By Jo Ann Hustis Special to The Sanitation Journal
WHITING, Ind. - Honesty, integrity, and treating customers and friends like family
has earned President Ed Cooper of PolyJohn Enterprises the Person of the Year
Award for 2005.
"He’s awesome," noted Rich Vegter, the newly-elected head of Portable Sanitation
Association Int., Bloomington, Minn., and operator of Service Sanitation Inc., of
Gary, Ind. "I’d say Ed Cooper is an excellent choice for the award. I can’t think of
anyone more deserving. He’s been a wonderful, positive influence on me personally,
on my company, and on our entire industry."
The Person of the Year Award is sponsored by Sanitation Journal, a monthly
publication devoted to providing industry-related information to enhance portable
sanitation practices and to creating a more positive image for the growing portable
restroom/toilet business.
has earned President Ed Cooper of PolyJohn Enterprises the Person of the Year
Award for 2005.
"He’s awesome," noted Rich Vegter, the newly-elected head of Portable Sanitation
Association Int., Bloomington, Minn., and operator of Service Sanitation Inc., of
Gary, Ind. "I’d say Ed Cooper is an excellent choice for the award. I can’t think of
anyone more deserving. He’s been a wonderful, positive influence on me personally,
on my company, and on our entire industry."
The Person of the Year Award is sponsored by Sanitation Journal, a monthly
publication devoted to providing industry-related information to enhance portable
sanitation practices and to creating a more positive image for the growing portable
restroom/toilet business.
Now in its second year, the award is an acknowledgment by the industry to its leaders. Winners are selected from a
list of names submitted from among the Journal’s more than 12,000 readers nationwide. Last year’s winner was
Barry Gump, president and CEO of Andy Gump Inc., a family-owned business in Mission Hills, Calif
list of names submitted from among the Journal’s more than 12,000 readers nationwide. Last year’s winner was
Barry Gump, president and CEO of Andy Gump Inc., a family-owned business in Mission Hills, Calif
Cooper, 65, co-founded PolyJohn Enterprises Corporation of Whiting, in association with George Harding and
George Hiskes, in about 1984. The family-owned enterprise is dedicated to helping its customers in the portable
sanitation business. Under Cooper’s guidance, the company has developed into one of the world’s biggest
manufacturers of polyethylene portable sanitation products.
"I’m thrilled to hear Ed is the winner of this fine award," Vegter said. "I’m a big customer of his, a long-time
friend, and we have a long-term relationship. He’s upbeat, has a great sense of humor, very dependable, very loyal,
and very customer-service focused."
Fred Fanning of Denver, a former insurance agent and longtime customer of PolyJohn, has experienced Cooper’s
business acumen and personal integrity on a first-hand basis.
"It began with my college son, who had a summer job with a portable restroom company in Phoenix in 1985," said
Fanning. " He called me on the phone one day and said, ‘Dad, if you will put up $25,000, I’ll make you a million.’ I
put up the money, and we bought Johnny-on-the-Spot for $22,500."
Fortunately for the Fannings, as it turned out, the two kept in place the existing warehouse agreement the company
they purchased had with Cooper and PolyJohn.
George Hiskes, in about 1984. The family-owned enterprise is dedicated to helping its customers in the portable
sanitation business. Under Cooper’s guidance, the company has developed into one of the world’s biggest
manufacturers of polyethylene portable sanitation products.
"I’m thrilled to hear Ed is the winner of this fine award," Vegter said. "I’m a big customer of his, a long-time
friend, and we have a long-term relationship. He’s upbeat, has a great sense of humor, very dependable, very loyal,
and very customer-service focused."
Fred Fanning of Denver, a former insurance agent and longtime customer of PolyJohn, has experienced Cooper’s
business acumen and personal integrity on a first-hand basis.
"It began with my college son, who had a summer job with a portable restroom company in Phoenix in 1985," said
Fanning. " He called me on the phone one day and said, ‘Dad, if you will put up $25,000, I’ll make you a million.’ I
put up the money, and we bought Johnny-on-the-Spot for $22,500."
Fortunately for the Fannings, as it turned out, the two kept in place the existing warehouse agreement the company
they purchased had with Cooper and PolyJohn.
"After about a year into the business, we ordered 100 portable toilets from PolyJohn. After they arrived, we found
the toilets had a little chemical defect, and we notified PolyJohn of the problem. Ed Cooper replaced them with 100
new toilets and never asked a question. We’ve been 100 percent PolyJohn ever since. We built the company up to
1,600 toilets, and then sold it at a substantial profit, all due to Ed Cooper and the folks at PolyJohn."
Fanning’s son met with Cooper during a trade show in Philadelphia two years ago, and from that, the two basically
resurrected the business, SuperBowl Waste. The business now has 250 portable toilets - all PolyJohn products,
Fanning noted.
"In my 45 years of doing business, I’ve never dealt with anyone with the integrity, honesty, and credibility of Ed
Cooper and PolyJohn. They are the best of the best - I don’t know how better to put it," said Fanning.
