Issue link: http://psai.uberflip.com/i/1390352
ASSOCIATIONINSIGHT Portable Sanitation Association International News BIWEEKLY EDITION JULY 7, 2021 Page 3 Continued on page 6 Fathers and Sons of the PSAI Part II…continued from page 1 The Cutler Family—Three Generations and Counting Sani-Hut is a company that has built an excellent reputation over the course of this multi-generational family's 65 years in business. In 1956 Fred Cutler III bought a two-year-old portable sanitation company in the Reno/Sparks, Nevada area. Located just east of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, the town billed as "The Biggest Little City in the World" then had a population of roughly 60,000. An ironworker by trade, Fred bought the company after seeing wooden toilets on a construction site. As his son, Fred Jr, relates, "Dad had one other employee, and they knew that they could improve upon those heavy, cumbersome units." Fred Sr replaced the 1 1/8-inch-thick plywood board walls with 3/8 thick boards which represented a reduction of 66% the thickness and a considerable amount of weight. His re-design also included vent screens on the sides near the top of the unit and 4" x 4" skids as a base as opposed to steps leading up into the portable restroom. One final innovation involved the end section of the 55-gallon drum that served as the waste tank. Fred bent the front of the drum down such that it was wedged into the top of the opening of the area that would be covered by the toilet seat. In this way, the tank did not move, and waste would not be stirred if the tank were turned while the unit was being moved. As with most of the early pioneers of our industry, Fred Sr grew Sani-Hut slowly over time as the demand for portable sanitation, still in its infancy, grew and evolved. Fred Sr developed several company values statements that continue today. • Helping people is our goal, not selling a service. • Our word is our bond. • Respect every person and their contributions. • Don't ask anyone to do something that you haven't done or would not be willing to do. • Be grateful and share with others. The company earned most of its early business from homebuilding and construction in this growing area of Nevada; at the time special events were virtually unknown in the industry. Two major occurrences in the area, however, earned Sani-Hut the distinction of being able to provide restroom service at large gatherings. The Reno Rodeo, a 10-day event that began in 1919, and the Reno Air Race that started in 1964, showcased Sani-Hut's commitment to service. Fred Jr described his dad's involvement with the early Reno Air Shows as, "identifying 20 nice wooden units on building and construction sites and taking them on Friday afternoon to the Air Show for the weekend. Afterwards, Dad would return them to the job sites prior to work on Monday." This is the creativity for which Fred Sr was known. Pictured from left to right: Fred Cutler Sr, Fred Cutler Jr and Fred "Repeat" Cutler V Fred Cutler Sr, circa 1995