NSU Horizons Fall 2010

Alumni Profile 36 horizons Protecting Everything from Anything By Dave Dawson Marvin Chaney is a professional collector—from exquisite jewelry and precious metals, to fine art, rare wines, and exotic automobiles. But Chaney doesn’t own any of these priceless items—he’s protecting them. And he promises the owners he will guard these prize possessions from anything. Category five hurricanes. Fire. Theft. Bullets. Chaney, M.B.A. ’91, already had a successful self-storage business when he first conceived of RoboVault, the world’s first high-tech, robotic, self-storage facility in Fort Lauderdale. “It became apparent that customers either wanted to get things out of the way or protect assets of real and personal value. That’s what I set out to create…an impenetrable self-storage facility,” he said. Chaney credits much of his success establishing this one- of-a-kind business with what he learned securing his M.B.A. from NSU’s H. Wayne Huizenga School of Business and Entrepreneurship. Chaney was in the inaugural class to receive an M.B.A. in Real Estate Development, currently offered through the Huizenga School as a Master of Science in Real Estate Development. “After so many years in business, you think you have the business savvy to do anything,” he said during a tour of RoboVault. “The real-world nature of my learning experience at the Huizenga School was an invaluable component of being able to launch this new venture.” After four years of research into cutting-edge technology with state-of-the-art security systems, RoboVault opened its doors in June 2009. Actually, it opened its outer doors. RoboVault has an inner storage system that a client can operate without assistance. Imagine you are the owner of a vintage car and you want to protect it. You rent the space, and then drive your car through an overhead door into a private staging area. The door closes behind the car ensuring privacy. Then you use a biometric keypad to type in a secret code and leave your fingerprint. That activates a robotic crane that lowers a storage module to the staging area. A second door opens revealing the module and the car is loaded and secured. The robotic system lifts the module to the storage area. No one else can access the module without your private access code and biometric print. In fact, no outsiders can access the storage area. A similar private-access process is used for storing fine wines, jewelry, and art collections. “We offer a client the level of protection and privacy that is, quite simply, unprecedented,” said Chaney. This combination of protection and privacy is paramount to clients. Kevin Lloyd Molloy of Michigan works for a private art collector. For hurricane season, Molloy needed a place to store the art collection away from his employer’s waterfront home in Florida. Molloy said he was “tremendously impressed” with the robotic system and the staff’s expertise. “My employer’s art has been uninstalled from his home and is safely stored. Both my employer and I now have peace of mind that his valuables are in good hands.” The bunker-like building of concrete and steel-reinforced construction is also unique. It is the only building in South Florida certified by underwriters, Chartis, Chubb, Lloyds of London, and Travelers Preferred as a category five building. Chaney is quick to point out that clients may “save significant sums on their insurance” because of this designation. Besides its Fort Knox-like structure, the building boasts museum-quality climate and humidity control including special rooms for wine, kept at 55 degrees. In case of a hurricane, backup systems will provide power for up to two weeks. The building has a sophisticated sprinkler system set off by fail-safe smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors. “Individuals and businesses trust their most-valued possessions to RoboVault. I have every confidence that we offer the safest facility anywhere in the world,” Chaney said. n