"You go down the highway of life and you meet some unique people, but none can top Ed. He’s a gem. He does it
the old-fashioned way. When he tells you something, you can take it to the bank."
Fanning said Sanitation Journal could not have picked a better individual for the nomination.
"Ed exemplifies the American Dream," he said. "We’ve become very close friends, and I look forward to talking to
and being with him."
Vegter agreed: "Ed’s a man of his word, and he stands behind it. If a customer has a problem, he takes it personally
and makes it right. He’s a special breed, a hardworking special guy."
If he were to choose the recipient for the Person of the Year Award, Vegter said he would base his selection on the
qualities exemplified by Cooper.
"Absolutely," he noted. "Ed’s hardworking and sticks to his word. He gets it done, and he’s fun to do business
with. I’ve heard he’s incredibly generous with his employees. I think he and I try to espouse the same values - that
you’ve got to take care of the customer by providing a high quality operation and a high service level."
Mike Adams was recruited by Cooper 15 years ago to run PolyJohn’s portable restroom manufacturing facility in
Whiting. In submitting what was to become the winning nomination for the award, Adams noted what he said was
the ton of time Cooper has given to the industry.
"He helped build it," said Adams. "It wasn’t a problem for me to select him for the honor. It was a hands-down
choice. I admire him for himself, and for his integrity. He treats all his employees like family - from the guy who
sweeps the floor to all the way up. That’s not gone out of style in business with him. That says a lot about him."
Cooper grew up on a farm in Illinois, in an area which now has become one of the many suburbs to Chicago. After
graduating high school, he began driving a truck. Then he joined the Army and served as an MP in Occupied
Germany at about the time the Korean Conflict was ending. Through it all, Cooper never went to college, said
Adams.
"Because he was too busy working," Adams noted. "Country boy. He had a brother and a sister. He started with
nothing. He never lost the common man touch, and I think that’s what appeals to others. His rise to the top in the
industry is because of all these things - hard work and willingness to break in new ideas - to take a chance. He’s
not afraid to take a chance."
Cooper’s wife, Sandra, to whom he’s been married 44 years, said her husband is currently working on an idea for
manufacturing a plastic, see-through egg carton for the retail food industry. The inspiration came from a friend in
the egg business who wanted a better profit, and approached Cooper with the notion. He took the chance.
"Ed put some models together and went to work on it. He’s been in the process a year and a half, and is still fine-
tuning the machinery to open the cartons. They will be made of clear, biodegradable plastic so the customer won’t
have to lift the lid to see if there are any broken eggs inside the carton," Sandra Cooper said.
She was 14 years old when Cooper began dating her. He was 18 months ahead of her in school. After finishing his
formal education, he began working in a small lumber company. He built a steel truck, then found a job working for
a garbage company, she recalled..
Cooper bought the garbage company in the early 1970s, then proceeded to built it up before selling it. Then he
began looking around for something to do. In 1984, Cooper joined his brother-in-law George Hiskes, and George
Harding, inventor of the polyethylene portable toilet, and together the three purchased a small company in Troy,
Mich., where they began manufacturing portable toilets, she said.
"The business just grew," Sandra Cooper noted. "They now sell portable units to more than 40 different countries.
They have manufacturing sites in Canada, plus the biggest one in Whiting, another in San Paulo, Brazil, and an
international sales office in the United Kingdom. These are all offsprings of the 1984 business.
"He’s a go-getter," she added. "He has very good instincts for business, and very good people working for him. He
never credits himself with anything, but does credit the people working for him. He has a very small turnover in
employees."
The Whiting facility has 120 to 150 workers on the payroll, depending on the season of the year, she said. She did
not know the number of employees the company has worldwide.
Sandra Cooper and her husband will celebrate the 50th anniversary of their first date on Feb. 23, 2006. She admires
his integrity, his honesty, and his love of family. The couple has two sons, Michael and Kenneth, who have joined
their father in his business, and one daughter, Wendy.
Will Davis operates an aviation repair business in Gary, Ind., and met Cooper at a yacht club in East Chicago, Ind.,
about five years ago. The two hit it off right away, he recalled.
"We both own businesses and we see the world the same way," Davis said. "He is totally engaged in his company,
and I think we have a lot of similarities. I think Ed’s so highly successful that, if he’s not No. 1 in the country in
the manufacture of portable toilets, then he’s No. 2 "
Davis too, remarked on Cooper’s honesty and forthrightness.
"A more down-to-earth guy you couldn’t ask for," Davis said. "He’s very loyal, and a great leader. His business
probably has problems like all businesses do, but he’s totally committed to it, and supports his workers."
Davis also would select the president of PolyJohn for the award if he were making the choice.
"Sure, I would," he said. "There can’t be anybody better than Ed Cooper."
the toilets had a little chemical defect, and we notified PolyJohn of the problem. Ed Cooper replaced them with 100
new toilets and never asked a question. We’ve been 100 percent PolyJohn ever since. We built the company up to
1,600 toilets, and then sold it at a substantial profit, all due to Ed Cooper and the folks at PolyJohn."
