22 | FACILITY OF THE YEAR
2019 FACILITY OF THE YEAR – less than 150 units
STOR-MATE TAMWORTH, NEW SOUTH WALES
T
he team at Stor-Mate in 2018 won the SSAA Regional Facility of the Year and are winners of Facility of the Year, less than 150 units for 2019. Stor-Mate is a locally owned and independently operated self storage company in Tamworth regional NSW. A lot has happened in the last 12 months, and there have been highs and lows. The drought has had the most significant impact in the region’s economic health and confidence. Tamworth’s construction and housing market experienced a considerable decline. The effects were heavily felt across the local self storage industry. Competitors in the area have been commenting on how slow and tough they are finding it in comparison to previous years. Occupancy is averaging around 80%, and Stor-Mate increased their storage fees by 5% across the facility at the end of August last year without any detriment to the conversion rate. The business is owned by Tamworth locals Bruce and Sue Chapman and managed by their daughter Tauri Chapman.
INSIDER 112 APRIL / MAY 2020
Up until 2019 Craig Oliver (Facility Manager) handled all operations at Stor-Mate (inquiries, move-ins and outs, customer accounts, debt collection, marketing, yard and technical maintenance). Natalie Lamb joined the team as Office Administrator in February 2019, working two days a week. “Craig still takes the lead on debt collection as well as yard and technical maintenance. Natalie is a real asset to our team, with her background in administration. Her presence in the office has enabled Craig to continue his pursuit of innovation, superior-tech solutions and to find new ways to add value to the storage experience,” Tauri says. Craig has been a massive source of inspiration. In the last 12 months he has been responsible for: l Paperless office – towards the end of 2018 with the addition of a new touchscreen tablet all the checklists have been converted touch screen interaction files (even the walk around facility lock check report). All storers are encouraged to opt for a paperless sign-up process along with further communication, which has had a 95% uptake. The legal business documents that are required to
www.selfstorage.org.au
