Spain is home to 25 self-storage companies with 45 facilities. In May, nearly two dozen industry representatives traveled to Madrid to vote for a new and enlarged board of directors for Associación Española de Self-Storage (AESS). Many attendees learned for the first time about the achievements of the founding board of directors, and the association’s ambitious plans. The meeting was held at Spain’s earliest purpose-built self-storage center, the Bluespace Self Storage facility near Madrid, formerly an Easy-box Self Storage.
The new board is led by founding member Joseph Collin, president; Bartomeu Fiol, vice president; Josep Catalá, secretary general; Fermín García-Serrano, treasurer; and Maite Pacheco, webmaster. Officers hail from several regions of Spain, and have experience ranging from one-site startups to multinationals. The AESS, founded in 2004, has 12 company members.
The association plans to develop guidelines to assist members collecting rent from late or defaulting tenants. With the threat of terrorism, the board also will develop a model disaster plan.
Other concerns include municipal ordinances governing fire safety and parking spaces; because zoning regulations vary by region and municipality, developers often struggle with them. The association also intends to develop a website.
Industry suppliers may now join the AESS as associate members. Felipe Vius, Spain sales manager for Steel Storage/PTI, attended May’s meeting as the first candidate.
Rodney Walker, from The Federation of European Self Storage Associations, addressed the board as guest speaker, explaining how AESS members can benefit from the experience of European and U.K. storage owners.
Joseph Collins is the general manager for Reserva in Barcelona and president of the Spanish Self Storage Association. For more information, e-mail [email protected].