Fanning’s son met with Cooper during a trade show in Philadelphia two years ago, and from that, the two basically
resurrected the business, SuperBowl Waste. The business now has 250 portable toilets - all PolyJohn products,
Fanning noted.
"In my 45 years of doing business, I’ve never dealt with anyone with the integrity, honesty, and credibility of Ed
Cooper and PolyJohn. They are the best of the best - I don’t know how better to put it," said Fanning.
"You go down the highway of life and you meet some unique people, but none can top Ed. He’s a gem. He does it
the old-fashioned way. When he tells you something, you can take it to the bank."
Fanning said Sanitation Journal could not have picked a better individual for the nomination.
"Ed exemplifies the American Dream," he said. "We’ve become very close friends, and I look forward to talking to
and being with him."
Vegter agreed: "Ed’s a man of his word, and he stands behind it. If a customer has a problem, he takes it personally
and makes it right. He’s a special breed, a hardworking special guy."
If he were to choose the recipient for the Person of the Year Award, Vegter said he would base his selection on the
qualities exemplified by Cooper.
"Absolutely," he noted. "Ed’s hardworking and sticks to his word. He gets it done, and he’s fun to do business
with. I’ve heard he’s incredibly generous with his employees. I think he and I try to espouse the same values - that
you’ve got to take care of the customer by providing a high quality operation and a high service level."
Mike Adams was recruited by Cooper 15 years ago to run PolyJohn’s portable restroom manufacturing facility in
Whiting. In submitting what was to become the winning nomination for the award, Adams noted what he said was
the ton of time Cooper has given to the industry.
"He helped build it," said Adams. "It wasn’t a problem for me to select him for the honor. It was a hands-down
choice. I admire him for himself, and for his integrity. He treats all his employees like family - from the guy who
sweeps the floor to all the way up. That’s not gone out of style in business with him. That says a lot about him."
Cooper grew up on a farm in Illinois, in an area which now has become one of the many suburbs to Chicago. After
graduating high school, he began driving a truck. Then he joined the Army and served as an MP in Occupied
Germany at about the time the Korean Conflict was ending. Through it all, Cooper never went to college, said
Adams.
"Because he was too busy working," Adams noted. "Country boy. He had a brother and a sister. He started with
nothing. He never lost the common man touch, and I think that’s what appeals to others. His rise to the top in the
industry is because of all these things - hard work and willingness to break in new ideas - to take a chance. He’s
not afraid to take a chance."
Cooper’s wife, Sandra, to whom he’s been married 44 years, said her husband is currently working on an idea for
manufacturing a plastic, see-through egg carton for the retail food industry. The inspiration came from a friend in
the egg business who wanted a better profit, and approached Cooper with the notion. He took the chance.
"Ed put some models together and went to work on it. He’s been in the process a year and a half, and is still fine-
tuning the machinery to open the cartons. They will be made of clear, biodegradable plastic so the customer won’t
have to lift the lid to see if there are any broken eggs inside the carton," Sandra Cooper said.
She was 14 years old when Cooper began dating her. He was 18 months ahead of her in school. After finishing his
formal education, he began working in a small lumber company. He built a steel truck, then found a job working for
a garbage company, she recalled..
Cooper bought the garbage company in the early 1970s, then proceeded to built it up before selling it. Then he
began looking around for something to do. In 1984, Cooper joined his brother-in-law George Hiskes, and George
Harding, inventor of the polyethylene portable toilet, and together the three purchased a small company in Troy,
Mich., where they began manufacturing portable toilets, she said.
"The business just grew," Sandra Cooper noted. "They now sell portable units to more than 40 different countries.
They have manufacturing sites in Canada, plus the biggest one in Whiting, another in San Paulo, Brazil, and an
international sales office in the United Kingdom. These are all offsprings of the 1984 business.
"He’s a go-getter," she added. "He has very good instincts for business, and very good people working for him. He
never credits himself with anything, but does credit the people working for him. He has a very small turnover in
employees."
The Whiting facility has 120 to 150 workers on the payroll, depending on the season of the year, she said. She did
not know the number of employees the company has worldwide.
Sandra Cooper and her husband will celebrate the 50th anniversary of their first date on Feb. 23, 2006. She admires
his integrity, his honesty, and his love of family. The couple has two sons, Michael and Kenneth, who have joined
their father in his business, and one daughter, Wendy.
Will Davis operates an aviation repair business in Gary, Ind., and met Cooper at a yacht club in East Chicago, Ind.,
about five years ago. The two hit it off right away, he recalled.
"We both own businesses and we see the world the same way," Davis said. "He is totally engaged in his company,
and I think we have a lot of similarities. I think Ed’s so highly successful that, if he’s not No. 1 in the country in
the manufacture of portable toilets, then he’s No. 2 "
Davis too, remarked on Cooper’s honesty and forthrightness.
"A more down-to-earth guy you couldn’t ask for," Davis said. "He’s very loyal, and a great leader. His business
probably has problems like all businesses do, but he’s totally committed to it, and supports his workers."
Davis also would select the president of PolyJohn for the award if he were making the choice.
"Sure, I would," he said. "There can’t be anybody better than Ed Cooper."
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