successfully today. The company was one of my favourite customers up to the point I left that industry in 2008. When the owners were looking to fill the GM role, they asked me to come along for a cup of coffee and a chat: I was looking to do something different at that time and it seemed like a very good fit for both sides.” They started in 2010 and made steady progress until 2014 at which point, they developed a range of new products and brought in a focussed business and marketing plan. Since then they have tripled their turnover in the construction industry. It was soon after that they recognized that there are a wide range of industries and sectors that
With regards to innovation, Jonathan continues, “Some of our glamping customers want to install environmentally sustainable composting toilets. Whilst this option is not for everyone, they are growing in popularity and acceptance and we are able to supply composting toilets of the same reliability.”
FUTUREPROOFING Jonathan predicts that in the long term, the glamping industry will of course inevitably mature. With it, even more sophisticated solutions will become more and more popular. “For example, we think that more underground septic tanks and soak-away systems will be an obvious solution for maturing glamping sites,” he says, “For these sites another option could also be to invest in a complete mini sewage treatment system. However, these are substantial investments.”
could benefit from their services and products. In 2017, as they were outgrowing their old site, they purchased new premises outright and after some essential refurbishment moved in early 2018. According to Jonathan their growth plans have also meant the laying on of extra production tooling to keep up with demand and the employment of further staff in sales and warehousing.
Long term, Glampsan will most likely add these to their product portfolio. But in the meantime, Jonathan believes that there is sufficient ‘growing room’ to supply their customers with simpler and hence more cost effective solutions.
Two years ago Jonathan started the Glampsan brand, which, as was already mentioned, is a division of Plastic Solutions. From 2019 the the Glampsan strategy has been to grow by making use of all available tools. This included heavy investment into the website as well as the development of a strong social media strategy.
LEADING BY EXPERIENCE Jonathan Trelfa is a veteran of the portable sanitation industry and has over 25 yearsexperience under his belt. He was the Managing Director of Europe for a toilet manufacturing company between 1991-2008, and from 20112014 was the MD for a manufacturer of ground and surface water monitoring equipment. It was March 2014 when he decided to take up the challenge of driving forward Plastic Solutions (Aldridge) Ltd.
On the technology front Plastic Solutions have invested heavily over the last year and a half in software to aid their sales and customer support staff. Jonathan explains that throughout his working life he’s always been agitated if a ringing phone wasn’t picked up within three rings. To make this possible he created tools and the environment so that their staff don’t get bogged down by too much cumbersome tech.
“I’ve known the business owners since I advised and helped them start their toilet rental business in 1994,” he says, “That business is still running
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