Born From Ashes

Emerging out of the ashes of a crumbling economy, Batson Enterprises has grown each year he has been in business. Batson’s good fortune is built on his ingenuity, reputation, and relationships that he has forged since getting into the wastewater industry in 1998.

“By June 2008, I knew we were in a full-blown recession,” says David Batson, owner of Batson Enterprises. “I knew with the recession that my job for the past 10 years was tenuous. A lot of systems had been going in the past seven years, and I knew they would need servicing and troubleshooting. So, I got my finances in order and launched my own business in January 2009.”

With no capital, Batson relied on his reputation with the wastewater supply houses to get the materials he needed. “They knew me well enough that when I told them something, they knew that I would follow through. So, they volunteered to extend me credit when they found I was on my own.”

Troubleshooting

Batson’s specialty is troubleshooting. “When I was working for my past employer, the guys I worked with wanted me to do setups on pumps and control panels. They needed someone capable of hooking up alarms and control panels. So, everything I dealt with was mechanical, such as float switches, pumps and time dosing panels, that was just the thing I was interested in.”

Alabama licensing requires ongoing training, allowing Batson to share his knowledge through classes for the Alabama Onsite Wastewater Association. “I’ve been teaching the classes for about four years now and have taught in Auburn and Pellum. Last year, to keep the guys interested and awake, I gave away multimeters. This year, I gave away two $50 bills.
I love it.”

Terminology makes a difference to the customers, so when on a job, he passes his knowledge on to clients making sure they understand what is going on with their system. Batson not only answers all of the customer’s questions, but also the ones they don’t ask ensuring no surprises. “People are starving to death for honesty.”

He doesn’t take advantage of customers by using inferior products or cutting corners just to get the job done.

Despite Batson’s experience, he does not consider himself an expert. “There’s always new things to learn in this environment of ever-changing technologies.” His passion for computers led him to establish a website which can easily be found when Googled under a multitude of search terms.

Installing

Batson procures his supplies, completes the job, gets paid and then pays for his materials. He subcontracts some of his work. He relies on several industry contacts to complete jobs when he needs special equipment or extra labor.

Depending on the situation, Batson likes using several different brands, including AquaPoint, EnviroGuard, Nayadic, and Puraflo. “Being versatile is key. Different systems are needed for different sites. Aquapoint has a unique perspective on decentralized wastewater treatment and distributed sewer management. Unlike many companies in the industry, they consider decentralization as new architecture that will incorporate the onsite, clustered and central sewer approaches to wastewater treatment and management.”

“EnviroGuard and Nayadic are very simple to maintain. Puraflo has high hydraulic loading rates without ponding with physical, chemical, and biological treatment. They withstand temperature and PH fluctuations and maintain an aerobic environment. Those conditions facilitate growth of microorganisms and don’t require biomat maintenance on media. Their high retention time optimizes treatment and harmful bacteria die off.”

He acquires his tanks from Wells Septic Tank. When installing septic tanks, he prefers concrete tanks because they are cheaper until you get to a certain size and are more beneficial to use. After 3,000 gallons, he likes to use fiberglass because he says it takes very little effort to get it into the ground. “Anything over 3,000 gallons would take 15-21 days for concrete to cure.”

Batson is able to procure other supplies from the Central Supply Company.

When it’s raining, Batson advises that for every day of rain, you need to allow two days of drying when putting in fill lines otherwise it will fail miserably.

When it comes to price, Batson charges his customers the same on weekends and holidays as he does during the week. “I’ve had to raise my regular hourly rate over the years as costs have gone up, but I charge the same amount to all of my customers.”

Like a phoenix reborn, Batson’s website continues to change and grow drawing customers to his business—combined with his natural tendency to troubleshoot problems allows him to soar above challenges and help his business prosper.

Story by Jennifer Taylor

Resources

■ Batson Enterprises, visit www.alabamasepticinstallations.com
■ AquaPoint, visit www.aquapoint.com
■ EnviroGuard & Nayadic, visit www.consolidatedtreatment.com
■ Puraflow, visit www.consolidatedtreatment.com
■ Wells Septic Tank, visit www.consolidatedtreatment.com
■ Central Supply Company, visit www.centralsupplyco.net

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