Novak adds longtime Sioux Falls hauling business

April 14, 2020

This paid piece is sponsored by Novak Sanitary Service.

After 20 years in business, Perry Schempp has hauled his last can of garbage out to his truck.

The owner of Marv’s Sanitary of Sioux Falls sold his business to Novak Sanitary Service at the beginning of April.

Schempp got into the business working for Marv’s Sanitary in Brandon in the 1990s before buying the Sioux Falls market from Marv Veldkamp in 2000.

“It helped both of us out and worked out well,” Schempp said.

He still did all service manually, which was common when he started, and for the past five years, he has run the business himself. It has meant hauling individual cans into a truck from about 400 households.

“You start to feel it,” he said. “The bending, the tossing, the carrying. You do that a couple hundred times a day all week, and it does wear on you. But it was a good time.”

Five years ago, he sold the commercial side of his business to Novak. So when it came time to transition the residential piece, the first call was a natural one.

“They’ve done a fine job. They’ve been in business over 50 years, and being as large as they are, they’re doing something right,” Schempp said. “I’ve known the staff from years ago, and they were very easy to work with, and this time it was the same way.”

Schempp and the Novak team have been going door to door together transitioning this month.

“We’re excited to help a hauler that’s provided great service for decades be able to move onto something else in life while we provide his customers with the same great service,” Novak general manager Mike Herbst said.

“We liked the opportunity to acquire his customers because he shares our culture and commitment to safety and service. That’s the kind of fit we look for when others approach us about potential acquisitions.”

The biggest transition for customers will be the addition of carts instead of their personal cans.

“But as far as their service, it will be as seamless and transparent as possible,” Herbst said.

For Schempp, the final drive around town provided a good reminder of what he loved about the job and why he feels good about the way he’s leaving it.

“My customers were the best part of it,” he said. “I got to know so many of them on a personal level, and that’s the part I’m going to miss the most. One driver I had 15 years ago said it’s the best job he’s ever had, and I agree.”

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Novak adds longtime Sioux Falls hauling business

A longtime Sioux Falls hauler is retiring and transitioning his clients to Novak Sanitary Service.

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