Over the last several months our company and employee’s have gone through the growing pains of learning a new business and keeping faith that we made the right choice when we decided to add sanitation services to our customer base.  We always thought it would be great to do more for the people we served and that it might be an easier method of growing our revenues, than trying to just do more temporary fence.

There are only a few companies that offer both services and we thought that we could do it better!  This week I heard from Bill Kelleher at Stuart Rental Company in Fremont and he was coordinating an event on Treasure Island in San Francisco, CA.  He wanted to know our availability for a certain weekend and that he wanted to rent some of our popular green bicycle barricade for crowd control.  I told him that we were certainly available and appreciated the business and that we also could provide the portable toilets and VIP toilet trailers at the same time if they were on his list of things that were needed.  Bill almost fell out of his chair, “You do that also”?  I explained that we did and that it was a new service that fit just like cake and ice cream.  We were hired that same day by and it confirmed in my mind that we are definitely on to something. We look forward to more desert!

I received an enthusiastic call this week from Denise Rocco-Zilber of Green Girl Events of West Marin, CA. She was doing some looking around at how to incorporate portable toilets and VIP Toilet Trailers into their creative event business that is based on protecting the environment. Green Girl specializes in event ideas that use products and services that create less waste! What a great idea and not to mention timely.

Solar Powered Temporary Restrooms

I explained to Denise that we have had a number of customers order our VIP Trailers that are available as a double and or as a quad. These trailers are run entirely on solar power and only use fresh water. Denise mentioned that this would be a big benefit and would fit in nicely with their niche business. Many times Denise designs her events in areas that do not have access to power (like a National Park or forest) and or the noise of a generator is just not welcomed.

More Demand From Green Builders

We are receiving more and more phone calls from green builders and event planners around the San Francisco Bay Area that have caught the green bug. They are looking for more eco-friendly solutions to their needs. Our environmentally-friendly temporary restrooms and portable toilets are one product we offer.

Recycling Temporary Fencing Materials

You might not think temporary fencing can be environmentally friendly or has the capacity to - go green. We do out part for the environment with fencing materials by building all of our temporary fencing panels to ensure minimal waste of raw materials. We also maintain our fencing and give attention to recycling as much of the scrap material as we can.

We look forward to working with Denise and other green organizations and doing our part for the environment.

I received a call from City of Berkeley this week and they are renovating a restroom core and will be without restroom services for at least 60 days. I knew that we would receive unusual requests for our new toilet trailers, but I figured that they would be rented for a weekend wedding or for daily use at a special event.

I had to think about what a fair price would be per month and also that we would need to service the trailer on weekly basis. I consulted with NuConcepts, the trailer’s manufacturer to see what they rented trailers for on a monthly basis and to ask if there was anything special that I needed to do since it was going to be rented for an extended period of time.

I was told to make sure to inventory the condition of the unit with the customer in writing, almost like if you were going to rent an apartment to a tenant. That way you and the customer agree on what the trailer looked like before the rental period and that I might even take a few pictures for the file. Pretty good advice and I am glad that I asked a few questions before hand.

Food & Wine Event Orders Lexus Logo Screen

We are doing more and more customized “logo screens” for customers that want more than just green or black screen to cover the temporary fence that we install. They are asking for ideas that will create a more personalized feeling for the people that walk into the event and display sponsors that are significant or have some special purpose for that special day.

Lexus is one of those special sponsors for this year’s Food and Wine Event at Pebble Beach. As soon as participants walk into the venue they will be surrounded by the Lexus logo and products.

The screen is a brand new black Elite 85 screen made by CI Fabrics out of Southern California. JT Lawson of CI Fabrics recommended a white logo to give it that extra punch. I think that the new screen looks really sharp and that the folks down at Pebble Beach will be impressed.

Environmentally Friendly Toilets Come to the Bay Area

I was just speaking with Sarah Myers of Hartmann Studios in Richmond, CA. We were discussing some of the recent requests that she is receiving from her customers. She mentioned that there are more requests this year for products and services that are environmentally friendly. Specifically, when her clients rent portable toilets they are looking for an alternative that helps the environment.

We offer a chemical free portable toilet that only uses natural ingredients for treating waste. We also have VIP Trailers that only use fresh water and are entirely operated by solar power.

Some portable toilets require a generator but our solar power units can be set up in a remote site and it will run for hours. Our customers love the environmentally friendly options we provide.

We were very excited about being hired to provide the temporary fence and barricade for the 1st annual Food and Wine Event at Pebble Beach. This new event will be hosted on one of the most beautiful coastlines in the world.

The Pebble Beach Food & Wine will be celebrating 35 celebrity chefs and 200 wineries during the four day event. There will be internationally acclaimed wineries and chefs together with California’s regional superstars to create a series of lunches, dinners, wine tastings, cooking demonstrations, and wine auction.

Thus far, we have installed our 6′ event panels and will be attaching our signature black screen to finish the perimeter fence. We are scheduled to bring our green VIP barricade to outline the ticket booths and areas that are for special guests that require a little more privacy.

Wine, Food, and Fun People! What could be better!

I was recently introduced to the folks at Bridge Bank in downtown San Jose, CA and have been extremely pleased with my experience! Jeff Whalen, Dori Hamilton & Kelly McRitchie have treated us like royalty and have delivered on their promises. I would recommend them to any small company that is looking for a partner in their business.

Bridge Bank was recently recognized as one of the best performing full-service business banks in California and the Nation by U.S. Banker magazine in its January 2008 issue.

Bridge Bank ha been genuinely excited about our company and prospects of being the leader in the temporary site services industry in the Bay Area. They recognize the growth that we are experiencing and want to help us push through the milestones that every small company goes through to become a medium to large business.

They understand our needs and we look forward to growing with them.

I just spoke with my good friend Doug Norton who is turning 50 this May and is having a big birthday bash to celebrate. Over 300 guests will be attending the event for Doug and he is a very special guy. Doug has one of those personalities that people just love. He is always the life of the party and he really does have 300 friends!

Doug ordered one of my VIP Trailers that will probably blend into the background and go unnoticed by most of his guests. When there is a special event, wedding or birthday party a VIP Trailer will meet the expectations of the guests for portable sanitation. These trailers have individual stalls and sinks in each door and allow for complete privacy. These trailers really do have it all.

I learned early on that you just do not want to use the non-flushable construction toilet at one of your events. People know the difference and for a little extra money you make all of your guests feel welcomed. We look forward to working with Doug and being a part of his special day.