Featured on Building Nebraska: The Stahla Services Story of Excellence and Growth

We’re excited to share that Stahla Services was recently featured on the Building Nebraska podcast, where Grant and Erin Stahla discussed the growth of the company and our commitment to our industry.

What We Discussed: Positioning Premium Solutions in Everyday Scenarios

When most people first encounter our trailers, it’s often at a wedding or event where permanent facilities simply aren’t available. That moment of discovery reveals something important: portable sanitation has evolved far beyond what many expect.

Our commercial partnerships represent a significant portion of our work. When retailers like Target or Home Depot remodel their facilities, they contact us because maintaining their customer experience is paramount. We arrive with a bathroom trailer that keeps their service seamless during construction. Similarly, new construction sites have become major clients, as has the special events industry. We’re also expanding into locker room trailers and other specialized mobile facilities that support diverse operational needs.

Serving Diverse Markets: From Weddings to Disaster Response

The beauty of what we do at Stahla Services lies in the breadth of applications for our equipment. Grant shared with the podcast hosts how our fleet serves everyone from families hosting outdoor celebrations to corporations managing multi-week remodeling projects. Our ADA restroom trailers ensure that accessibility is never compromised, regardless of location or event type.

We’ve developed capacity options ranging from our 2-stall restroom trailer for intimate gatherings to our 8-stall restroom trailer for large-scale events and construction sites. Our shower facilities range from our 2-stall shower trailer to our 16-station shower trailer, which becomes essential during disaster response situations or when supporting work camps in remote locations. Grant mentioned scenarios like hurricane relief efforts where we’re supporting 100 people at a man camp, demonstrating that our work often serves critical humanitarian needs.

Real-World Impact: Stories of Perseverance and Partnership

During the podcast, we shared some of the most challenging yet defining moments of our journey. Grant was candid about the early days: operating out of a shop on the outskirts of Lincoln with no insulation, no running water, and just a few porta-potties ourselves. The irony wasn’t lost on us that we were building a business around quality restroom facilities while working in such sparse conditions.

Perhaps the most powerful story involved our struggles with cash flow over the first 11 years of operation. As an asset-heavy company, we face a unique challenge: we must purchase trucks and trailers before we can rent them out and generate revenue. This creates a constant cycle where growth actually consumes cash rather than generating it immediately. Grant and Erin openly discussed having serious conversations about bankruptcy, but the two remained steadfast in their support, reminding each other that their marriage and faith came first, above all business concerns.

One of our favorite “God moments” came when we were actively seeking a head of operations. We thought we knew exactly what our business needed. Instead, we found Ellen, who became our head of sales and operations—a two-for-one blessing we hadn’t even realized we desperately needed. For the first 10 years of our company, Grant and Erin openly admitted they simply weren’t good at sales. Ellen’s arrival transformed our business trajectory and proved that sometimes we don’t know what we need until the right person appears.

Design Excellence: Built for Performance and Durability

Stahla’s explained to the podcast audience how dramatically the industry has evolved since the purchase of the first trailer 12 years ago. Taking the infrastructure you’d find in a building or house and putting it into a box on wheels is inherently complicated, but manufacturers have risen to the challenge. Today’s trailers feature no wood materials, which means they don’t mold or absorb water. They’re exceptionally well-lit and heavily insulated to stay cool in summer heat and warm during winter conditions.

The stairs and platforms have become bigger and safer, addressing accessibility concerns that older models sometimes overlooked. Our Premium 1-Stall ADA Restroom Trailer and Premium 3-Stall ADA Restroom Trailer exemplify this commitment to accessibility and safety. Every trailer in our fleet represents the latest in design thinking, where functionality meets genuine care for the user experience.

Operational Excellence: The Stahla Logistics Advantage

One aspect of our business that Grant and Erin are particularly excited to discuss is Stahla Logistics, our nationwide coordination service. We maintain a backend system with over 5,000 companies integrated into our CRM with sophisticated mapping software. This network allows us to serve clients anywhere in the United States, even in locations where we don’t physically operate our own equipment.

When we receive a request in Florida, Texas, or California, we can immediately identify local operators who have the specific inventory needed—whether that’s a small trailer, a 6-stall restroom trailer, shower trailer, or decontamination trailer. We then coordinate the rental, delivery, setup, and maintenance while managing the customer service, finance, and backend logistics. On complex jobs, we might coordinate 10 trucks arriving at a single site in one day to pump waste tanks, fill water tanks, fix air conditioners, and ensure everything runs flawlessly.

This logistics powerhouse serves as the knowledge center for our niche industry. We’re building expertise not just in equipment but in the intricate coordination required to support complicated, multi-faceted projects across the country.

Our Mission: Faith, Service, and Integrity

As we’ve shared before, Grant and Erin Stahla are driven by a mission that goes beyond business. They are passionate about redefining portable sanitation through a company built on caring for people, delivering service excellence, and leading with faith. This includes their dedicated support of organizations like Love Justice International. This core commitment to integrity and service is woven into every interaction at Stahla Services.

During the podcast, Erin discussed our first core value: humble leadership. We recently updated this from simply “humility” because we believe every single person can be a leader in their role, regardless of whether they hold a management title. You can lead when you’re not in charge. This philosophy shapes our hiring approach, where we prioritize culture fit over skills, trusting that with the right values and attitude, skills can be taught.

Looking Forward: Growth Through Service

Grant and Erin shared their vision for the future with the Building Nebraska audience. We’re continuously working to diversify our offerings, expanding beyond restroom and shower trailers to include locker room facilities, laundry trailers, decontamination solutions, and support for office trailers with comprehensive water and waste management. Our goal isn’t just to have more products—it’s to bring more value to customers through better service, stronger relationships, and superior equipment.

We remain a Nebraska-based company, rooted in the Omaha area, still answering the phone personally, still showing up for our clients. As we round out each year and plan for the next, we focus on strategy, business development, and refining efficiency. We’re committed to providing not just equipment but comprehensive solutions that demonstrate how much we value the people who use our facilities.

Grateful for the Platform

We are deeply grateful to the Building Nebraska podcast team and the Engler Agribusiness Entrepreneurship Program at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln for providing this platform to share our story. As Grant reflected during the conversation, “We had no expectations of this. We’re so thankful for where we are.” That gratitude extends to every client who trusts us, every team member who contributes their talents, and every partner in our nationwide network who helps us serve excellence.

Whether you’re planning a special event, managing a construction project, responding to an emergency, or coordinating a commercial remodel, we’re here to ensure that people are valued and treated with dignity wherever they are. That simple principle guided us from a metal shop with no facilities to where we stand today, and it will continue to guide every decision we make.

Get Your Personalized Quote Today! Contact Stahla Services at 844-900-3190 or visit our quote page to discuss your specific needs. You can also explore our full range of solutions in our shop or learn more about us and our commitment to service excellence. We look forward to serving you.