They may not be Sanford and Son, but Bob Skinnerand Scott Wieser do collect used items. Large, cargo containersto be exact.

Skinner and Wieser are principals in SanFrancisco-based TMS, a joint venture between Triton ContainerInternational and International Equipment Marketing specializingin second-hand containers. The company has been involved in thestorage-container business for more than 10 years and recentlybegan using the ship-cargo boxes in self-storage applications.The company buys and refurbishes large, metal containers used oncargo ships for carrying merchandise from Asia, and rents orsells them as portable storage boxes.

"We believe the containers are uniquely and competitivelyattractive for people who need storage at their site or at acommon site," says Skinner, TMS's president. "Whatwe've been doing since we started the company is selling anincreasing quantity of containers to people who are using themfor storage purposes at their site."

Skinner cited examples for what it calls its Mini-StorageProduct, at construction sites, ranches, retail stores, cities,counties or schools.

"The big advantage we see in the product is that it is aninexpensive and secure means of providing immediate storagesolutions for people who have a need at their site," Skinnersays. "As we've been in business, we've become more involvedin developing our own sites and have begun to cut up the boxesand configure them to allow us to offer our customers differentsizes rather than the standard size of 20 feet by 8 feet."

The containers are made from steel with double doors at oneend and are wind- and water-tight. They have hardwood floors, arepallet-jack and fork-lift accessible and can be easilytransported via ship, train or truck.

"It's an easy way to take care of excess capacity ordemand," added Skinner, who said self-storage clients usethem alone as storage buildings or use them as additions tocurrent structures. "They are almost like building blocks.You're starting with a 20-by-8-by-81/2-foot building block or a40-by-8-by-81/2-foot block, and what you can do is cut doors intothe sides, put in partitions and you have storage spaces in avery cost-effective way." TMS will compartmentalize thecontainers to specifications.

Skinner says zoning regulations are generally easier,depending on where the site is located, and the containers alsocarry the advantages of being considered personal property andnot real property.

"For zoning, it really depends on the place it's goinginto. Some of the places in California are much more demanding inplanning and zoning. We have found that the market best suitedfor these are smaller towns and rural areas. They are notparticularly good for an upscale customer base where you have avery high-profile site."

TMS began marketing its Mini-Storage Product for theself-storage industry about two years ago in the Los Angeles areaand has expanded its availability throughout the United States,with sales offices in Miami, Houston, Chicago, Los Angeles,Oakland, Calif., and Seattle. Financing is also available.

And as for the idea of recycling a used item, TMS couldn't behappier.

"We're kind of like Sanford and Son, but in a moreglorified way," says Skinner. "We like the businessboth from an environmental point of view, where we're taking anold product and turning it into a new one, and an economic pointof view--the fact that it allows us to price the productattractively into the marketplace."

For more information on TMS and its Mini-Storage Product, call(800) 447-7223.