USC in Ireland, Preparations for FEDESSA conference

Last October, USC had the opportunity to attend the FEDESSA conference in Ireland. It was my first time in Ireland and my first participation in a FEDESSA conference, and here I share my experience.

We left a week before the conference from Deventer, our office in the Netherlands. We wanted to take this opportunity to visit some of our clients in Ireland, including Nesta in Dublin, where the tour of the facility would take place the day before the conference. We packed up all the gear for the event and brought a mini-container to present at the conference.

Discovering Ireland

Our trip was from Deventer to Cherbourg, after which we took the ferry to Dublin. Since it was my first time in Dublin, I had a little culture shock when I saw people driving on the other side of the road and sitting on the other side of the car. Dublin is a beautiful city with impressive architecture and stunning scenery.

Our first stop was the Nesta facility. We inspected the site and performed some basic maintenance in preparation for the tour.

The next day we traveled to Clarecastle, where we visited our client Clare Storage. There I met the owner, Pat Quinn, who was very friendly and welcoming. He invited us to Irish tea with cookies. He talked about his passion for rugby and warned us about the many American tourists who would flood Dublin for an NFL American football game.

Over the weekend, we performed some maintenance work at the Clarecastle facilities to ensure the durability of the containers. In our free time, we visited the Cliffs of Moher to enjoy the impressive views and beautiful scenery. We also visited the city of Galway and enjoyed its lively nightlife.

FEDESSA conference

The FEDESSA conference was very lively and full of interesting activities. The day before the conference there was a tour at Nesta in Churchtown, sponsored by USC. This was a combination of internal and external storage. Outside, we had a chance to show our full-size containers in use. Two different models were presented: Model 1, a 20 ft container with full space, and Model 3, a 20 ft container divided into two compartments. Both models offer secure, user-friendly, well-ventilated and insulated storage.

That evening there was a dinner at the Guinness Storehouse. The venue had fascinating exhibits about the brewing process and beautiful decorations. The food was great, and there were many interesting people from all over Europe working in the storage industry. It was an excellent networking opportunity.

On the first day of the conference, the room was very lively and many people came to talk to us. I was happy to hear from some customers that they were already using our containers and were very satisfied with them.

In the evening, there was a party at Dockers hosted by Unity, BearBox, Stora, 1Digital First, Storage King, Space Manager, OpenTech Alliance and Kuboid. Dinner was included, there was an open bar and a great band played live music. It was great to see the Irish audience singing and dancing, full of enthusiasm and energy. It was a great atmosphere for networking and making new contacts.

The second day of the conference was also busy at our booth. Some visitors were new, while others were already customers. I spoke with some clients to review layouts for their sites and customize them to their needs. This personal interaction made communication easier and helped us better understand their needs.

At the end of the day, we packed our things and returned to the hotel to prepare for the evening. During the gala dinner, a talented host presented the event’s awards. It was great to see that some of our clients were nominated, and others even won. Clients such as Shurgard received the Sustainability Award and Nesta won Marketing Campaign of the Year. The atmosphere was full of excitement and enthusiasm.

We recently visited one of the nominated clients. You can read more about Storage Den Aberdeen Park in Scotland..

The awards ceremony was followed by an impressive show. This began with three spectacular Irish dancers, followed by singers, performers and a guitarist without interruption. At the end, they all came together to Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen. It was a great performance that will remain in my memory for a long time.

The FEDESSA conference was very lively and full of interesting activities. The day before the conference there was a tour at Nesta in Churchtown, sponsored by USC. This was a combination of internal and external storage. Outside, we had a chance to show our full-size containers in use. Two different models were presented: Model 1, a full-size 20 ft container, and Model 3, a 20 ft container divided into two compartments. Both models provide secure, user-friendly, well-ventilated and insulated storage space. That evening there was a dinner at the Guinness Storehouse. The venue had fascinating exhibits about the brewing process and beautiful decorations. The food was great, and there were many interesting people from all over Europe working in the storage industry. It was an excellent networking opportunity. On the first day of the conference, the room was very lively and many people came to talk to us. I was happy to hear from some customers that they were already using our containers and were very satisfied with them. In the evening, there was a party at Dockers hosted by USC, Unity, BearBox, Stora, 1Digital First, Storage King, Space Manager, OpenTech Alliance and Kuboid. Dinner was included, there was an open bar and a great band played live music. It was great to see the Irish audience singing and dancing, full of enthusiasm and energy. It was a great atmosphere for networking and making new contacts. The second day of the conference was also busy at our booth. Some visitors were new, while others were already customers. I spoke with Graham from Space Plus to discuss and customize some layouts for their venues. This personal interaction made communication easier and helped us better understand their needs. At the end of the day, we packed our things and returned to the hotel to prepare for the evening. During the gala dinner, a talented host presented the awards from the event. It was great to see that some of our clients, like Big Yellow and Storage Den, were nominated, and clients like Shurgard and Nesta even won. The atmosphere was full of excitement and enthusiasm. The awards ceremony was followed by an impressive show. This began with three spectacular Irish dancers, followed by singers, performers and a guitarist without interruption. At the end, they all came together to Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen. It was a great performance that will remain in my memory for a long time.

Return home

The day after the conference, Danny and I had some time to visit EPIC, the Irish Emigration Museum, to visit. The museum tells the story of Ireland in a very creative and interactive way. Then we checked out of the hotel and headed back to the ferry to travel home.

It was a great trip, full of hard work, but also with unforgettable experiences and lots of fun.