Leadership. It is defined as the ability of an individual or entity to influence and guide followers or other members of the organization. A true leader is not only one who inspires passion and motivation in followers, but they also have a vision and lay the path towards realizing it. As we near the 50th anniversary of Spacesaver, it is clear to see that Spacesaver is the leader in the industry of high-density mobile and custom storage solutions. This is evidenced by our brand recognition in the market, customer testimonials, and continued growth in and desire for our products. The leadership position that Spacesaver holds is a testament to the hard work and mutual success of The Spacesaver Group.
On an individual level, when you look at the traits of a great leader, integrity, accountability, vision, inspiration, and passion rise to the top. These traits could not more closely align with those of our esteemed leader, Mark Haubenschild. He has engrained in all of us that hard work and dedication pays off, and with his leadership he has inspired in all of us that we are all capable of doing things we never thought we could.
We have so much to be thankful for; 50 years of business with the greatest distribution in the market, continued good fortune and success, and the excellent guidance of our fearless leader, Mark.
Laurel Harrison | VP of Sales & Marketing
We have some catching up to do on Area Contractor 2022 anniversaries! Here are the ACs who are celebrating their anniversary through July of this year!
SpaceNET 3 now has a new dashboard view that brings the data you care about most and capabilities from around the site directly to the homepage. Depending on individual user privileges, this exciting new view includes: order searching capabilities; details of orders in various states; order acknowledgment and invoice notifications; a feed of all recent questions from the Collaborate section for instant visibility to the entire Spacesaver Group user list; a side navigation with easy access to commonly frequented pages. You’ll still be able to switch between the Classic or NEW Dashboard View with the touch of a button. Check out this helpful guide or reach out to our team with any questions you have!
Spacesaver Scorecard
Similar to last year, the start of warmer temperatures signals the heating up of the Spacesaver Group, and the Team exploded in May entering nearly $15M in new orders!! Southwest Solutions Group led the way with over $2.57M submitted and Patterson Pope was inches behind with $2.45M in incoming orders. A total of 5 Area Contractors entered over $1M in orders (SSG, P2, Systems & Space, Bradford Systems, Motus) and 2 more over $900K (Diversified Storage and McMurray Stern). This produced 24 PARs over their monthly incoming order quota (184% AC Group total for May), and we now have 21 PARs exceeding their YTD incoming quota (112% AC Group YTD). Systems & Space leads all Area Contractors through May with 231% of YTD quota!!!
Our shipments in May remained consistent with the current YTD pace (90%), with 10 PARs invoicing over their monthly quota – bringing our YTD total to 11 PARs over shipment quota through May. With the tremendous order month, we have a clear path to catch up and expect to reach our annual quota as the year moves along.
With everything going on around the world, we are blessed and thankful to share in the success of the Spacesaver Group… the greatest team in the industry!
Reignite Renew Revision
It seems apropos that Spacesaver’s first sale in 1972 was to the Chicago Historical Society (now the Chicago History Museum), an institution “devoted to collecting, interpreting, and presenting the rich multicultural history of Chicago, as well as selected areas of American history.” In addition to preserving manuscripts, paintings, and artifacts, the museum’s collection also includes the bed on which Abraham Lincoln died! And when the Society moved into a modern limestone addition in 1972, ten movable electric carriages were a part of that renovation.
Those carriages plus those treasures must have been a radical combination back then – a contemporary model of solving a space and preservation challenge. It’s not too different today. When we step back and think about all the stuff stored on Spacesaver systems, it truly is incredible, some of it still radical. As we ReIGNITE the passion in all of us this year for solving storage challenges, remember that we preserve history. Reflect on how we enhance readiness. Recollect that style and function serve multiple purposes. While not everything stored on a Spacesaver system will have ties to our nation’s history, each installation becomes part of our history, part of the story we get to tell the next customer about how it all began in a barn in Fort Atkinson.
How will you Reignite your Spacesaver story today?
Vertical Market Updates
Military
Warrior West was held in San Diego on April 27-28. Spacesaver had a 20’x30’ booth that housed several military storage solutions. While we received numerous comments on how great the booth looked, the real win was the quality leads that came out of the show. Spacesaver staff, supported by McMurray Stern and Spacesaver Intermountain, felt the people who attended the show had the intention of returning home with something real to report…and we’re on to Warrior East at the end of this month! We’ll have the same size booth and feature many of the same products in Virginia Beach. Stay tuned for our booth number and be ready to get your customers excited for the show!
