Storage Building Company & Extra Space Storage Bradenton

Storage Building Company is in their seventh year of business. SteelBlue is in year four. Our industry has competitors with decades of history. This partnership has thrived because both companies understand what it means to scale fast while maintaining the fundamentals.

Kevin Zapata, Director of Business Development at Storage Building Company, sees the parallel. "We've seen the growth of our companies together. We can relate to what we're going through and what the growing pains are."

That shared experience shaped our work on the Extra Space Storage facility in Bradenton, Florida. The 102,000 square foot project became Storage Building Company's entry point with a new client and a proving ground for what happens when two rising companies prioritize the same things.
‍

The Service Gap

Storage Building Company had worked with the established players before. The products were fine. The service was not.

"You have to go through so many people to just get a simple answer," Kevin explains. "Like, hey, how many trucks of doors are showing up? I'm asking shipping, I'm asking this person. With you guys, your project managers and operations team gets us that answer we need."

Speed matters because Storage Building Company sits in the middle of a chain. General contractors call them. Developers text them. Architects email them. Everyone needs answers within 24 to 48 hours.

"We're a service to the developers, to general contractors," says Kevin. "Anybody can go out and buy steel. But when it comes to service, are you going to pick up the phone? Are you going to answer that email?"

For Kevin, this comes from years of experience. He came from the operations side where he's made the hard calls to suppliers who won't respond. He knows what it costs when someone can't get a straight answer about delivery schedules or product specifications.

"How quickly can you be proactive instead of reactive?" he asks. "You guys have the same values that we do. We care, we want to get it done, and we want to continue building that relationship with the client."
‍

Five Minutes From Home

The Bradenton project gave Kevin something rare in construction: a job site five minutes from his house. He ran the project himself. Full scope. Everything from foundations to doors to security.

The local connection extended to us as well. Our Southeast Regional Sales Manager, Tony Domicolo lives ten minutes up the street from Kevin. When the framing details didn't line up in the field, he called Tony for a site visit.

"It can all look fine on paper, but once you get to the field it doesn't fit," Kevin recalls. "I brought Tony on for his expertise. Can you just meet me on site? He gave me a few key points on what we should do in certain scenarios."

They created custom inside corners using local materials. The kind of solution you figure out standing in front of the problem, not reading about it in an email thread.
‍

When Crews Are Overloaded

Storage Building Company handles their own installation on most projects. Kevin's team knows the material. They coordinate with clients. They manage the schedule.

But sometimes the pipeline fills up faster than the crew capacity. That's when SteelBlue's installation service became valuable.

"Sometimes we're so overloaded that we don't have the crews to send out," he explains. "It's easier to package it up as a deal with you guys and let you guys handle that."

The arrangement works because both sides understand their roles. Storage Building Company coordinates with their client about delivery timing and truck counts. Our construction team handles the installation. Everyone knows what they're responsible for.
‍

What Success Looks Like

The Extra Space Storage facility in Bradenton is open. Units are renting. The client is making money. Storage Building Company won more projects with them, reflecting the trust that was built from this partnership.

For Kevin, those follow-on projects validate this approach. "We want to be part of that growth with them. They're building more out West and building more in the Northeast, we want to be a part of that."

The partnership works because both companies refuse to let growth erase the basics. Pick up the phone. Answer the email. Show up when there's a problem.

Storage Building Company covers the entire country from three salespeople. They need suppliers who understand what that means. When Kevin asks a question, he needs an answer he can pass to his client immediately, not a promise to check with someone else's department.

The Bradenton project proved that SteelBlue operates the same way. Four years into the business, still responsive with customers, still focused enough to care about getting each project right.

‍