After three years of serving as president for American Buildings Co. (ABC), Ray Napolitan has been promoted to president of the Vulcraft/Verco Group for Nucor Corp., ABCs parent company. With 10 plants nationwide, Vulcraft/Verco is the largest producer of steel joists and steel deck in the United States.

Replacing Napolitan as president of ABC is Ron Kuenkler, who has more than 30 years of experience in the metal-building industry. Kuenkler was promoted from within the Nucor family.

ABC enjoyed great strides during Napolitans tenure as president, including the establishment of the companys safety-training culture, its pay-for-performance incentive system, and business and leadership training at all levels within the company. Many community-service projects were also completed throughout every ABC division.

Napolitan also launched the process toward achieving IAS Accreditation and ISO Certification, both awarded to ABC earlier this year. Two new ground-breaking products were introduced to the market under Napolitans supervision: the SP-Cool coatings system and the ClearBay roof joist.

Headquartered in Eufaula, Ala., ABC has been designing, manufacturing and delivering metal-building systems and roofing systems to the industrial and commercial industries for more than 50 years. The company has more than 800 authorized builders.

Some self-storage tenants are model citizens. They pay on time, they are courteous in interactions with the staff, and they don't do anything bizarre enough to attract undue attention. Yet it seems whenever you ask a self-storage operator to tell you about one of his strange tenants, he doesn't have to think too hard to come up with a crazy story about one of his resident weirdos.

A discussion thread on Self-Storage Talk, the official online forum of Inside Self-Storage, is detailing the weird quirks of ongoing tenants. These aren't necessarily tales of deadbeat, awful customers who are the brink of being kicked out, but rather about unusual, quirky and perhaps creepy tenants who are strange enough to be noticed but not deviant enough to warrant an eviction or a "Sorry, you can't rent here" exclusion.

Member JamestownStorage#8 tells the story of a husband and wife filling out paperwork in her office. In the middle of the paperwork, the husband pulls out lotion, removes the wife's shoes, lifts her feet onto his lap and proceeds to massage and lotion her feet. Some people have no barriers for their affection, apparently. Another member shared a story about a tenant who insisted on visiting a pawn shop before paying for his prorate.

Of course, some managers would just as soon not rent to weirdos, so they put up as many visible blockades as possible. Members dennybeall and SMSSId shared how they post a sign about police dogs doing training exercises at the facility. That's usually effective at scaring away the seediest of tenants. Do the dogs really train there? That depends on the facility, but the sign never fails.

Unfortunately, female managers routinely deal with creepy male tenants who are hitting on them. Their advances may constitute only harmless flirting, but that doesn't stop the managers from feeling weirded out. One tenant handed his ID to a female at the time of rental and said, "Is this for professional or personal reasons." Suffice it to say, that tenant was put in a unit with cameras directed pointed at it.

Do you deal with one of the above tenant eccentricities? Or perhaps you have a unique one to add to the discussion? You can visit the thread and post your own oddity, but you must first log in or register a username.

All Around Storage in Derry, N.H., sold Oct. 7 for $1.7 million to Store It Now LLC. The climate-controlled facility has a large office that accommodates other businesses including a UPS store.

Its located in one of the fastest growing towns in southern New Hampshire. Derry has high barriers to entry for new self-storage projects and solid growth prospects. This transaction represents the first self-storage facility sold in the last 18 months in the eastern Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire markets.

Joe Mendola of NAI Norwood Group represented the buyer. NAI Norwood Group is an affiliate of NAI Global, an international commercial real estate network with more than 325 offices spanning the globe. Mendola is also a member of the Argus Self Storage Sales Network, a Denver-based network of 36 real estate broker affiliates experienced in self-storage and income property investments. 

Self-storage operators in Hawaii are enjoying increased occupancy, partly due to the multi-generations of families living at one residence.

Rather than throw out family heirlooms, furniture and other sentimental items, Hawaiians are turning to self-storage to safeguard their belongings. Hawaii also has a low square footage per capita, with few attics or basements, leaving homeowners few options for storage.

Naoi Yuen, director of business development at Hawaii Self-Storage, said the demand for storage continues to grow. There are 49 facilities in Oahu, according to Yuen. Nearly half were built between 2005 and 2008.

However, the self-storage boom has led to over building in some markets. The competition has led many operators to offer incentives including free Wi-Fi, 24-hour access, conference rooms and climate control.

Total Self Storage of Bentonville in Ark., sold in September for $2.4 million at a 6.9 percent cap rate on trailing 12 months income.

Built in 2004, Total Self Storage of Bentonville is comprised of 81,715 rentable square feet with 447 units. Its located in a growing community in northwest Arkansas.

Larry Goldman, of RE/MAX Best Associates, represented the seller. Goldman is a member of the Argus Self Storage Sales Network, a Denver-based network of 36 real estate broker affiliates experienced in self-storage and income property investments. 

Pouch Self Storage and other businesses on Livingston Street in Norwood, N.J., are pleased to hear their drainage problems will soon be solved. The mayor and city council authorized a shared-service agreement on Oct. 5 that will result in improvements to the street, including a resolution to bad drainage and flooding.

Pouch Self Storage was flooded eight to 10 years ago, according to one council member. The street also floods every time it rains. John Fanzo, who works for the facility, said the facility had to install gates to keep water out of the property.

The restoration project will be funded by the county, at no expense to the borough. The entire project is expected to take eight months. Work for the drainage portion is expected to begin this winter.

On Nov. 4, self-storage real estate investment trust U-Store-It Trust will release financial results for the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2010. An accompanying conference call will be held at 11 a.m. ET on Nov. 5.

