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New Castle-based storage company is providing Conex containers to meet the storage needs of contractors, builders, homeowners and business owners
By Lauren Glendenning
Brought to you by Hogback Storage
When a friend was airlifted to Denver with a dangerous virus he contracted after cleaning out his storage shed, Thad Porter knew there had to be a safer way for people in rural areas to store things.
Hantavirus is an infection that can live in mice droppings or urine. When it gets stirred up — such as during a cleaning — people can contract the virus by breathing in the infected air. Porter said it seems like every spring he hears of a handful of people in Garfield County that get the virus.
“In this I-70 corridor, it’s really rural. There are a lot of people with property that want to keep something there, but anytime they have a shed or camper trailer they’re keeping stuff in, the mice just have a heyday in that stuff,” Porter said.
Porter discovered that Conex shipping containers could meet a need in this rural part of Colorado: give people a safe place to store things by providing a container that’s durable, waterproof, windproof and more importantly, mice-proof. He created Hogback Storage, which rents these containers on a monthly basis, to meet the needs of anyone needing this type of storage solution at their residence, construction site or business location.
“These containers are just great for anyone who wants something semi-permanent, but also wants to be able to move it and take it with you,” Porter said.
Here are some of the reasons Porter thinks these shipping containers offer a storage solution that’s second to none on the Western Slope.
Versatility
Porter said his main customers have been in the construction industry. These containers provide on-site storage for builders, saving precious time and protecting anything that needs to remain on a job site from theft and weather.
“Rather than driving to a storage yard, they can have everything they need right there on the job site,” Porter said. “And when they’re finished with the job, either I can come pick up the container and move it for them, or they can move it where they want.”
Porter said he’s seen other customers use the containers at their business as extra storage space and homeowners like to use them for all kinds of things. Porter has one at his property that he built a tack room out of to store saddles, tack and other horse-related items.
“Some people use them to store animal feed and salt — stuff that before would have been out in the elements,” he said. “Others use it as a shop. The possibilities are just kind of endless — there are so many things you can do with them.”
Durability
These steel containers are not only air-tight, they’re incredibly durable and resistant to all of the things Mother Nature tries to throw our way here in Colorado’s high country. If high winds start blowing things through the air, you’d be hard-pressed to find so much as a scratch on one of these Conex containers.
The fact that they’re rodent-proof is also a huge benefit not just because rodents can spread dangerous diseases, but also because it keeps your stuff safe from chewing, nesting and all the other gross things that rodents do and spread.
Quick, personal and local service
Porter is personally delivering these storage containers to his customers, and oftentimes he’ll have his children and wife with him. When he gets an order, he can have it out to the customer’s site in about 3 or 4 days, give or take depending on the time of year.
A 20′ x 8′ box rents for $100 a month, but Porter said to call Hogback Storage for pricing information on the larger boxes (40′ x 8′ x 8.5′ and 40′ x 9 x 9.5′). Because these containers are traded as commodities, the pricing is fluctuating based on things like the price of steel and price of fuel.
“We’re a family-run business here in New Castle, and our customer base is from Eagle to Aspen, down to Grand Junction and north to Meeker,” Porter said. “There are other businesses that offer this, but none are locally-owned. All of the money that goes to rent these boxes stays right here in the valley.”