Published September 2001

Democon fills need by hauling, recycling debris

By John Wolcott
Herald Business Journal Editor

Lynnwood-based Democon has carved a profitable niche in the demolition debris disposal industry by diverting the material to a recycling center instead of a landfill. But owners Larry Wilson and Guy Hampton have been so successful that they are burying themselves with new business.

“It’s been just crazy,” said Hampton, who’s based in the Lynnwood office while Wilson handles the truck dispatch hub in Fife. “By the end of 2001, we expect to haul and recycle more than 100 million pounds of debris that would have normally gone to landfills.”

Although the privately owned business doesn’t release exact revenue figures, Hampton said business was up 150 percent in 2000 from 1999 figures. This year, he said he expects Democon’s income to grow by another 100 percent compared to last year.

Billing themselves as “selective demolition specialists” who haul and recycle construction, demolition and land-clearing debris, Wilson and Hampton have 12 hauling trucks, more than 500 work-site debris containers and a dozen Bobcat loaders. Hauling contracts often reach a million dollars, and employment grows to as many as 70 when business peaks.

Aggressive and determined marketers, the two men have carved their own niche out of a highly competitive arena once dominated by established debris haulers. They’ve done it by hard work, creative marketing, sharp-pencil bidding, using the right equipment and focusing on recycling debris, not just hauling and dumping it.

“Our message to contractors and building owners is that debris doesn’t have to be separated at the job site, which saves them time and money. We pick up everything in one container and deliver it to a licensed recycling facility that separates, sorts and recycles it,” Hampton said.

Hampton and Wilson met with Sellen Construction on a Microsoft project in Redmond and found they were hiring laborers to separate debris on the work site and hiring forklift operators to move everything to the right bins.

“We saved them thousands of dollars by picking up their unsorted debris in single containers and then recycling it through Recovery 1,” Hampton said. “That met their contract’s recycling plan requirements.”

Democon works closely with Recovery 1 Inc., a construction, demolition and land-clearing debris recycling center in Tacoma. Most of the center’s materials, 77 percent, come from construction and demolition contractors, the rest from land-clearing operations, stumps and brush, used pallets and miscellaneous materials.

The company uses magnets, track-hoes with hydraulic thumb-grippers and hand labor to sort and recycle concrete, scrap steel, rocks, bricks, aluminum, copper, topsoil and even garbage. Less than 1 percent of everything received at the center ends up in a landfill, Hampton said.

To help establish its regional reputation as well as promote its business, Democon has joined Associated General Contractors, Associated Builders & Contractors and the Washington State Recycling Association. A significant source of new business also comes from its prominent, red-lettered, gray containers at sites throughout the region, Hampton said.

“Our service performance has sold us to contractors,” said Hampton, who also continues to solicit demolition work for Democon’s own crew, whether it’s a city block being razed, tearing down an aged school building or gutting a department store to be retrofitted for a new role.

But recycling tons of debris has proven to be a niche the firm excels in handling, he said.

“At first, we did just our own demolition, but other contractors saw our containers on job sites and wanted to rent them and have us pick them up,” Hampton said. “Then, the volume we were dealing with made recycling with Recovery 1 a good fit for us. It’s affordable for us; cheaper than taking it to the landfill in Kitsap County, where we used to go; and people like the idea that we’re recycling instead of putting debris in landfill.”

Democon handles work primarily from Everett and Marysville south to Olympia, though there have been special projects in Bellingham and Ellensburg. Many contracts are with contractors working for companies such as Microsoft, Safeco and others who require them to include a recycling plan in their demolition or construction bid so the company knows how the debris will be handled.

While many competitors might want to duplicate Democon’s debris pick-up and recycling program, Hampton said the company has developed a distinct advantage that’s hard to compete with.

“We’ve spent a lot of time and money to set our system up so we can compete pricewise with standard haulers,” Hampton said. “That’s hard for a competitor to catch up to. Now that we’re established, we’re getting good support on the construction side and showing steady growth. We never expected it to be like this when we started, but recycling has sure been good exposure for us as well as good business.”

For more information, contact Democon via mail to 13906 Highway 99, Lynnwood, WA 98037, or call 425-787-5839.

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