New Facility Unites Porta Kleen, PKX
It may only be a mile away from the old site, but the new Fairfield branch is a major upgrade for both Porta Kleen and PKX. “The move was way overdue,” said Fairfield Branch Manager Ron Sagers. “We needed more room for all the equipment—trucks, trailers and plastic units.”
Sagers said the new branch still requires a lot of work, despite all that’s been put into it so far. “We have a phenomenal group of employees who helped move everything into our new facility,” he said. “With the feedback from our employees and the numerous shouts of ‘Let’s put it here’ and ‘No, it’s looks better over there’ and switching things around, we’re making everything look organized and making sure the flow is good for our drivers.”
Porta Kleen President Adam Black said the new facility greatly expands the company’s capabilities in the Cincinnati market particularly by accommodating both the Porta Kleen and PKX offices. “We’d been in the old facility since 2012, and we just outgrew it,” he said, adding that it lacked the capacity to bring in hydroexcavation.
“Ultimately, it’s a larger facility with more capabilities for maintenance and equipment readiness,” Black said. “That’s what’s going to allow us to be more responsive from a customer services standpoint.”
Division Manager Chris Waite said that growth in the Sanitation Division is one of the reasons for the move. “The amount of trucks and employees that were working out of the old shop caused quite the congestion and at times brought up safety concerns,” he said. “With the new facility we now have plenty of space to do our day-to-day jobs safer and more efficient.”
PKX Branch Manager Cletus Janzen said having Porta Kleen and PKX under the same roof is advantageous from every angle. “It was a prime opportunity to have the appropriate maintenance bay, wash bay, to have everything in separate rooms and for the organization overall to make sure that we have the appropriate space for the growth,” he said.
“The new location is more organized compared to the previous location and one thing I really like about this place is that it brings both ‘communities’ together as one,” Janzen said. “If I have an issue, I can walk over and talk to Ron. He has seniority over me even though we have the same titles, but I can lean on him for assistance or anything else.”
The new facility greatly enhances cross-selling between PKX and Porta Kleen customers. “PKX and PK are completely different job scopes, but you could have a PKX truck at a Porta Kleen site with Porta Kleen sanitation equipment,” Janzen said. “We have a lot of the same customers as Porta Kleen and vice-versa. The great thing with me and Ron in the same building is I can get to know the Porta Kleen customers.”
Sager said the new branch remains a work in progress. “It’s been a stressful past several months to make sure everything gets done correctly, but it’s worth it!” he said. “We appreciate everyone that was involved in making this new facility look great. It is the best-looking building on the block!”