A live webcast of the call will be available online from the investor relations page at Ustoreit.com. The dial-in number is 1.877.317.6789 for domestic callers and +1.412.317.6789 for international callers. After the live webcast, the call will remain available on the U-Store-It website for 30 days. In addition, a telephonic replay of the call will be available until Dec. 5. The replay dial-in number is 877.344.7529 for domestic callers and +1.412.317.0088 for international callers. The reservation number for both is 445210.

Based in Wayne, Pa., U-Store-It owns or manages 492 facilities across the United States and operates the U-Store-It Network, which consists of approximately 684 additional self-storage facilities.

Youve successfully navigated the interview and application process and its official: Youre about to become one of the nations thousands of skilled self-storage managers. Although you may be new to the industry, you most likely have some of the abilities and attributes necessary to function well in this business. But when it really gets down to it, what should you expect?

Self-storage managers must work with customers in a retail environment. Youll need to think on your feet, adapt quickly and be able to multi-task. This business is driven by need rather than want. In this setting, youll encounter people who expect to have their requirements fulfilled quickly and efficiently. Often in the throes of some life change, they may not always be in a good mood.

Youre dealing with people who have to move their possessions to your facility. They want their stuff protected and stored in a clean, safe, convenient location. In most cases, theyre using part of their disposable income to accommodate the transfer of goods. They may be going through a move, divorce, death in the family, job or career change, downsizing, or some other stressful event. They may be unhappy about their circumstances and, hence, their need for storage. Its your mission to give them a positive experience, make them feel good about their decision, and realize theyre receiving a benefit for what theyre spending with you.

Know Your Customers

Once on the job, the more you know about your customers, the more successful youll be. For example, if you know theyre going through a tough economic time in their life, you may want to pay particular attention to how they pay their rent. Are they going to be easy to get in touch with via a home phone number, cell number, e-mail or social-media account on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.? Or are they hesitant to give out too much information?

Generally speaking, customers who want to share as much personal information as you ask for are those who understand and respect the need for communication. Theyre more likely to stay in touch, even if they have problems meeting their financial commitments. On the other hand, evasive people are more inclined to be late and less inclined to meet their obligations. Understanding what may be going on in the customers life, without being nosey, will pay dividends in the long run.

Meet Their Needs

Whats important to each customer will vary. Those most concerned about security (or the perception of security) generally have a real bond to the possessions theyre storing. Those who care more about price may have a lesser bond with their goods. Those most concerned about access (convenience) may be challenging the decisions theyve made about using storage. They could be thinking about getting rid of non-essential stuff and minimizing the clutter theyve created. Be aware of whats most important to each customer, and try to ensure they feel youre providing for their needs as best as possible.

Set Limits

Know your limits and how to make customers understand them. Once facility rules are established, with few exceptions, all tenants need to conform to them.

For example, you likely have set office and gate-access hours. If you allow people to abuse them, youll find yourself working more hours than planned. Youll be stressed out in short order, and become disgruntled with the situation. The same goes for customers who are delinquent. If you allow them to abuse your late-rent policy, youll quickly find yourself behind the eight ball with respect to collections, and its very hard to recover.

On the other hand, you want to accommodate customers within the guidelines so you can provide them with good customer service. Establish your rules and be reasonable, but be strong enough to enforce rules equally. This will ensure youre be respected by tenants, and your job will go much easier.

Learn to Adapt

Lastly, know you have a job in which every day will be different. Youll have to adapt quickly to diverse situations. While there will be slow times during the day, youll also be faced with numerous customers, challenges and circumstances, sometimes simultaneously. The ability to stay calm when youre overrun with people and problems, focus on the most important task at hand, and turn a bad situation into a positive is a virtue.

The most successful self-storage managers are those who genuinely smile often, get satisfaction from helping people, and understand that the main objective of the business is to make a profit. Managers who are not willing to adapt, compromise, adjust, negotiate or care about customers are usually not in the business long. If they do manage to stay, they dont generally outperform the other managers in their markets.

A managers best asset is usually his personality. A manager who shows respect to others, follows the rules, and is willing to go the extra mile for employers and customers generally does very well in this industry. If youre willing to approach the position with an open mind, can-do attitude, positive outlook, willingness to work toward, and ability to channel customers negative situations into positive facility experiences, youll be a manager success story.

Mel Holsinger is president of Professional Self Storage Management LLC, which manages more than 40 facilities in Arizona, Colorado and Texas. Holsinger has been in the self-storage industry for more than 25 years. To reach him, call 520.319.2164; e-mail [email protected]; visit www.proselfstorage.com.

Lakeville Self Storage of Lakeville, Mass., received a special mention from AlternativeConsumer.com as one of the "Top Ten Greenest Storage Facilities in the United States" for its geothermal heating/cooling system.

In an entry dated Aug. 27, the website recognized the self-storage facility for using geothermal energy for heating in winter as well as cooling in summer, explained owner Bill Markson. Water is pumped through heat pumps, which transfer the heat energy from or to the air (depending on the season). The air is then blown through ducts to heat or cool the storage units, as well as our office building," Markson said.

The system was designed and built by the Virstar Geothermal Energy HVAC Group of Hollis, N.H., under the direction of company president Gary Maedl.

Open since June 2008, Lakeville Self Storage rents conventional and climate-control storage units and exterior RV and boat storage. The facility also rents U-Haul trucks and trailers, and sells a variety of moving and packing supplies.

Antique furniture was stolen from a self-storage facility in Salina, Kan. The break-in at City Wide Self Storage, 405 Saturn Ave., happened between Sept. 29 and Oct. 8, according to police.

The locks on two self-storage units were broken. Several items were taken including a Union Pacific antique secretary desk and a washing machine. The total loss is reportedly $880. Police are still investigating the break-in.