Storage Rentals of America, which operates 38 self-storage facilities in four states, has joined StoreLocal Corp., a co-operative of private self-storage operators in Canada and the United States, as a founding member. Benjamin Macfarland, CEO and managing partner of Storage Rentals, was instrumental in the company’s decision to join, according to a company press release.

"We’re excited to bring Ben Macfarland on board, because he’s not new to real estate,” said StoreLocal CEO Lance Watkins. “He’s backed by an ultra-high-net-worth family office and has a very heavy appetite to acquire a lot of real estate in the Southeast United States. He’s a good fit for the co-op and StorageFront because we’re able to leverage some of the experience we have in the industry with an operation that is growing very rapidly.”

Macfarland cited a desire to show his company’s commitment to the industry as a motivating factor for joining StoreLocal. “It’s a good resource for understanding certain conditions occurring inside the industry, trends that might be happening that we’re not aware of,” he said.

Every prospective founder is subject to an approval process by the StoreLocal board of directors, and the co-op’s bylaws limit founder membership to 30 companies. Storage Rentals is the 20th company to receive the honor, and more companies are under active consideration, the release stated.

StoreLocal leverages the combined strength of its membership for services such as customer acquisition, financing, marketing and technology. It has more than 700 facility members.

Headquartered in West Palm Beach, Fla., Storage Rentals of America is a real estate investment company focused on the acquisition and development of self-storage properties as well as direct-equity investments with developers and operators across the country. It’s a division of Elite Stor Capital Partners LLC, an equity investor focused on the self-storage industry.

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