions,” he says. “Being in manufacturing for 26 years, I’ve pretty much seen every restroom we’ve made through here so I can answer most questions.” 

Klemczak says Pulley doesn’t need to take on the entire burden of keeping operations running smoothly because the company dynamic gives employees a focused objective. “Luckily most of us had a great person to learn from — Edward Cooper,” he says. 

“We all learned from him,” Klemczak says, noting how Cooper resolved challenges by focusing on the end result. “This business can be frustrating, but at the end of the day, you have to move on and get the job done.”