In May, nearly two dozen industry representatives traveled to Madrid to vote for a new and enlarged board of directors for the Asociación Española de Self-Storage (AESS). The meeting was held at Spains earliest purpose-built self-storage center, the Bluespace Self Storage facility near Madrid, formerly an Easybox Self Storage. Spain is currently home to 25 self-storage companies with 45 facilities.

The new board is led by founding member Joseph Collin, president; Bartomeu Fiol, vice president; Josep Català, secretary general; Fermín García-Serrano, treasurer; and Maite Pacheco, webmaster. Officers hail from several regions of the country, and have experience ranging from one-site startups to multinationals. Founded in 2004, the association has 12 company members.

AESS plans to develop guidelines to assist members collecting rent from late or defaulting tenants. With the threat of terrorism, the board also will develop a model disaster plan. Other concerns include municipal ordinances governing fire safety and parking spaces; because zoning regulations vary by region and municipality, developers often struggle with them. The association also intends to develop a website.

Industry suppliers may now join the AESS as associate members. Felipe Vius, sales manager Spain for Steel Storage/PTI, attended Mays meeting as the first candidate.