“KENNY” – THE MOVIE – 20TH ANNIVERSARY SPLASHDOWN – THE COMPANY – 40TH ANNIVERSARY

Since its founding in the 1940s, the portable sanitation industry has been publicized on a local or regional level through newspaper ads, phone book advertising, word-of-mouth, and the units themselves being either on a construction site, at an event or even perhaps on a truck or trailer in transport.

From the 1940s to the early 2000s, had anyone seen a movie or a television series about our industry? No - that is not until 2006 when the movie “Kenny” was released in Australia.

Here is story of how our industry was internationally publicized in an award-winning comedy and the Australian company, Splashdown, which made this all possible.

“KENNY” – THE MOVIE – SUMMARY

Released in 2006 in Australia, “Kenny” presents the work of Kenny Smyth, an Australian portable restroom service technician employed by Splashdown, then a 20-year-old longstanding leader in their marketplace.

Throughout the course of this movie, we see Kenny and his day-to-day operation running a route, delivering, and picking up units, handing customer complaints, and doing the job which we are all so familiar with. Although his job is often looked down upon, Kenny takes immense pride and approaches life with humor and practicality.

Kenny’s personal life is also shared as he deals with a difficult situation with his ex-wife, tries to be a good father to his young son (who does help his father at a few events), and struggles to gain acceptance from his father who wishes he had chosen a more respectable career.

When Kenny is sent to Nashville, Tennessee for the annual Pumper and Cleaner Expo in 2005, he is amazed at the size and the international scope of our industry. (In this portion of the movie, PSAI Members will recognize several fellow members who have speaking roles in the movie as well as others that are in crowd shots.)

Kenny briefly finds the possibility of romance with Jackie, a flight attendant with Quantas Airlines that he met on the flight to Nashville. They meet for a date at the local favorite, Longhorse Saloon, and he then takes her to the Pumper Show as he was so impressed with his previous visit. Family matters, however, soon call him back to Australia ahead of schedule.

Near the conclusion of the film, Kenny is back on the job, handling a disposal issue with an arrogant person who refuses to move their car after repeated requests and much wasted time by Kenny in waiting.

With the theme song “Taking Care of Business” in the background, we see Kenny meeting Jackie at the Melbourne Airport as the movie ends.

MORE ABOUT THE MOVIE

“Kenny” is classified as a mockumentary – a comedy in documentary style – and uses “fly-on-the-wall” style camera shots.

This movie was highly acclaimed in Australia where it was released in 2006, in England in 2007, and in the US on March 7, 2008, at the Pumper and Cleaner Expo in Louisville, Kentucky.

This movie was highly acclaimed in Australia and won the following awards at the 2006 Australian Film Institute (AFI):

• Won – Best Original Screenplay – Clayton Jacobson and Shane Jacobson

• Won – Best Lead Actor – Shane Jacobson as “Kenny”

• Won – Best Sound – Craig Carter and Pete Smith

• Nominated for Best Film

THE “BEHIND-THE-SCENES” STORY OF “KENNY”

The Sydney Morning Herald from June 10, 2008, in an article entitled “Small Business Makes a Big Splash,” gives the interesting background as to how this one-of-a-kind movie was conceived.

Glenn Preusker founded Splashdown Portable Toilet Hire in 1986 (the full history of this iconic company follows). Splashdown had units on various worksites – among them, a site where Shane Jacobson worked. According to this article, “while Shane was working for the lighting company, he got to know Glenn Preusker.” They became friends and “in retelling Preusker’s stories of the adventures of Splashdown’s employees, Shane gave Clayton Jacobson (his brother) the idea for a short film. The two brothers wrote the script.”

Further details are shared in The Advertiser – Adelaide, Australia in an article from July 26, 2013, entitled “Shane Jacobson is Flushed with Success.” According to this account:

“He (Clayton Jacobson) wanted to create a short film, a mockumentary about a plumber who was ignored and unappreciated yet was one of the cogs in society’s machinery. As Clay put it, he knows that if his job went badly, he had the world coming down on him.”

The article continues, “we spoke to Glenn (Preusker) and some of the Splashdown workers and asked their permission to be in the film, sometimes with them in the background and sometimes me talking to them.” This added to the authenticity of the film.

