Issue link: http://psai.uberflip.com/i/599004
Page 14 PSAI Industry Retrospective - the 90s As a devoted Board Member for many years, Gladys said that "My number one goal was the up the image of the industry. I learned everything that I know from the PSAI and thanks to Ray Luden, Sr in particular, it helped our business tremendously." Ron concludes by saying "Gladys gets on to me when we are driving as I almost lose control while I am watching one of our trailers being transported down the interstate." At the end of the decade, restroom trailers were firmly entrenched in the industry. VIP UNITS Jess ompson of Johnny On e Spot of New Jersey has always been an innovator and a visionary in our industry. In the 1990s, Jess was at his creative best. "We customized Phil Carter's flushing unit with gel coated walls, sink, padded seat and floral arrangements." Marketed as the "Tiffany" unit, this creation brought a level of service and selection that was new to the marketplace. According to Jess, the Tiffany Company "took a convincing position on the inappropriate use of their name and our unit instantly began to be called the "Celebrity" unit." is unit was extremely popular and even today rents at nearly twice the rate of other Johnny On e Spot event units. PORTABLE WATER SYSTEMS AND SOLAR POWERED UNITS "I can't put a year on it but portable water systems for office trailers also took off in the 90s for us" says Jess. "At one point our sales for porta-water services exceeded our special event segment!" Solar powered units were developed for lighting alternatives inside upscale units. Innovation and creativity in product and service offerings provided needed growth in the portable sanitation industry. COMPUTER SOFTWARE Jess has a very interesting story about the development of soware in the 1990s. "Beginning in 1988, I hired a consultant to work with me for four years to write industry specific soware. ere was nothing specifically available for portable restroom operators. Many larger portable toilet firms used programs written for the trash industry due to the similarities. My exhaustive search revealed uncomfortable concessions with even the most popular trash programs, which were also VERY expensive. By 1992, Joel Smith and I had worked the kinks out of a program that efficiently ran a portable restroom company. Clear Computing's windows version of my original program is now widely used by PSAI members. Several other industry specific programs that were created in the 90s remain available today." 1996 CENTENNIAL SUMMER OLYMPICS IN ATLANTA, GEORGIA anks to the groundbreaking efforts in the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, portable restrooms were accepted as a requirement for the 1996 Centennial Olympics in Atlanta. Porta-John of Michigan won the bid to provide the portable restroom equipment for the Games. PSAI members in the Atlanta Area rose to the occasion in providing the service for both the Olympics and the Paralympic Games. Y2K A large school of thought was that on the night of December 31, 1999, when the clock struck midnight, computers would go "hay-wire" and our world would enter the New Millennium in a state of confusion. Many people stored water, food, and other essentials "just in case." ankfully there were no incidents to report, but portable restroom operators ended the Millennium with special event rentals that were picked up on January 2nd and never used. e 1990s ended on a profitable note! CONCLUSIONS "Innovation" and "modernization" were the watchwords of the 1990s. A recession early in the decade made diversification imperative. Now referred to as the "PSAI," our Association continued to lead the industry in terms of education, quality and professionalism.