The military market is unexpectedly off to one of the slowest starts in decades. Historically, by this time of year, companies are 35% to their annual quota. Through our market intel, YTD the best performing company outside of the Spacesaver Group is 21% to quota. With inflation, the “regular” things the DOD needs to buy are higher priority: ships, planes, vehicles, fuel, food, and water. We see them using their Procurement (*PROC) funding for these items. Other areas of funding that are taking priority are Military Construction (*MILCON) projects and salary and retirement plan adjustments for DOD personnel (*MILPER). Since most Spacesaver projects are funded with Operations & Maintenance (*O&M) dollars and are considered “smaller projects”, they are falling to the bottom of the priority list until budgets are reconciled after the first spending push.
On the MAY MILITARY CALL, we discussed that money was released to the higher headquarters on May 2 to fund O&M projects of significant dollar amounts ($2M+). As of May 23, funds started to be released to the lower echelon units and will continue to make their way down to all units by the end of June. It is more important than ever to get in front of your customers and follow-up on your current opportunities! The money WILL come, and if you are not timing your customer visits when the money gets released, your customers may lose sight of your project(s).
Monthly Military Market Calls
Next call: June 30 (last Thursday of every month)
*While it has been covered on several military calls, you can find a summary of the 5 DOD “colors of money” HERE.
Contact Pete Rooney anytime with questions, comments, or insights.
Deployable Products Reminder
You asked, we listened…now help deploy! We have perfect year-end items that are an easy sell; Mobility Crate and Rapid Readiness Boxes can store bulk items (like shelters, generators, fuel/water bladder, construction tools, etc.), and the UEWSS is a great solution for training and mobility missions. Think of these products when you are talking to Army, Air National Guard, Chemical Brigades/Battalions, Reserve Units, Explosive Ordinance Disposal Units, and Transportation Units.
Library and Education
To help support our partners in securing contracts, Equalis Group has put together the following federal funding resources for your use:
Education Stabilization Fund (ESF) Breakdown – Want to know recovery and rebuilding efforts in your territory? The U.S. Department of Education is committed to providing the public with a transparent view into how ESF funds are spent. Here is a breakdown of the over $263 billion investment into state and institutional COVID-19 recovery and rebuilding efforts. Keep an eye out for more information on these resources in the coming months and reach out to our team with any questions you have.
Tradeshow season is heating up; we just finished presenting an equipment room workshop at AEMA and exhibiting at AEMA in Las Vegas, and will have library carts to demo in the booth at ALA in Washington D.C. at the end of the month. Let us know if you would like us to extend an invitation to any specific clients.
Bi-monthly Library & Education Market Calls
Next call: July 1 (last Friday of every month)
Contact Zak Hermans anytime with questions, comments, or insights.
Grade (UT) A Lockers
UT-Austin already utilizes Spacesaver products in storage for their football, soccer, tennis, baseball, and volleyball teams (plus the old basketball arena), so when it came time for high-density storage in the new arena, they knew who to go to. Tom Beirne at SWSG said it best, “Spacesaver provides a quality product, and we provide quality installation and service. We have an excellent long-term relationship with UT (it also helps that I put two kids through the college as well!).”
K-12
Did you know that most school districts run on a fiscal year that ends on June 30? Be sure to check in with your customers and help them utilize any remaining funds before they expire!
With K-12 being our newest vertical market to launch, we are still developing content and marketing material. Please send in your photos of K-12 installations that would be helpful as we build up the database. Thanks in advance!
In the month of April, the marketing team ran a Google Display Ad for the K-12 market about summer planning – it generated 1,120,410 impressions (how many people saw it), 12,572 clicks, and a click through rate of 1.12%, which is 3x higher than the average display ad! They also saw success with a Facebook ad in May with 56,224 impressions and 792 clicks! Consider including Google and Facebook in your marketing strategies!
Bi-monthly Library & Education Market Calls
Next call: July 1 (last Friday of every month)
Connect with Zak Hermans anytime with questions, comments, or insights.
Locking Up Less Steps for Students
Ken Blundell (Donnegan) started working with an architect on a high school project over 2 years ago, specifically the design elements on Day Use Lockers. The building featured a unique three-story wing that called for shared used lockers so that students didn’t have to walk across the entire building to get to their lockers for books and materials. Donnegan was able to write a tight spec to provide twenty double-tier and sixty-three 4-tier Day Use Lockers for a total of 292 doors with shared use locks. The architect used a special color scheme; the locker bodies are light tone and there are three door colors (two are SSC and one is a custom Sherwin Williams). Blundell succeeded on this project by staying close to the architect and general contractor, especially amidst discussion about switching to a lower cost phenolic or plastic locker, but he remained persistent and prevailed!