After many long hours and months of work, a short 47-minute short film was produced with Glenn Preusker providing the financing for this project.

In 2004 at the St Kilda Film Festival, with Shane Jacobson and Glenn and Jenny Preusker in attendance “Kenny the Self-Proclaimed Scatologist” premiered and won two awards:

• People’s Choice Award

• Best Comedy Award

Due to a phone call from a “PSAI Legend,” this short film – with the long title – soon became a full-length movie. The article continues:

While the Jacobson’s and Glenn were meeting, “Glenn’s wife, Jenny, came into the room and said ‘I am sorry to disturb you guys but Glenn – Ron (Bird) from Ameri-Can is on the phone from America. He says time is running out and he needs to know now whether you are definitely coming to the Pumper and Cleaner Expo. Tell him, yes, I will be coming, Glenn said.”

Here is the most amazing part of the story as the article states:

“Glenn explained, ‘It’s the international toilet expo. It’s one of the largest expos you could ever wish to see, all dedicated to toilets … It’s the Poo HQ.”

“Clay looked at Glenn, over to Jenny and across to me (Shane) and said, ‘My God, I think that we’ve got ourselves a movie. Kenny needs to come to America.”

After traveling to Nashville and filming Kenny at the 2005 Pumper and Cleaner Expo, the film expanded to its hour-and-a half-length and the movie was complete.

Those fellow PSAI Members and friends of Glenn Preusker that were filmed, had speaking parts in the movie and were in the film credits at the end included:

• Mike Pederson – Satellite Industries

• Ron Bird – Ameri-Can Engineering

• Dave Andres – Mr. John

FINAL NOTE OF INTERNATIONAL INTEREST:

The success of the movie inspired a 2008 TV series “Kenny’s World” – also directed by Clayton Jacobson - which featured nine episodes and had Kenny visiting various parts of the world investigating and learning about portable sanitation in that area. Each of these visits provide a look at our industry during this time period – now some 17 years ago.

Episode 1 – September 10, 2008 – Australia to Japan

Episode 2 – September 17, 2008 – Japan to Taiwan

Episode 3 – September 24, 2008 – China to Singapore where Kenny visits the World Toilet Organization

Episode 4 – October 1, 2008 – Thailand to USA where he visits Pacific Northwest Company in Oregon

Episode 5 – October 14, 2008 – USA to Italy to Luxembourg. He visits Mr. John in the New York Area.

Episode 6 – October 21, 2008 – Egypt

Episode 7 – October 28, 2008 – Russia

Episode 8 – November 4, 2008 – Sweden to Denmark to United Kingdom

Episode 9 – November 11, 2008 – India for the World Toilet Summit

About the company that was the inspiration for “Kenny” …

SPLASHDOWN – 40^th ANNIVERSARY 1986-2026

Glenn Preusker was instrumental in the filming, the financing, and the success of “Kenny” in 2006 but how did his company begin and grow prior to this film? 

The Sydney Morning Herald from September 13, 2007, in an article titled “Film Inspired – and Paid For – by Entrepreneur” gives an inspiring account of how Glenn began his company.

“The Australian film Kenny is a great example of art imitating life … The film was inspired by the experiences of Glenn Preusker, founder of Splashdown, the executive bathroom rental company featured in the film.”

The biography continues:

“Preusker was born to be an entrepreneur. He left school at 15 to start a plumbing apprenticeship, and at 16 started his first business installing central heating. Being driven from job to job by his mother proved no problem. He started employing others while he signed up customers and supervised.”

“When he was 19, he and his older cousin were asked to manage the family plumbing business … Within five years turnover had quadrupled.”

SPLASHDOWN’S FOUNDING AND FIRST 10 YEARS: 1986-1995

In 1986, Glenn was working as a plumber and had expanded his business to provide vendors at special events with water connections. (As you will see, innovation is part of Glenn’s character).

While working at Moomba in Melbourne, he got in contact with the event owner to discuss the toilet facilities. The owner asked him if there was a better way to set up temporary toilets and Glenn believed that there was as he had already built two toilet blocks on an experimental basis.

Encouraged by this new opportunity, Glenn built another eight toilet blocks and began actively pursuing other events.

