The Vacant Freestanding Building After Box Trotters
Redevelopment
Introduction
Self storage owners, developers, and managers
are racing to find the best ways to add value to their existing facilities
while meeting new service demands that competition and consumers are putting
on them.
To these parties with an interest in self storage,
this means that you must keep your pencil sharp to be included among the
winners of this competitive race to the future finish line. From implementing
profitable site development strategies and taking advantage of existing
property options to delivering the customer more convenience and time savings
for his or her storage needs, Box Trotters has the package you need.
Background
One of the hottest tickets among contenders of
this heavy-weight competition is containerized storage services. The majority
of companies rolling out this service are providing the delivery of a standard
wooden storage vault that has always been used by the moving industry.
Delivering Wooden Storage Containers
Does the delivery of containers for storage sound
familiar to you? The president of a large self storage REIT was recently
quoted as saying that our 230 cubic feet containers are better than our
competitors becasue ours are 5% larger. Well, why don't you fit 4 of those
BIG containers into one of our Bigger containers, MR. President!
You've probably been hearing about the concept
rolled out by several of the largest REITs in the industry. The system
and the containers that they use, however, compared to the Box Trotters
system, doesn't completely add up for some strategies. For instance, a
container, (a wooden box, 4' deep x 8' high x 8' wide) is delivered to
the consumer on a converted "sheet-rock" truck. The truck carries
the fork lift with it. When the truck arrives at the customers location,
the driver must disconnect the fork lift, unload the wooden storage containers,
and re-attach the fork lift to the truck.
What Happens When it Rains?
When it rains the process can become soggy and
waterlogged. The wooden storage vaults are okay and good for several years
unless they get wet. Once they're wet, they're ready for the trash pile.
Box Trotters Delivers the Best of Both Worlds
The Box Trotters Technology delivers the best
of many worlds to the progressive self storage developer, owner, and manager
looking to increase his service options and his development opportunities.
The Box Trotters system combines the wooden storage
vaults with intermodal containerization and intermodal transportation,
a growing segment of the transportation industry.
Box Trotters has developed a mobile frame system
specifically designed to make deliveries in tight congested areas, such
as apartment area parking lots and multifamily communities. But that's
not all. The Box Trotters system can be expanded and contracted by adding
and subtracting containers as the daily demand for capacity fluctuates
with the varying needs of consumers. From one wooden storage container
all the way up to a truck with an intermodal shipping container, 2 wooden
storage containers(the equivalent of a 28' truck), to a trailer system,
all residential and commercial consumers of mobile storage can be serviced
with efficiency. All these various equipment combinations help the developer
to meet today's storage demands while integrating standard equipment for
long distance transport in the future.
Confidence Levels are High!
Judging by the amount of money being invested,
it is beginning to look like mobile storage will be a dominating force
in the future of the self storage industry. For example, one of the largest
self storage REITs has invested a reported $200 million to meet its 1997
goal of rolling out 60 to 70 locations nationwide. It is moving aggressively
and briskly to quickly capture market share before competition will have
a chance to catch up. And rightly so. But based on hearsay and speculation,
backed by some credible sources it won't be long before this operator will
begin to enjoy secondary benefits to its primary benefit, which is to sell
storage to consumers locally. There is also the possibility that a percentage
of consumers will request their containers be shipped elsewhere in the
nation or worldwide, for a price, of course. With the full service moving
industry being the first competition to respond with words, not a face
off in service delivery, one may wonder why it should concern itself with
competition from the moving and storage industry. Its fiercest competitor
may be coming from it own ranks, another self storage competitor.
The Race is Getting Hot!
But is one contender going off on the wrong track?
The president of the National Moving and Storage Association is sounding
the alarm for movers, claiming that this company is so well organized,
well financed, and well distributed that it can potentially wipe out a
large section of the full service moving industry's market share almost
overnight! Hey movers! Is your association serving your best interests?
Will you miss the boat? Should your association president be inspiring
you to move your assets in line to compete against this new business that's
paving the way, marketing wise, for you to jump in an fight? Or should
your association start asking you to up the ante to fight them in court
while the competition makes enough money in a short time to fight the entire
court battle while the moving industry is pulling money out of their pockets?
This company is exercising the basic right of every American. In case some
people have forgotten, it's called "free enterprise" and competition.
Box Trotters, with our proprietary mobile, modular
storage technology is a prerequisite for those wanting to generate additional
income for their project by incorporating the moving into and out of storage,
as well as the long distance relocation process with more savings of time,
labor, and money for the consumer. Many developers are implementing a number
of value enhancing features to their existing properties as well as those
that they will acquire or develop. If you're focused on developing a service
profile at your facility that appeals to the time conscience consumer,
then you've to come the right place with your questions.
Their Site Limitations, Our Site Advantages!
Developers adding the wooden storage vault option
to their operations will quickly find that they usually must find a building
with at least 28' ceilings so that the containers can be stacked 3 high
for maximum profitability. With the Box Trotters system, the containers
can be stacked outside, thus maximizing site selection and property cost
variables.
The Zoning Issue
Depending on where you're planning to develop
your facility, rezoning may be a requirement before you can start construction.
For example, there are some town zoning rules that prevent a developer
from getting plans approved and a zoning reissuance passed. But that's
not to say that the demand for storage is not there. In fact, the demand
for storage may be overwhelming and only barely being serviced by a few
facilities(at 110% occupancy). This may be the ideal combination for a
Box Trotters mobile storage application. In this case, the facility can
be constructed somewhere out of the city's zoning boundary. Then, with
the mobile storage system, the storage containers can be shuttled in and
out of the local community, thereby servicing the overwhelming demand for
convenient storage service.
Box Trotters Broadens Site Selection Options
In building and selecting their assets for the
race, developers are choosing from a wide variety of property types. From
existing structures and developed property, to adapting facilities to varying
terrain considerations, developers are proving that there is a wide variety
of options from which to choose for developing self storage properties.
With the Box Trotters techniques, and innovative equipment options, they
can consider: Railroad properties, retail properties, existing self storage
property, and abandoned manufacturing sites (According to Bentonville based
Wal-Mart, they have available 33 properties for sale and lease in the Carolinas.).
The property selection process provides the developer
with the highest and best use storage option with higher value to the consumer
in terms of convenient ordering, time and labor savings to consumers as
part of your service profile of their projects.
Patented Equipment
Box Trotters is so confident of being successful
and winning the race to provide more time savings and convenience for the
consumer of self service, that we've gotten patents on our specially designed
and manufactured modular, mobile equipment technology that allows storage
to be delivered to the consumer's door-step.
The Future Shipping Long Distance
According to our sources who are playing a partial
role in one of these large REITs (supplying their retail outlets for service
distribution of mobile storage), over 6,000 storage containers were shipped
nationwide from their manufacturing plant. According to these sources,
this is only the beginning of their shipping schedule. They are expecting
to be shipping for years to come! But in years to come, they are also expected
to begin shipping from service center to service center as they expect
demand to grow for the long distance shipping of lift vans and storage
vaults through their distribution channels. But, based on their rate structure,
their lack of flexible options, and their limited shipping options, we
feel that our transportation package outperforms our competition in many
categories.
Win your Race Today with Box Trotters., the Complete
Package.
According to the transportation rate structure
of our competition, it will be difficult for them to compete on price point,
service, and the capacity required to enjoy the maximum business growth
potential beyond self storage. Using Box Trotters as your competitive tool,
these market trends offer many benefits to the self storage professional
who is in this race for the long haul.
Self Storage Is A Wall Street Recommendation
Call, fax, or E-Mail us today for all the exciting details.
