SANITARY SERVICES DELIVERS ON THE PROMISE

For Steve Sedlacek, the key to success in the waste-hauling business is delivering what you promise. That’s how the owner of Sanitary Services Co. in Meridian, Idaho rebuilt the company’s reputation. And that’s why he buys Mack^® trucks.

“We’re successful because we provide prompt, good service,” Sedlacek said of a company that has grown from 12 employees and 10 trucks when he and four others bought it in 1997 to 50 employees and 60 trucks. “The prior owners had some issues with that.”

The refuse-hauling contract with Meridian is a case in point. Prior to the acquisition, the city had received a large number of complaints about the service. Sedlacek and his team promised the city council and the residents that service would improve with the change in ownership. The team recapitalized the business and rewarded their employees with better pay and medical benefits, a 401(k) plan and uniforms.

“When you say you’re going to do something you have to do it,” Sedlacek said. “That proves to everybody that the company has changed.”

The number of complaints dropped and Sanitary Services was able to renegotiate its contract with the city for a longer period. Since then the company has purchased another waste-hauler in neighboring Canyon County and built a 20,000-square-foot transfer station. Mack Trucks, Inc. has played a key role in the turnaround. “We were more efficient because our equipment got better. There is much less downtime.”

For commercial collection, Sanitary Services bought a Mack TerraPro® Cabover model with a McNeilus front-loading body and placed an order for three more. For its residential and recycling business the company bought seven TerraPro low-entry models with side-loader bodies last year and ordered four more. The low-entry models sport 325-HP MP7 engines. Jeff Poulsen, a sales rep at Northwest Equipment Sales in Boise, Idaho made the sale.