In 1987, he won a contract to provide additional toilet blocks at Moomba. Splashdown’s growth had just begun as Glenn began to actively pursue other special events:

• 1987 Australian Masters Golf Tournament. Held at the Huntington Golf Club in Melbourne, and won by Australian “Golf Legend,” Greg Norman, attendance was estimated at 40,000. This was a significant event for the company to secure.

• 1989 Formula 1 Grand Prix of Australia in Adelaide. Located in the province of South Australia, some 728km (452 miles) from Melbourne, Spashdown provided the units for this international event. Despite heavy rain throughout the weekend, a crowd of in excess of 100,000 experienced an exciting race and quality portable sanitation.

• 1990 Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix. Phillips Island, some 100 square kilometers (40 square miles) in size, located 125 kilometers (78 miles) south-southeast of Melbourne hosted this massive event. Glenn recalls approximately 200,000 fans in attendance.

• 1990 Moomba Festival. Splashdown provided all of the portable sanitation for this festival with over 500,000 in attendance that year. Quite an increase in equipment from the two toilet blocks provided in 1987!

During this period, a memorable event occurred that exemplified Splashdown’s approach in dealing with their customers. Splashdown supplied portable toilets at a winery in Northern Victoria for Dame Kiri Te Kanawa. Some 17,000 people were sitting outdoors on a hillside with terrible weather pending. Local workers, hired by Splashdown to service the event, warned the production team that the ants coming out of the ground is a sign that heavy rain was coming. The recommendation from these local workers was to cancel the interval (midway concert break) to get everyone home before the big storm arrives. The irony of this was that it did not rain and the concert finished early.”

Glenn commented on this situation:

“This incident shows that business isn’t simply about putting in toilets for an event; we are conscious of contributing something back to the regional communities where we work. This story captures more than the event itself. It shows our approach to supplying our service to events, professional presentation, punctuality, looking after the local community, and making practical decisions to keep people safe.”

As Splashdown continued to grow, so did their innovative spirit. With the goal of identifying practical problems and working to find better ways to solve them, their customers were the beneficiaries of these efforts.

At large events that the company was now servicing, particularly those involving significant alcohol consumption, steps could become a serious tripping hazard especially at night. In addition to the risk of injury, the rental customer could face potential legal liability charges.

One of their early decisions was to build toilets without wheels and to transport them using the company’s roll-back tilt trays. This allowed each toilet block to be placed directly on the ground, eliminating the need for steps. This straightforward design choice became an important safety decision. It also became a commercial advantage, helping to distinguish this innovative company from its competitors.

In 1995, Splashdown began to service a portion of the Melbourne Cup Horse Racing Carnival. This four-day event is highlighted by the Melbourne Cup Race Day on the first Tuesday in November. With attendance ranging from 300,000 to 400,000, this is one of Australia’s major special events.

Glenn shares:

“I am particularly proud to have been involved with the Melbourne Cup. We first became involved in 1995; we supplied 20 toilet blocks. At that stage, we only had part of the contract. Within two years, however, we had earned the opportunity to take on the entire contract, which involved supplying more than 120 toilet blocks as well as providing all service throughout the event.

I’m incredibly proud that we’ve continued to hold that contract to this day, and that we’ve developed such a strong relationship with the Victoria Racing Club.

Every year at the Melbourne Cup, we made a point of introducing a new and innovative product. I believe that commitment to innovation, combined with our ability to understand and respond to client’s needs, has been a major reason for the longevity of the relationship.

For me, it demonstrates the importance of working closely with your clients. They need to understand you, and you need to understand them. I think we’ve achieved that exceptionally well over the years.”

GROWTH AND EXPANSION: 2000 SUMMER OLYMPICS AND AN INTERNATIONAL PRESENCE

Prior to the 2000 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Splashdown undertook one of the most challenging logistical projects in their history – or in the history of any company in our industry.

In 1999, the “Ignite the Dream Tour” was created as a traveling exposition to share Olympic artifacts, including prior Olympic Torches, with the people of Australia. Beginning on March 17, 1999, this ambitious project continued for 276 days and ended on December 18, 1999. This display was contained in a large truck and travelled some 14,500 km (9,000 miles) and visited more than 150 towns across the entire continent of Australia.

