Trash generation
By: Jim Johnson

Dallas --
May 24, 2004

Gray hair on top of both Royal Coulter's and Chuck Himes' heads serve as a reminder that sooner or later another generation will be in charge of their respective family trash businesses.

Both men are leaders of Indiana-based waste operations - second generation leaders who now see their own children heavily involved in their family firms. These types of businesses and the intertwined dynamics of family and work create issues not present in other companies, said Michele Nestor, a consultant who has had plenty of experience working with families.

``They present a whole different host of thorny and unique management challenges,'' she said. ``You find a lot of issues that just aren't present in other companies.''

Nestor said she was even once hired by a man to help fire his wife from the family business.

``Most of the time what I'm doing is just helping families communicate,'' she said.

Neither Coulter nor Himes has needed to go that far. Both men said that while they have children now in management of their businesses, those children had to start at the bottom and learn the ropes at the same salary as any other employee.

``They all had the opportunity to do the toilets and the floors,'' said Himes, president of Himco-Waste Away Service Inc. of Elkhart, Ind.

Two keys to keeping peace in a family business, Himes said, are respect and communication. Having a successful family business also means knowing when not to talk about the family business. And that can be difficult.

``We always talked about trash,'' said Coulter, president and CEO of Peoria Disposal Co. ``We couldn't think about anything else to talk about.''

But family members not in the business sometimes just don't want to hear about missed stops, roll-off containers and personnel issues.

``It's hard. There's times it should be left in the office and there's times that it should not be,'' Himes said. ``If we are in a family setting, I try to be conscious of those not in the business and shepherd conversations to their interests. You have to be able to do that. You have to work at it. It just doesn't come natural. What's natural is the business to us.''

Himes, 64, and Coulter, 57, also both talk about the need for succession planning with their family business. Himes and his brother are ``trying to become creditors and not owners'' ... and are looking toward retirement. But even when he does step away from daily operations, Himes wants to continue handling projects for the business. That's what his father did, and Himes figures that's a good way to stay involved.

Coulter, meanwhile, said he doesn't plan to retire until he's 85. ``My family has been very supportive of me every step of the way,'' Coulter said.

Contact Waste News senior reporter Jim Johnson at (330) 865-6171 or jpjohnson@crain.com