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A Surco, The Portable Restroom Entrepreneurship In The UK
A Surco distributorship can be a beacon for any entrepreneur in the United Kingdom seeking a viable, low risk business opportunity. Why? Because we have been in continuous operation since 1946, and our odor-control product solutions surpass any and all portable sanitation industry standards. Our pride and joy is Metazene, an odorless highly effective additive specifically designed to neutralize malodors at a molecular level. The collective sum of these few simple points mean you’re partnering with well over seven decades of superior product refinements and well-versed support.
Although most entrepreneurs in the United Kingdom do well in their ventures, the government does not really pay enough attention to promising start-ups. According to the think-tank, Centre for Entrepreneurs,in 2016, 660,000 new companies were established in the United Kingdom, a figure that was up from 608,000. The number of startups in the United Kingdom during 2017 has risen considerably as well, but many of these companies are sole proprietorships and entrepreneurs need much more support than they are receiving.
Surco distributors never stand by themselves. In fact, we are always there to guide and support purveyors through and beyond any rough spots. Start-up costs are low and returns to the diligent, hard-working entrepreneur are high. Even more, word spreads fast and the highly reputed effectiveness of our odor-control products renders them an easier sell than others in the marketplace. Learn more about the effectiveness of our odor control products, explore our commitment to eco-friendly solutions or click the button below to start your own UK-based distributorship.
A Short History of The UK By Way Of Ye Good Olde Loo
This island country situated off the northwestern coast of the European mainland is comprised of the whole of the island of Great Britain, which contains England, Wales, Scotland and the northern portion of Ireland. Stone structures, like Avebury and Stonehenge whose constructions remain an enigma to this day, are evidence of prehistoric cultures in the southern region with prevailing milder climes.
Emperor Julius Caesar led expeditions into Britain in 55 and 54 BCE and Roman colonization began some eight years later. After the Romans departed, Angles, Saxons and Jutes from northern Europe settled the region, the Angles bestowing their namesake to England.
Exactly which civilization invented the world’s first toilet may never be known, but the honor is at least up for grabs between the Scots (in a Neolithic settlement dating back to 3000 BC) or to the Greeks who constructed the Palace of Knossos (in 1700 BC) with large earthenware pans connected to a flushing water supply.
In Medieval England, people utilized “potties” and simply threw human waste out of the window or through a door into the street. (Pity the passerby.) The upper classes used a garderobe, which was a small chamber with an aperture for waste that was suspended over a moat. It is believed the name derives from the custom of storing robes in the toilet area, which was done in the belief that the foul odors would discourage the intrusion of fleas and other parasites.
The city of London constructed a huge public garderobethat emptied directly in to the River Thames and caused much stench and disease for the entire population. Eventually, garderobesand public toilets were replaced by the commode, which was a box with a seat and a lid that covered a porcelain or copper pot that caught the waste. During the 19th century, the expansion of Great Britain increased, but the number of available toilets did not.
In congested cities, such as London and Manchester, up to 100 people often shared a single toilet. The filthy sewage spilled into the streets and the rivers and eventually found entry into the drinking water supply. Results were catastrophic, as tens of thousands of people died of water-borne disease, especially cholera, between the 1830s and the 1850s.
In 1848, the government decreed that every new house must have its own water closet or ash-pit privy. “Night soil men” were hired to empty the ash pit, but this proved ineffective and in 1858, the government commissioned the building of a system of sewers in London.
At last, deaths from cholera, typhoid and other waterborne diseases dropped spectacularly.
No history of the modern toilet (portable or otherwise) within the United Kingdom could ever be complete without mention of a man with a most interesting moniker; namely, Thomas Crapper, who was hired in 1861 by Prince Edward (later King Edward VII) to construct lavatories in several royal palaces. Although he did not actually invent the modern toilet, he did patent a number of toilet related inventions. He and his contemporaries, George Jennings, Thomas Twyford, Edward Johns and Henry Doulton are credited with producing toilets much as we know them today.
The Modern Portable Toilet industry In The United Kingdom
In Lasham, England, back in 1988, a light bulb went off in the head of a civil engineer named Geoff Gilbert, while he was working on a construction site. It was then that he first learned about portable toilets and wondered why no one had ever given them a thought before. He talked his wife, Sonia into investing in a franchise from a local company, buying three portable toilets, and after a few years they went out on their own. Geoff kept his job and new mother, Sonia, ran their business with the help of a few part-time drivers. After some three years of hard work and the advent of new sanitation laws relating to the construction industry, Geoff Gilbert quit his job and joined the family business full time.
Their business model evolved carefully and slowly. They had to sell their idea, which serendipitously occurred when an agricultural competition gave then an opening for a new event division they called Loos R Us. In the 1990s, there really wasn’t an event industry in the country. According to Sonia Gilbert: “Now you’ve got boutique festivals, music festivals, and every weekend there’s a marathon. There are all sorts of things that weren’t around back then.” The Gilberts also expanded construction offerings by adding mobile offices, storage containers, fencing, and safety equipment including signs, ladder guards, and fall-arrest systems.
According to Mark Hart, an Aston University professor who heads the Enterprise Research Centre, the government does not pay enough attention to promising start-ups. In his own words: “The UK’s productivity puzzle remains as seemingly intractable as ever. Despite record levels of business start-ups, the majority of our businesses do not grow. Too many of these businesses do not create jobs or do anything for UK productivity. We have long had a problem with turning start-ups into high growth companies.”
This important organization coupled with its sister initiative, the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme have provided funding to some 30,000 businesses since 1994. Guy Rigby, head of entrepreneurs at Smith & Williamson, the professional services firm believes that the problem is a lack of coordination between the public and private sector. He states: “We need centralized leadership, such as the Small Business Administration in the US, that is focused on making Great Britain the perfect place to start and scale up.”
Last year nearly 660,000 companies were established, up from 608,000 in 2015, according to the Centre for Entrepreneurs, a think-tank. This year it looks likely that the record will be broken again. “Other than the US, the UK is unrivalled as a place to start and grow a business,” says Simon Rogerson, chief executive of Octopus. Some attribute the positive numbers to governmental sponsorship intended to encourage entrepreneurs to start up businesses.
Construction workers were the earliest adopters of mobile serviced lavatories, which became standard issue on building sites in the mid-1990s. Portable toilets have come a long way in the United Kingdom over the course of the last three decades, and with advances in technology are certain to progress even further.
So join the portable sanitation industry bandwagon and hitch a ride with a Surco distributorship. If you do, tomorrow is certain to be a much brighter day.