Issue link: http://psai.uberflip.com/i/1426970
9 I PSAI Association Insight, November 10, 2021 The History of the Portable Toilet Industry in the UK and Ireland (continued from page 8) (continued on page 10) purchasing Elliott Loo Hire in 2018— thus becoming the largest portable toilet operator in the UK with over 24,000 units under their control at the time of the purchase. It remains a family-run business. The majority of those early start-ups were small "Ma & Pa" businesses. After a short time, Site A Loo decided that instead of importing the whole knock-down toilet units from PolyPortables, the wood for the skid could be sourced and purchased in the UK. Albeit not to the same cross-sectional size as US timber, it allowed more toilet units to be "stuffed" into a 40- foot container. With the advent of the 45-foot Hi Cube container, the number of units again increased, and it wasn't long before the old-style drop tank was abandoned from the container imports. By late 1995, only the roofs, walls, doors, etc., were filling a 45-foot Hi Cube with 325 knock-down units. By 1994, Site A Loo also developed a standalone wash hand basin, a plastic moulded skid and eventually had their own in- house rotational moulding machine, running two 8-hour shifts over the course of five days a week. Many toilet rental companies were established by Site A Loo as well as the other manufacturing companies during the early/ mid 1990s. Thus it was with great sadness for all employees within the family business that Keith had established, that in mid- 1996 he sold the company to Brandon Hire, who very soon after the acquisition sold the rotational moulding business and dispensed with the import and sale of the PolyPortable product to solely concentrate on the rental side of the business for both toilets and the plant and tool hire. PolyPortables Limited With Kathy Crafton now in control of the company, it was decided to set up an independent sales operation in the UK under the name PolyPortables Limited. Along with Jeremy Hawkins' involvement, the assets of the company passed from Brandon Hire to PolyPortables Limited under the ownership of Tony Ray and Richard Philpot of Andy Loos with Martin Murdoch as a non-executive director making up the newly formed business. It is still in operation to this day, albeit without Martin.