Glenn describes this monumental event:

“It was an enormous logistical challenge. We were part of this tour supplying a toilet block to follow the display truck. We would often arrive in a town in the morning, set up, service each event with our toilets, pack up everything at night and then move on to the next location. Some towns hosted us for two or three days, while others were one-day events.

Despite the demanding schedule and constant movement, the tour was a tremendous success and received considerable recognition.

2000 SUMMER OLYMPICS

Splashdown had the privilege of supplying portable units for the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, also known as the “Millenium Games.” Glenn shares that “it was a major achievement for the company – a fitting highlight of Splashdown’s years in business.” The Olympics were held from September 15 to October 1, 2000. While this required much hard work and coordination on the part of the company, at least the units remained in their designated location, unlike the “Ignite the Dream” event!

2002 PSAI MEMBERSHIP

As their worldwide industry recognition grew, Splashdown joined the PSAI at this time as an International Member. Since its inception in 1971, the PSAI benefitted from Splashdown’s experience and knowledge while the PSAI was able to share years of information and best practices with Splashdown. The company remains a Member today.

EXPANSION OF THE COMPANY THROUGHOUT AUSTRALIA – EARLY 2000s

As the company expanded into the other states in Australia, the fleet had grown into “multiple hundreds of toilet blocks” which created significant logistical challenges. (For comparison purposes, Australia is only slightly smaller than the continental United States.)

By establishing remote offices in other locations, inventory could remain in those areas, and transportation planning would be minimized. A location in New South Wales was opened after the 2000 Olympics. Offices in South Australia and Queensland were also established in the early 2000s. The Western Australia office in Perth opened in 2006.

“KENNY” 2006

As previously discussed, “Kenny” was a resounding success in terms of bringing worldwide recognition to our industry. Here are Glenn’s thoughts about this movie:

“When the opportunity arose to make a movie about the industry we are in and the lives of ourselves and our employees, it was an opportunity that I was proud to grasp.

I know it’s a well-told story now, and a movie that has gone on to achieve remarkable success here in Australia and overseas. But the story is far greater than just a movie. It’s about the lives of people who battle every day, in and out, doing jobs that no one wants to see.

What made me particularly proud, after “Kenny” won all those major awards and achieved the success it has, is seeing our industry and our people able to walk down the street with pride, knowing what they have done to make this industry a better place.

People now recognize them for their good and their hard work, this fairness, and their due diligence.

So, I say well done to every supplier and person who plays a part in this industry. You should all be proud of what you do and the contribution you make.”  

FYI … Here is one of many experiences from Splashdown that were used in “Kenny.” This is the Bathurst 1000, a “notorious” motor race in the 1980s and 1990s. At this event, it was tradition for intoxicated fans to set fire to “anything and everything” after the last race (this included portable toilets and toilet blocks)! Splashdown’s goal was to pick up their equipment prior to the fires. You can see the fires on the right of the photo.

WORK IN NEW ZEALAND – 2017-2018

As if covering all of Australia was not enough, Splashdown had “opportunities overseas” as Glenn referenced these jobs. He says that “one memorable job was supplying toilets for the production crew of “Survivor” while filming in New Zealand which we call the country across the ditch.”

For those of us not familiar with the geographic relationship between these two countries, the distance from Melbourne, Australia and New Zealand is 2,500 to 2,650 kilometers (1,550 to 1,650 miles) depending on your arrival city in New Zealand. Add in a time difference of 2-3 hours, depending on the time of year, and that “across the ditch” is enormous!

PHOTO HISTORY

There are countless additional stories and remembrances of Splashdown’s success throughout the years. Splashdown was kind enough to provide a few pictures of their memorable history:

Boxing legend, Muhammad Ali, sporting a Splashdown hat at the 1998 AFL (Australian Football League) Grand Final. Per Splashdown’s Facebook post “Ali was swamped by photographers and took refuge in a staff vehicle. He was humble enough to sign an autograph and take a photo in our hat!”

2014 City of Surf to Perth. Similar to “Across the Ditech” (Australia to New Zealand), Melbourne to Perth is roughly 2,700 kilometers (1,680) miles. Splashdown will literally go to any lengths to service its customers!

Spalshdown is preparing to transport units on a barge across the Yarra River for an event. No logistical hurdle is too great for this innovative company!

