CMC seamlessly scales with SecurSpace as a marketing force multiplier

For over 50 years, Container Maintenance Corporation (CMC) has been a cornerstone of the intermodal industry. While their core business began in maintenance and repair, the company has grown into a powerhouse with over 1,800 employees across 55+ locations across marine and inland ports across the United States.

Even with a massive geographic footprint, CMC faced a common industry hurdle: underutilized yard space. CMC had the real estate and the expertise but lacked an external channel partner to promote their storage capacity to the broader motor carrier and 3PL market.

"Originally, people didn’t really know that we offered that type of service," says Michael Wojnowski, Vice President at CMC. "SecurSpace has been able to go out there and market all of our locations through their platform and connections. They introduced us as a premier depot provider to the customer."

A partnership built for scale

Since 2012, CMC has more than quadrupled in size. A significant amount of the growth has been supported by a "white-glove" partnership with SecurSpace that prioritizes customer experience. By listing and promoting their yards on the SecurSpace marketplace, CMC didn't just find a booking tool—they found a marketing force multiplier that connected them directly with motor carriers and 3PLs looking for secure, reliable storage.

This plug-and-play approach to growth allows CMC’s leadership to focus on high-level operations while SecurSpace simplifies the complexities of the sales funnel.

"We have total confidence in the SecurSpace team to act as our front-end partner," says Davey Miller, Chief Operation Officer at CMC. “We trust their expertise in navigating the market and structuring deals that benefit everyone involved. Our job is simply to say 'yes' and execute on the operational excellence CMC has provided for 50 years. It’s made scaling our storage revenue remarkably seamless.”

Operational agility and "pop-up" success

The true test of any logistics partnership is how it handles volatility. During the 2020-2021 import influx, the supply chain faced unprecedented bottlenecks. CMC and SecurSpace responded with extreme agility, standing up "pop-up" yards to meet the sudden demand for grounded container storage. This flexibility allowed CMC to capture revenue during market surges without the typical administrative overhead of launching new locations.

Security as the standard for excellence

For a premier operation, robust security is not an elective feature—it is an essential foundation to protect millions of dollars of freight and customer relationships. To tackle this concern, SecurSpace works closely with CMC to identify specific market needs and cargo theft risks. This open communication has led to significant infrastructure investments that differentiate CMC from other suppliers and provide peace of mind to the industry’s most demanding motor carriers and shippers.

"We’ve been able to adjust our facilities and add in armed guards, fencing where there may not have been before, and lighting," Wojnowski explains.  We’ve been able to be flexible to ensure the customer’s needs are met, including augmenting the infrastructure and operational processes in markets with concerning cargo theft patterns."

From accrual to predictable revenue

Perhaps the most significant transformation for CMC has been the shift in their financial model. Historically, yard storage was a reactive, utilization-based business—you billed for what showed up.

Through SecurSpace, CMC introduced a prepaid reserve model. This allows CMC to block off specific areas of their yard that are guaranteed to the customer, creating a win-win: the customer has guaranteed capacity, and CMC has a stable, 3-to-12-month revenue forecast.

"The relationship with SecurSpace has made this type of revenue stream really simple for us," says Wojnowski. "It’s made it really great for us to be able to forecast what the utilization will be well into the future."

Advice for the modern yard owner

Today, CMC continues to expand, confident that their partnership with SecurSpace will help them fill new markets as they open. For other yard owners looking to optimize their operations, Wojnowski’s advice is simple: trust the experts.

"Work with the SecurSpace team to list your property. They will be very open and honest with you about what the needs are and what will make you more attractive to customers," Wojnowski concludes. "Be open to feedback, let SecurSpace do what they do, and it will work out well for you."