Museum
May 19-22 our team shipped up to Boston, MA for the 2022 AAM Annual Meeting & MuseumExpo. Over 3,000 museum industry professionals were in attendance – better than expected amid decline due to cost, pandemic, etc. – to witness the unveiling of our New Modular Art Rack System, featured along with our 920 Series cabinet and Nantucket drawers and trays.
Monthly Museum Market Calls
Next call: July 19 (third Tuesday of every month)
Contact Ben Adamitus anytime with questions, comments, or insights.
Preserving A Legacy for Parishioners
The Church Studio in Tulsa, Oklahoma is a historic church turned into a home office and recording studio with a star-studded guest register. Built in 1915 and converted to the home of Shelter Records in 1972, the renowned creative workshop was in need of an upgrade that both preserved its past and created space for its future. Focusing on their mission to support the understanding, appreciation, and advancement of music, the studio’s owners called upon Steve Story of Southwest Solutions Group to provide support for the project, completed in late 2021. Our team provided stationary 920 Series Cabinets with visual doors and 424 Series Showcase Flat Files on casters, allowing visitors to view pieces with minimal handling. The cabinet was outfitted with drawers and shelves to ensure historic items are properly stored and preserved for generations to come. The caster base allows the flat files to be easily reconfigured for different exhibits or rearrangement of flow through the space.
Agriculture
It’s clear in the name that our GROW Mobile System helps cultivators increase their yield, but do they also know our solutions can help them dry more efficiently, too? Spacesaver’s GROW Drying System helps operations preserve plant quality and save time and money by minimizing handling, damaged leaves, and crushed buds.
Monthly Agriculture Market Calls
Next call: July 7 (first Thursday of every month)
Contact Scott Loreaux anytime with questions, comments, or insights.
Maximizing Moss Landing
Along the Central Coast of California, you’ll find the historic oceanside town of Moss Landing, which is home to a grow operation focused on responsibly cultivated premium indoor cannabis and manufactured products. Dedicated to giving back to the region in support of the local wildlife, achieving optimum efficiency and production are key factors in their mission. This is where Brad Lieber of Systems & Space stepped in to assess the space and help the organization maximize their floorspace, yield, and impact. Incorporating Spacesaver’s GROW mobile and drying systems, including vertical racking, carts, anti-tip rail system, and widespan shelving, Brad and his team were able to outfit the organization with the solutions and support to create the greatest benefit for their customers and environment.
Major Projects
Major Projects + SpaceNET: Be on the lookout! We will be rolling out something new that will streamline connecting with the Major Projects team.
Library Success:Chris Anklin proactively reached out to Joe Leibfried for a renovation project at Milne Library on the SUNY Geneseo campus. Although not a Major Project, Joe and Chris worked to drive the specification and pricing strategy to guarantee an award in a competitive GC bid situation. In early May, the successful GC reached out to let Chris know of their intent to award the project to Henderson Johnson! The total SSC net on this project is $245k and ships in early 2024. Great teamwork, Chris and Joe!
ETO? No way!: In April, an AC declined to work on a project where Spacesaver’s standard Freestyle PSL lockers would not fit the customer’s needs. Locker jobs are typically highly competitive, and this specific project would require an ETO. Our Project Coordinator, Angie Tully, accepted the challenge, bid spec-acceptable Spacesaver product and secured the business! We received a Letter of Intent from the General Contractor within two weeks of submitting the bid. The SSC net on this project is $30,500 and ships in the beginning of 2023. The AC still receives a commission and sales credit for this project, and still executes the installation – this is exactly how our Project Coordinator is set up to help us ALL be successful. Congrats, Angie and team!
Marketing Minute
Spacesaver hosted a live webinar on May 17 featuring our presentation: Protecting & Preserving Materials with Off-Site Storage Solutions. Participants joined to learn more about the trends driving the need for off-site storage facilities in the Library/Higher Education, Public Safety, and Museum markets. They walked away with a stronger understanding of strategies for safely and efficiently storing and providing access to materials, as well as design and operational considerations to keep in mind when planning for these facilities.
WELCOME ABOARD! After serving two years as a dedicated intern (with roles throughout the office and plant), we are proud to announce Connor O’Brien officially joined Spacesaver as a Marketing Specialist on May 23! In this role he will be leading our social media efforts and representing SSC at tradeshows, among other things. He recently graduated from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse with a degree in Business Management. Connor is looking forward to attending tradeshows and getting to know more of his SSC coworkers and partners. Keep your eye out for and share Connor’s social posts and make sure to say hello when you see him in the office!
