Small businesses will be able to stock up on more of their leading products and homeowners clear out their garages thanks to a new state-of-the-art self storage facility which is set to be launched next year.

Island Self Storage Ltd., which is the brainchild of entrepreneur Don Mackenzie, chairman of New Venture Holdings Ltd., in collaboration with business consultant Glen Smith, president of Island Solutions (Bermuda) Ltd., will offer everything from residential to commercial use at the facility's Mill Reach Properties site in Pembroke when its doors open in April 2010.

The storage facility, which will be based on the third floor of the new building, will house 297 storage units of different sizes ranging from 5ft x 5ft to 20ft x 30ft, with 20 specially designed wine storage units also available.

The facility will be fully air-conditioned and climate controlled, making it ideal for both short and long-term storage, while the site will be equipped with a 450 kilowatt generator, allowing it to stay fully operational by retaining power and light even in severe weather conditions, and a sprinkler system will be installed to prevent damage in the event of a fire.

The most modern security systems will also be implemented to safeguard users' property.

Mr. Mackenzie said the idea for the new facility, which is part of a large warehouse currently being built on the site of the former HWP car storage warehouse, came about from market research which revealed the need for a comprehensive self-storage facility in Bermuda.

"There are some self-storage companies emerging on the Island, but because we have a new purpose-built building, what Glen and I are looking at doing is a truly comprehensive, state-of-the-art storage solution for Bermuda that is comparable to what you see in the US, Canada and the UK," he said.

"We also think that by meeting the self-storage demand in Bermuda it will benefit not only residential customers, but also small businesses.

"We have issues in Bermuda in respect to humidity and being able to have your storage in central locations as well as people wanting flexible storage solutions, but we can address all of these with this solution.

"You can see from our business model that we are covering it all."

Mr. Mackenzie also believes there is a market for international business and visitors from overseas who move from one location to the next every year and need their items storing, while small businesses and restaurants can take advantage of being able to buy in bulk and shelve their goods as well as the 24-7 access should they require to take anything out at short notice or late in the evening/early in the morning.

The facility's location is also ideal, with most of the Bermuda's small businesses based in town and a large part of the population living in Pembroke and Devonshire, according to Mr. Smith.

"Particularly during a recession, you are finding that many families are moving in with each other and storing stuff," he said.

"And then you get people that just cannot part with their junk."

Mr. Smith, who has worked with Mr. Mckenzie together with a number of years in the past, with an expertise in building businesses and logistics, having set up IBC and worked with Mr. Mckenzie for a number of years in the past, has been charged with developing, designing and delivering the new business, alongside Drew Mulderig, a young Bermudian responsible for the IT side of the project.

"Mill Reach Properties is the perfect location for Island Self Storage," said Mr. Smith.

"Climate control, sturdy architecture, spacious lifts, generous parking - everything you want in a storage facility.

"Additionally, the facility is extremely close to the city of Hamilton, which is very convenient for our customers. We are definitely pleased with the progress that is happening on the site and are very excited for the building to be complete."

Mr. Smith said the company believes that the demand is there despite having not actively marketed the product yet, with the concept already being well-received in many quarters.

"It will be a full-service, comprehensive storage solution like Bermuda has never seen," he said.

"There are so many uses for storage, whether it is for archiving, inventory, storing shoes where they will not get mouldy, storing sports equipment...who doesn't need more storage space?"

The facility is being built by Correia Construction Company Ltd., with special humidity control solutions set to be installed by Air Care Ltd. and marketing by Aardvark Communications Ltd.

The units will be rented on a monthly basis, while packaging materials will also be available on site, as well as vans to deliver items to and from the facility.

For more information, contact Glen Smith on 292-6702 or e-mail islandsolutionsltd@logic.bm