John Kline Septic Featured by American Liquid Waste Magazine

"With more than 60 years of experience, John Kline Septic Services in Salunga, Pennsylvania is probably the oldest operating septic service company we’ve covered."

We were honored to be featured this month by a top industry publication, American Liquid Waste Magazine. The article detailed our company's history and growth over 4 generations and 60 years in the septic business.

The company was actually founded in 2012 by John Kline and his two sons, Keaton and Kyle. But it is based on the work of their grandfather, Marshall Kline who bought his own septic service truck and began operating in 1955. As we have shown in previous posts, this period in history was the dawn of the professional septic service company in America. Such outfits tended to be owned and operated by one man, serving an entire, sometimes metropolitan, area, and when competition cropped up, the showdowns could become especially tense.

Marshall ran the small business from the family farm in Columbia, PA offering just septic tank pumping. Compared to the multi-faceted septic companies we cover today, that doesn’t sound like much. But back then, life moved quite a bit slower, and the capacity of a single truck was enough to keep a family business alive and thriving.

Marshall Jr. bought the company from his mother, Dorothy Kline after Marshall Sr. passed away. In the years before that, the elder Kline had taught Marshall Jr. everything he knew about business, about delivering competitive customer service in a field where the competition is fierce. Marshall Sr. passed his knowledge of the septic business onto his son. But most importantly, he passed an understanding of what it takes not only to get ahead in life and build a thriving business but also what it means to earn that competitive edge.

“Dad told me that being in business is about doing the job no one else can or wants to do. But being the best means doing it for the customer so that at the end of the day, they are the ones walking away with more value. ‘Do that,’ he told me, ‘and they will stick by you through the thick of it. In our line of work, that’s a big deal.'”

Marshall Jr. moved the business to Salunga, PA. The family expanded their base of operations and eventually moved the septic business to the Harrisburg Pike, where it stands today. Through the 90s, Marshall Jr.’s son, John Kline, with the help of his brother Dave and sister, Marsha, nurtured the company with a fiery determination. Their work grew Kline’s Septic from a small PA outfit into the leading septic and grease service company in the region.

In 2012, the company was re-established under the current name, and they continue to provide the same world-class level of customer service with a bigger crew, a massive fleet, and a broader collection of capabilities.

To continue reading, click here for the full article.