For Nancy Gump, the third-generation owner of Andy Gump Temporary Site Services, the last year challenged her to use every lesson her family had taught her about running the portable restroom business. “We’re constantly adjusting. That’s what I was taught by my grandfather and my dad; you adjust to what the needs are and try to figure it out,” said Gump, who has been running the Santa Clarita-based business for the last five years. “This is probably the hardest year of business.”Andy Gump portable restrooms are a staple of Southern California construction sites and public events such as outdoor concerts, fairs and shows. In addition to supplying and servicing the temporary restrooms, the company also rents fencing and temporary sanitation stations. The company ranks No. 13 on the Business Journal’s annual list of Family-Owned Businesses.During the course of the pandemic, the company celebrated its 65th year in business with labor and supply shortages, increased costs for materials and shifting coronavirus restrictions. But as large events dwindled, demand for sinks and sanitation services at COVID-19 testing sites kept the company afloat.
“People realized how important cleanliness was in keeping your hands clean and washing. We built hand sanitizer towers and also had individual sinks that can be put inside an Andy Gump (portable toilet),” Gump said. “And so all the unique things that we provided for customers to be able to wash their hands was one of our highest priorities. And I think that made people feel more comfortable working on construction sites or working at hospitals.”During a typical business year, large events such as concerts and festivals make up nearly 30 percent of all Andy Gump revenues. For months last year, none of those events happened. The company, which employs 200 people at five southern California locations, had to switch quickly to providing more sanitation services, while managing a severe resin shortage which delayed the creation of new units.
“We had probably five or six (sanitation sites), including the big one at Dodger Stadium, and those testing sites needed once daily servicing, which put a really big challenge on our service team, but they handled it and handled it very well,” Gump said. “We exceeded our expectations when it came to getting through COVID. I mean, we bought like almost 1,000 hand wash (stations). They were like gold, you know, people needed them. We’d get them ready, and they were gone the next day. We had a waiting list.”Shortages – of toilet paper, resin to create new units, microchips for new trucks, and chain links for temporary fencing – ultimately led to price increases and adjustments of services. Despite the additional expenses and decreased demand for event services, the decades-long reputation of the company led it to partner with municipalities and several local hospitals and the company didn’t experience a significant loss of business.
Generational legacyGump’s grandfather, Andy, started the company in the 1940s after purchasing a septic company in the San Fernando Valley for $300. He built the first five portable restrooms, eventually known themselves as Andy Gumps, out of plywood in his garage. The family business grew, servicing Olympic Games and other high-profile events until Andy’s son, Bill, took over leadership of the company in the 1970s. Since then, his daughter has been learning the lessons required to run the business, but she said nobody could have truly prepared for the last year. Instead, she focused on the values that had been instilled in her to try to weather the storm: adaptability and consistent quality service.
“We want to be able to take care of the customer and that has always been the number one focus of our company and what my grandfather taught me and what my dad taught me many, many years ago,” Gump said. “It’s really about, you know, where we’ve come from, and the legacies that they’ve carried on throughout the years and the experiences and the things that they’ve passed on to me that we are what we are today.”
Family Lessons Prove Their Value in Pandemic
