Of mothballs and bagpipes - Fly on the Wall - The Nation

After 25 years in Asia, including two decades as president of Heinz and Cosa Liebermann in South Korea, Hong kong and Thailand John Elliott and his wife Jan took a well-deserved break backpacking around Cambodia, Laos and Thailand.

The nine-month venture provided them time to reflect on what they wanted to do after his retirement. It was then that the idea to establish self-storage facilities in Bangkok came to him.

Like many expats working in Asia, the Elliotts have experienced difficulty finding proper storage facilities for their possessions and mementoes.

When, during their long vacation, they had some of had some of their personal effects shipped from South Korea to Bangkok, they were dismayed to find that they could not find adequate temporary storage facilities. The best they could settle for was a corner of a warehouse, with no guarantee that their things wouldn’t be moved around by the storage provider.

Elliott made note of the situation, and when the time was right, with Thai partners, he invested in Bangkok Self Storage, targeting expatriates, local landlords and small and medium importers and businesses, particularly importers.

According to Elliott, the one-storey, 1,400 square-metre facility on Rama IV Road promises a secure, cost-effective and flexible solutions for storing personal items, paperwork or most other belongings for a few weeks, months or years. The facility is monitored by computer and camera surveillance and each unit is accessed through a security code number.

In the meantime, Elliott, who is of Scottish and Irish ancestry, is making his presence felt on the Bangkok expat scene for his bagpipe-playing skills, harnessed as a student at a Presbyterian boarding school. Besides weddings, his multinational pipe band has been seen at the BNH Bed Party Parade and the St. Andrew's Ball.