Moving and portable storage has been a booming business for two decades now, helping people store their belongings and move them from location to location. More than ever, contractors in the renovation and restoration industry are turning to moving and portable storage companies to help them serve their clients pack-out needs efficiently and effectively.

Christian Martinez owns UNITS® Moving and Portable Storage in Miami, Fla. He launched the franchise in 2018 and has already established working relationships with more than 20 restoration contractors throughout South Florida. Like many storage solutions companies, UNITS works with industries beyond restoration contractors, but Martinez says restorers are one of his biggest clients.

“Lots of our markets, like ours in Miami, deal with major weather events, like hurricanes, that result in flood damage and ancillary needs such as mold removal,” Martinez said. “In almost all of those cases, restoration clients will need to store their belongings while the contractors work to restore their homes.”

For contractors, he has found storage to be an endlessly valuable resource, especially when it is climate-controlled. For contractors handling contents restoration and cleaning, this also helps them avoid needing massive amounts of space in their own warehouse to store vaults full of customers’ items.

Martinez also said portable storage offers flexibility as situations arise during the restoration process that may require their clients to have their items on-site or move them to a secure warehouse. Portable solutions mean that it is often possible to get a unit dropped off at a home, contents loaded up, and that’s that. Clients then have the peace of mind that they can keep their items securely on-site and have access to them when then need them. Having needed items lowers stress levels during the restoration, and contractors want to keep their clients’ stress levels at a minimum.

Costs can also be better controlled when you have a storage partner. This way, homeowners can be aware of the costs and bonuses of certain storage solutions.

There is definitely a benefit for workers when it comes to keeping items stored on  site as well.

“Time is saved by not having to use a truck to move things back and forth, so the restoration effort can start and end sooner and get contractors on to their next job,” Martinez said.

Plus, these units aren’t just handy for storing homeowners’ items. Contractors who travel to CAT loss events, like hurricanes and wildfires, often don’t have a place to store all of their equipment. Having a portable storage partner solves that problem.

“We’ve found that contractors really like having a place to store their equipment on-site without worrying about theft,” explained Martinez. “Using one of our steel-constructed, weatherproof containers saves them the hassle of packing up and moving their equipment back and forth from their place of business every day.”

He has also seen contractors get creative in other ways with storage units, such as using a container as a break room area for their team, setting up a small table with snacks and a cooler so their teams can get out of the direct sun or rain for a minute. Clients have also used a container to set up their closets. Not just to store their clothes, but actually bringing in racks to utilize the container as a functioning closet. He has even seen people store their valuable vehicles in there, including some really cool antique motorcycles.

UNITS franchises are another option for contractors looking to scale their businesses. Just as many restoration contractors have chosen to add horizontal services through franchises like 1-800-BOARD-UP and PACKOUTZ, adding a portable storage franchise can make a lot of sense, and doesn’t require day-to-day involvement from the owner.

Having a portable storage solution partner on your side is key – whether it’s for handling losses at home, or traveling to catastrophe losses.