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Although 2023 is already several weeks old, I would like to take the opportunity to still wish you a Happy New Year. Hopefully you started the year calm and healthy.

You may know our company Universal Storage Containers (USC) for its white, insulated outdoor containers that can be easily divided into up to eight compartments. Since 2018, Dutch brothers Jan-Hein and Maarten Streppel, active in the storage industry for more than 15 years, have joined forces with USC. In this column, they share what happened this past quarter.

From the plane from Dublin to the Netherlands, I am already writing the last article of this year. I am returning from a delivery in Clarecastle, followed by a meeting with some prospects. The first delivery this year was in Ireland and so was the last. Nothing is more fun than a second order, because then you can be sure your products will be liked and our customers will make money on them. This time it wasn’t raining but was freezing. A good opportunity to shoot beautiful images with our drone, which we will post online soon.

We recently successfully completed two deliveries in Sweden at the Eskilstuna and Västerås sites. This was the second phase. We reported on the first phase earlier in our newsletter. At the request of client Kontain AB, our engineer Danny was present during the three weeks of delivery and erection of our Z-Boxes.

Last time we looked at the possible security measures you can take outside the self-storage location and around the entrance. This time it is the turn of the “inside,” again seen through the eyes of the customer.

AISI, the Italian association of self storage operators, again held its annual Self Storage Conference in Milan, with many operators from all over Europe in attendance. USC was there, of course, and Jan-Hein shares his experiences.

Maarten and Jan-Hein Streppel had planned many activities in England recently. After crossing the Channel by ferry, they visited customers, joined the SSA UK Networking Dinner in London and exhibited USC for the first time at the Movers & Storers Show in Warwickshire. A report.

We recently placed our Z-Boxes on the premises of Storage Zeeland, the storage company in Zierikzee owned by Martin van Rijn and Jascha de Jong. In addition to the existing storage shed, they can now offer outdoor storage, a long-held wish. We asked Jascha about her experiences with USC, the delivery process and initial customer feedback.

During the FEDESSA trade show, as ISS Award-winner “Best container,” we were honored to present the USC Innovation Award. We did so to DSOC, a promising English company that is developing site security, surveillance and facial recognition software and is already very successful. An enlightening interview with Ant Hebblethwaite, Sales Manager of DSOC.

Recently the newest branch of Salland Storage, in Almelo Aa-dorp, opened its doors. Maarten Streppel: “We are very pleased with this expansion. With this we were able to help a client to give a good use to a fallow industrial site. So our containers are ideally suited for that, the first reservations are already in.”

The way your self-storage park is secured plays an increasingly important role in a customer’s decision to use your location. Of course, you may well believe that your storage location is secure enough. What matters, however, is that the customer in particular feels that his or her stored items are in safe hands with you. Otherwise, the deal is off. And that’s the last thing you want….

An elderly center in Breda was looking for a new and safe parking spot for bicycles. We devised a solution for them by cleverly using the capabilities of our multi-purpose storage container.

Live to the conference! It had been a while since we could greet colleagues, associates and suppliers live again, so we were very much looking forward to that. And we were not disappointed. The interesting program and beautiful location on Portugal’s Algarve helped with that to the fullest.

The self storage parks we build for our customers are getting bigger and bigger. As a result, we increasingly get requests from customers to be present on site during delivery and construction. Our engineer Danny Schmidt, now quite experienced in the execution field, tells us more about it.

Inside Self Storage’s (ISS) annual reader survey once again produced several winners. What did not change was the winner of the Award for Best Portable Container. Because that is once again USC. And we are very proud of that again this year!