Movers & Storers show and NationalBox 2023

We would like to continue growing in two markets new to us, the moving market in the United Kingdom and the storage market in France. So in late November we attended the Movers & Storers show in Stoneleigh, England and the NationalBox in Paris. In addition to these shows, we now have local stock in the UK and language assistance in France to maximize local customer facilitation. Seth enjoys recounting his experiences from the English show.

Movers & Storers – Setting up

Seth took the boat from the Hook of Holland on Sunday evening to arrive in England on time Monday morning. Monday morning it was still a good three hours of travel from Harwich to get to the NAEC in Stoneleigh. Stoneleigh is a small town between Coventry and Warwick, east of Birmingham.

Seth: “One of our Z-Boxes was set up on the booth early, the rest of the set up could not begin until 2 p.m. Next to our container, we placed a tent with a banner to increase visibility. Also, we again used our LED banners, which are always very eye-catching. Most important, of course, is our container on the booth itself. Interesting because visitors can experience the quality of our container right away.”

Movers & Storers – Self storage among movers.

The Movers & Storers show is an interesting show as it combines the moving business with the storage business. In England, many moving companies are familiar with self-storage. This is in contrast to the Netherlands, for example. Some movers rent storage in addition to moving, others use storage as temporary storage for moving customers. Sea containers are very common in the UK storage market because there has traditionally been a surplus of sea containers in the UK. However, the problem with shipping containers is the lack of insulation, which often causes condensation. On some days, the inside temperature of a shipping container is 2 degrees in the morning, but 25 degrees around noon (in the sun). Eventually, the accumulated moisture inside the container then rains off the ceiling.

Especially in a country like England with its highly variable climate, this is not convenient for your clients’ contents. With our insulated Z-Box, we don’t have this problem at all.

Stock in England

Many visitors were positive about the quality of our containers. Especially with the insulation, ventilation and the ability to easily create compartments, it is the ideal choice for in addition to your moving business. Also, since this year we have a separate UK stock at our partner Secure Stores in Felixstowe. So we can deliver quickly.

Movers & Storers – Break down and go home

Breaking down went very smoothly. Around 3:30 we were able to start this and by 5:30 we were back in a fully loaded car. After another dinner with the three of us, we were able to drive back to Harwich to catch the night boat. Thus on Thursday morning we were safely back in Holland to continue our usual work.

NationalBox

Maarten was in Paris at the NationalBox meeting. With a large number of members, this is an enthusiastic partnership between French storage companies, focusing on the national French storage market. It always takes some getting used to conferring in French, but as the day goes on, it gets easier and easier. Maybe a two-day event next year after all?

In addition to these two shows, our construction team was on Mallorca working on a renovation project for Planet Space. We will tell you more about this in the next newsletter.