OpenTech Alliance Inc., a Phoenix-based provider of self-storage technology and a majority stakeholder in the StorageTreasures.com self-storage auction website, has added veteran auctioneer Bill Betthauser to the Storage Treasures team. OpenTech purchased its stake in the auction company in January and is now responsible for managing the website, hiring employees and expanding the brand to new markets.
A second-generation auctioneer and past president of the Arizona Auctioneers Association, Betthauser will work with East Coast self-storage operators and lead special projects, according to an OpenTech press release. He’s a graduate of the World Wide College of Auctioneering and has more than 30 years of experience in the auction industry. He’s also been the corporate auctioneer for Harley-Davidson Inc. and Phillip Morris International, and co-founder of an online-auction website. In addition, Betthauser has appeared on several television shows and hosted the weekly radio show "Auction Chasers.”
"Bill is a professional auctioneer [who’s] very familiar with the auction industry, related regulations and compliance issues,” said Robert A. Chiti, CEO and president of OpenTech. “Being from a family of live auctioneers and having co-founded an online-auction company, he appreciates the virtues of both models—online and live. We’re happy to have Bill on our team. We feel he’ll be able to help us develop better relationships with the leading auctioneers in the self-storage industry and give us a better understanding of auction buyers."
StorageTreasures.com is a free locator service identifying storage auctions and self-storage facilities in Canada and the United States. The website offers auction schedules and site-specific guidelines for auction hunters and self-storage owners. The company became Storage Treasures LLC after a 2014 merger between Storage Battles LLC and Storage Treasures Inc.
OpenTech provides several models of INSOMNIAC self-serve kiosks as well as a range of self-storage rental solutions including the INSOMNIAC Live! Call Center, INSOMNIAC Online Web and mobile applications, LiveAgent! software products, and the INSOMNIAC ILock Security System, all available through the company's self-storage cloud.
