The Self Storage Association of Australasia (SSAA) honored storage operators and suppliers during its recent 25th annual industry awards. Fort Knox Self Storage in Vermont South, Victoria, Australia, was awarded Facility of the Year, and Capital Self Storage of Canberra, Australia, was recognized as Small Operator of the Year.
The Vermont South location is the newest facility for Fort Knox, which operates eight storage properties. The facility offers indoor storage, elevators, individual door alarms, “tamper-proof” locks, smoke and motion sensors, and other security features, according to the company website.
Headquartered in Australia’s capital city, Capital Self Storage has served customers for 25 years and operates four locations, according to its website. In addition to traditional residential and business storage, the company offers archival and boat/RV storage services.
U-Store-It Self Storage, which operates eight facilities in South Australia, received the Upgrade of the Year award for its location in Keswick. The facility on Everard Avenue offers a range of unit sizes and vehicle storage.
Self-storage software provider Centreforce Technology Group Pty. Ltd. was given the SSAA’s inaugural Service Member of the Year award for its customer service and product excellence, according to a company press release. Based in Strathpine, Queensland, Australia, Centreforce is the exclusive international representative for SMD Software Inc.'s SiteLink Web Edition. The company offers its RapidStor online-reservations system to users in Australia, New Zealand and the United States. It also provides Access Ezy access-control and digital-alarm systems, builds websites for self-storage operators, and provides mobile-technology services.
“This award is for all of our staff and suppliers who all work together to deliver tools for self-storage sites to make more money,” said Dallas Dogger, managing director of Centreforce, adding that the company has been building the SiteLink brand in Australia and Southeast Asia for seven years. “We have experienced solid growth in new websites as well, with many self-storage sites taking advantage of locally developed RapidStor’s online move-in technology delivering thousands of high-value move-ins via the Web.”
Centreforce was also a finalist in the Innovation Award category, which was won by National Storage for its initial public offering. National Storage operates 69 self-storage facilities throughout Australia. The company formed in December 2000, following the merger of Stowaway Self Storage, National Mini Storage and Premier Self Storage, according to the company website.
The SSAA represents more than 1,100 self-storage facilities across Australia and New Zealand, representing about 92 percent of the region’s available storage space, according to its website.