RedBin, a valet self-storage operator based in Brooklyn, N.Y., has hired Pete Warhurst, founder of the portable-storage company PODS, to its executive team. Warhurst will “spearhead commercial growth, raise capital and drive expansion,” according to a press release.
Warhurst, who sold PODS in 2007 for $430 million, sees growth potential in the urban-focused valet-storage model, calling it “PODS for city people.” “Mobile on-demand storage is a space that I am very familiar with and believe that these small ‘RedBins’ will be the next big thing in storage,” he said. “I wanted to be a part of it.”
Warhurst also founded EAI Systems, which developed dispatch software for police and fire departments. EAI was acquired by Bell Atlantic Corp. in 1992. The entrepreneur then invented the PODS storage container and PODZILLA transport system, which became the most well-known brand in the mobile-storage space, the release stated.
“Pete disrupted not only the traditional self-storage industry but also the van-line moving space with his PODS innovation,” said Thomas Anderson, founder and CEO of RedBin. “I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to work with Pete in this venture, as he shares my vision that RedBin will redefine how storage will work in major cities around the globe.”
Anderson, who has 25 years of experience in commercial storage and self-storage logistics, launched RedBin in New York City with a model that marries traditional self-storage and valet storage. Its valet component uses an online platform that enables customers to schedule pickup and return delivery of storage items as well as manage a visual catalog of their belongings. The company owns a storage warehouse in Brooklyn. It has roots in traditional storage, as the founders have built, owned and managed self-storage facilities in Long Island, N.Y., since 2001.
