{"id":2106,"date":"2026-03-31T17:21:40","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T17:21:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/americanliquidwaste.com\/?p=2106"},"modified":"2026-05-05T12:28:47","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T12:28:47","slug":"kerkstra-on-ecofab-by-polyjohn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/americanliquidwaste.com\/?p=2106","title":{"rendered":"Kerkstra On EcoFab by PolyJohn"},"content":{"rendered":"

The profile of<\/span><\/span><\/span> Kerkstra Portable Restroom Services, Inc.<\/u><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>, Hudsonville, Michigan,is shaped by an extraordinary strategic business leadership track record. Brian Knoper, owner of Kerkstra, recently shared with ALW some information about the company\u2019s history, growth, and challenges, and strategies, and his future plans for the business. He further discussed Kerkstra\u2019s identification of technology leader<\/span><\/span><\/span> EcoFab<\/u><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>, a subsidiary of PolyJohn, as his company\u2019s preferred supplier. He talked about his experience working with the manufacturer over recent years, and his plans for continuing investment in EcoFab\u2019s advanced vacuum toilet models going forward.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Kerkstra Portable Restroom Services, Inc.<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n

Brian Knoper reflected on his purchase of the Kerkstra company and the growth of the business under his direction to date: I bought the portables and services side of the Kerkstra company, and another buyer bought the septic services side of the business back in January 2006. We\u2019ve grown a lot.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Today, we have about 7,000 portable toilet units in our inventory. We also have about 30 restroom trailers. Of those, 6 are 2-stall, 7 or 8 are 3-stall, and the rest are 6-, 8-, and 10-stall. Plus, the pod RVO series (the collective Kerkstra stock of EcoFab units) has 60 seats total. A couple of those are designed for wheelchair accessibility.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Our fleet includes 5 Ford F350s for trailer delivery and pickup and running around for various business needs. We have 4 Kenworths with 1,000-gallon waste tanks and 500-gallon water tanks. Those are our dedicated festival service vehicles. We also have 25 F550\/600 trucks with 900\/400 waste\/water aluminum tanks for our normal route services. We run <\/span><\/span><\/span>National Vac<\/u><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a> 304 pumps on our trucks. Most of our tanks are made by <\/span><\/span><\/span>Imperial Industries<\/u><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>. Those are all aluminum, and we have a few stainless steel tanks made by <\/span><\/span><\/span>Best Enterprise<\/u><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

We use GPS on all vehicles, with cameras inward and outward, along with other advanced field technologies. We\u2019re always looking for ways to improve our equipment and tools to increase efficiency and quality.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The Kerkstra Team<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n

We have 5 people in admin roles in the office and sales, and we have 26 field operators. They range from pickup and delivery workers to people running regular service routes, to setup and tear-down teams for festivals and other events. Everybody kind of knows everybody\u2019s job, so there\u2019s plenty of capacity for cross-functioning, as needed. I still participate in the field, especially on construction worksites, as needed. There are some admin things I\u2019m responsible for, but I\u2019m mostly in the field.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

We handle events with up to 1,500 portable toilets. For example, the Electric Forrest, music festivals, and other events. We pride ourselves on being a smaller company that can compete so effectively with national brands in serving major events.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

EcoFab By PolyJohn<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n

EcoFab, just acquired by PolyJohn Enterprises this year, in February 2026, specializes in technologically water-saving advanced vacuum toilet systems. The process of the equipment is non-macerating (no grinding involved). It\u2019s entirely a vacuum system. This high-efficiency technology is engineered for the segment of the portable toilet service industry focused primarily on deployment for disaster relief, public events, and other large-scale needs. Some of the key benefits of PolyJohn\u2019s new EcoFab technology for service operators include:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n