When you send a boomerang flying, it returns right back to its point of origination. The same holds true for Boomerang, the self-storage automation system. Confused? Hold on to your hat, because youre about to enter the next dimension of self-storage.

Its called Automated Locker Retrieval (ALR) technology and it looks like something right out of the Jetsons. While this new technology conjures up images of animation, the concept is very real, workable and nothing short of awesome. Just ask Chris Mulvihill, director of business development for Boomerang Self Storage Automation.

Since we first introduced this concept earlier this year (at the Inside Self-Storage Expo in Las Vegas), weve had hundreds of inquiries, says Mulvihill, And now we have so many curious people wanting to look at the prototypes and learn more about the technology that we almost need to run our own shuttle from Salt Lake City airport to our facility in Logan (Utah).

People question the magnitude of this incredulous technology and find it incomprehensible that a push of a button will bring a storage unit ground floor for tenants, and then another button tap will send it into the inner core of the building for safekeeping.

The concept is mind-numbing, thanks to the genius of its designer and company founder, Stan Checketts, whose engineering experience can make anyones head spinliterally. In fact, hes the man responsible for making millions of people take their thrills of a lifetime on some of the worlds most spectacular amusement park rides.

Checketts is the founder and CEO of the largest thrill-ride manufacturer in the United States. He is the creator of the worlds tallest thrill ride (Stratosphere in Las Vegas), first air-powered roller coaster, and the first roller coaster to go more than 100 miles per hour. In short, hundreds of millions of riders in amusement parks in 27 countries have experienced Checketts technologysafely.

Knowing that systems from Boomerang are designed by someone with such a proven track record in manufacturing high-performance automated equipment sends a pretty clear message to self-storage developers that this might be more than a fly-by-night science project.

Anyone who questions Stans ability to engineer and manufacture a reliable piece of equipment should go to the top of the Stratosphere in Las Vegas and ride the Big Shot, says Mulvihill. When you get shot 160 feet straight up at 4 Gs without flying off and landing in the middle of the Las Vegas Strip, then you get a pretty good idea of how well these storage units will work . If Stan can engineer tower rides and roller-coasters to 1/1,000th of an inch, assuring the safety of millions, its a real testament to his ingenuity, creativity and the reliability of his work.

For those whove visited with Checketts at the Logan, Utah, manufacturing plant and seen ALR systems for themselves, all doubts are dispelled. People may walk in with questions and disbelief, but once they walk out, they have no concerns about the technical systems at all not any at all, says Mulvihill.

Now that word is getting around, several developments are in the works, and more inquiries keep rolling in, Mulvihill says. Furthermore, the company is looking into apartment-building storage and is now offering automated parking systems as well.

Knowing Checketts history, its easy to imagine that its only a matter of time until this new technology takes off. With Boomerang, the skies are the limit for self-storage and beyond. 

For more information or to order a DVD demo, call 877.538.2666 (BOOM); visit www.boomerangsystems.com.