Splashdown’s innovative toilet blocks at an Air Show in the 1990s.

For comparison, a 2017 Air Show. The company continues to innovate and to improve customer experience just as they had done some quarter of a century prior.

One of the premiere events in the World – the Formula 1 Grand Prix of Australia. This annual event requires quality accommodations. Splashdown wins this race as evidenced by their equipment in the Hospitality Suite!

A winning combination!

LOOKING AT SPLASHDOWN’S SUCCESS THROUGH THE YEARS

“Innovation is the driver of Splashdown’s growth.” This quote from Glenn Preusker is profound. He describes the key ideas that are at the heart of the company:

• Innovation is continuous: Splashdown aims to stay at the “sharp edge” of development rather than becoming complacent.

• Technology is central to operations: This includes evolving toilet designs, vacuum systems, basins, urinals, and other facility technologies.

• Sustainability matters: Reducing water consumption, minimizing flushing requirements, and using reusable materials are presented as important development priorities.

• Vertical integration has supported growth: Splashdown developed its own fleet of waste tankers, trailers, trucks, and other equipment rather than relying entirely on external providers.

• The business has diversified around its core product: What began primarily with toilet blocks has expanded into a broader operational ecosystem involving waste management, engineering, transport, and supporting equipment.

• Infrastructure has grown with the business: The Melbourne head office includes waste-disposal treatment facilities and an engineering operation that builds and supports the company’s equipment.

• Recent innovation: Vacuum toilets, basins and urinals have been incorporated into the growing fleet.

40 YEARS OF FAMILY, COMMITMENT, AND SERVICE

What better way to reflect back upon and to celebrate the history of this longtime industry leader than in the words of its founder and leader, Glenn Preusker:

“This year marks 40 years of our company’s operation, and 40 years is a wonderful testament to a company that has remained strong, continued to develop, and stayed true to its word in supporting both our clients and our people.

For me personally, one of the greatest highlights is seeing my three children now working in and helping run the company.

My son is our General Manager. My eldest daughter is Head of Marketing and Special Projects, and my youngest daughter manages our office and administration.

What makes this particularly special is that they didn’t simply come straight into the family business. They each went out into the wider world, built their own careers, gained experience, and learned from different environments before eventually coming back to the fold.

To have them now involved in the company is one of my greatest achievements. Together with my wife, we feel incredibly proud, grateful, and blessed to see our family continuing to build on what we started 40 years ago.

THE SPLASHDOWN FAMILY

This wonderful family includes from left to right:

Erica … Hayley … Glenn – Father … Jenny – Mother … Ryan

One thing I’ve come to realize through this industry is that we make a difference to people’s lives. We might sometimes play a small part, but it is an important part.

Every event relies on the people and the businesses behind the scenes to make things work, and those of us who provide essential services have an important responsibility to do our job well.

So, on our 40^th Anniversary, I want to acknowledge and congratulate everyone in our industry – our competitors, our colleagues, our suppliers, our customers and all the people who work tirelessly behind the scenes.

We are all part of an industry that helps make people’s experiences better, and I’m proud to have been part of it for the past 40 years.

Most importantly, I’m incredibly proud of what we have built, the people who have been part of our journey, and now, most of all, the opportunity to see the next generation carry it forward.

So, I say well done to every supplier and every person who plays a part in this industry. You should all be proud of what you do and the contribution you make.”

FINAL THOUGHTS

“Kenny” popularized our industry in a comedic way while at the same time illustrating the importance of portable sanitation. While providing units for the 2000 Sydney Summer Olympics introduced Splashdown to the world, “Kenny” made Splashdown a household name in our industry. Glenn Preusker’s founding, innovation, growth and expansion of his company is inspiration for all portable sanitation companies.

In our initial conversation, Glenn shared with me one of his favorite motivational phrases that he adheres to and that he shares with others, “walk along the edge of the knife and never find the point.” His explanation is to “stay sharp and keep on cutting, for once you reach the point of the knife, the job I over.” Splashdown is still working and innovating – their job is far from over. Happy Anniversary!

A SPECIAL THANKS TO MIKE PEDERSON, SATELLITE INDUSTRIES, AND GLENN PREUSKER FOR THEIR HELP AND SUPPORT IN COMPILING THIS ARTICLE.