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It Takes More Than a Known Name to Be a Great Septic Company

August 13, 2025

Dan’s grandfather, Arthur “Arkie” Rogers, was a colorful local figure. A pilot by age 17, he was known to fly from Maine to Alaska in his own plane. He was also a born entrepreneur whose career included working as a mechanic at a bakery, establishing a regional airport, starting his own local store and operating a trash pickup service. He founded Arkie Rogers Septic in 1964, focusing on septic pumping and excavation and ran the business until 1988.

At that point, Rogers’ father Dave came on board to take over the one-truck operation, which continued to offer septic pumping with a sideline of excavation work.

“I was just getting out of school and joined my father and my mother, Joan, who was instrumental in running the office,” Rogers says. “But I already believed that I could be the person to lead the company one day.”

Within the first five years of his arrival, the business grew to three septic service trucks and the company earned some large commercial pumping accounts, including coffee and doughnut chains, gas stations and grocery stores.

Growing new business

However, much of the region, including the town of Windham, continues to be served by septic systems. With population growth in the region driving new business, the company began to scale back its secondary businesses of excavation and commercial pumping to concentrate primarily on residential septic pumping and minor system repairs, including baffles, risers, covers and filters.

Today, the company employs nine people, including office staff. Rogers, now 53, runs the business after his father and mother began to step back in 2019.

Rogers remains a working executive. “I’m available to do whatever I have to do to keep the business going from day to day,” he says. “If someone calls in sick, I’ll be driving the septic truck that day.”

His son, Sam, has been working with the business for the last three years of high school on weekends and during summer vacations. “He’s going to college to take some business courses, but we hope to have him back with the business when he graduates,” Rogers says.

A recycling fleet

The company operates four recycler-style septic trucks, all equipped with aluminum tanks. A 2008 Freightliner with a 4,800-gallon tank (3,600 sludge/1,200 water) with a Juggler system by SUPERVAC was built out by Labrie Group.

Three additional trucks were built out by Omega Liquid Waste Solutions — a 2019 Western Star with a 5,000-gallon tank (4,000 sludge/1,000 water), a 2022 Western Star with a 5,000-gallon tank (4,000 sludge/1,000 water) and a 2024 Kenworth with a 4,800-gallon tank (3,800 sludge/1,000 water).

Rogers buys only recycler trucks because of the savings on fuel and reduced disposal costs. Each truck is equipped with a SeeSnake Mini camera and a locator from RIDGID tools.

All about aluminum

Rogers also prefers aluminum tanks for each of his septic trucks. “They’re lighter and easier on fuel,” he says.

The company also operates a John Deere 4600 with a backhoe for installing risers and completing small system repairs.

Concrete tanks are supplied by Genest Precast of Sanford, Maine. Septic system components, primarily from Polylok, are supplied by Blake Equipment, of Portland, Maine.

While the employee roster has remained steady in recent years, Rogers notes that hiring new employees remains a challenge. He’s not looking to train workers from scratch, but most applicants with some experience in advanced service machinery are 40 years of age and older.

“I buy my septic trucks new and those trucks are not cheap,” he says. “You can’t just send anybody out on this equipment or you’re asking for trouble. I’ve tried it, trust me.”

All equipment is housed in a heated 4,700-square-foot shop that the company built in 2023. Most of the truck maintenance is performed in-house.

“I fix most of the trucks myself,” Rogers says. “I rarely need to get anybody else involved.”

The company’s service area covers a 35- to 50-mile radius from home base, including some islands off the coast. However, Rogers will stretch that to about 70 miles for some commercial pumping opportunities.

Emergency work keeps winters busy

While the warmer months are the company’s busiest periods, Arkie Rogers Septic finds plenty to do during the cold winters, when emergency pumping calls become more frequent, especially for the area’s numerous vacation homes.

“When people use those homes regularly, they continue to run warmer water through the pipes and septic tanks,” Rogers says. “When we get a call that the pipes to the drainfield are frozen, it’s futile to defrost them if people only show up every weekend. The pipes will refreeze when they’re not home during the week. Instead, we use the septic tank as a holding tank and keep pumping it every couple of weeks until the April thaw.”

Rogers says that the company’s challenges include waste disposal issues. While land application of septage was once allowed, all waste must now be transported to municipal treatment centers in larger cities. The closest is Portland, about a 20-minute drive southeast of Windham.

“The treatment plants are limited in how many gallons they can take on one trip, and they have limited hours for offloading,” Rogers says. “It really adds to our fuel costs, not to mention cutting into our schedules to accommodate their timing.”

One simple innovation has helped improve the company’s bottom line — accepting credit card payments online. “We added that capability about five years ago,” says Rogers. “When you make it easier for someone to pay you, they take advantage of that ability. We don’t chase money as much as we used to.”

Educating the consumer

Customer education remains a priority. Among the many jobs the septic company has handled over the years, a few stand out, including a commercial customer who had no idea the property was served by a septic system until it flooded the basement after 10 years of use. Using a SeeSnake camera, Rogers found the septic tank riser paved over under a parking lot.

“For one homeowner, we found their septic tank under the basement floor,” he says. “Someone built an addition over it and it was forgotten. We had to pump it out through the basement window.”

Rogers attends the Water & Wastewater Equipment, Treatment & Transport Show at least every other year. “For me, it’s a chance to see the latest in technology,” he says. “If an innovation can help me improve the bottom line, I need to know about it.”

Arkie Rogers Septic remains a fixture on the local business landscape, but Rogers isn’t satisfied with word of mouth alone. He advertises through his website, Facebook and local newspapers to keep his business front and center for new arrivals to the area.

“Our name is a bit of an institution around here and that gives us a lot of instant recognition,” Rogers says. “But it’s timely, meticulous and professional service that keeps people coming back.”

Article written by Peter Kneter for Pumper Magazine, August 2025 : It Takes More Than a Known Name to Be a Great Septic Company