Equipment Management Services sells new, used and custom-built shipping containers customers can use for everything from storage solutions to exclusive coffee shops.
President Kevin Smith Jr. said what makes EMS unique is the diverse selection of products and the personal connection the company builds with each customer. The company’s headquarters are in Houston, but they provide creative solutions for businesses across the country.
There is a broad range of products EMS can offer inside the narrow lens of distributing shipping containers. The business has in-house delivery, design, engineering and consulting services, so if EMS does not have exactly what a customer needs, they can create it.
“We can do anything as simple as providing a single storage solution for a rural environment all the way to a highly technical, modified unit that might be a blending lab or a container home," Smith said.
The basic shipping container is either 20 or 40 feet, but containers can also be combined together to create larger structures. Smith said EMS recently assembled a multi-unit structure that will be used as a coffee shop. EMS can also create spaces to be used as breweries, employee break rooms, homes, equipment storage rooms and more.
“We’re taking a challenge that an existing business has and creating a solution for them by making a modular structure,” Smith said.
Smith said it’s rewarding to offer creative solutions to business and industry problems.
“There are countless times where the client has a real challenge and no real answer and the [shipping] container becomes such a small part of creating that victory,” Smith said.
In addition to helping businesses solve problems, EMS donates shipping containers to nonprofits and other humanitarian organizations.
“We’re working on a project right now to build dog kennels that we’re donating to a local facility to enhance their capacities,” Smith said. “The kennels will be fully air conditioned with water and a feeder inside.”
EMS prioritizes client relationships and Smith said this is an aspect of the business that sets it apart from others in the industry.
“We are entrenched in this community,” Smith said. “We’re going to create that relationship. It's less transactional and it's more transformative. We don't care about just being a provider, you're going to get to know someone on our team and you're going to develop a relationship there.”
The business also offers delivery services and has a tilted trailer to put the shipping container on the ground for the customer.
EMS staff members take time to discuss a client’s needs and if they don’t have quite what they’re looking for, EMS’ team of engineers can build it.
“We invite our clients to come out and pick out their own unit which means a lot to people when they're making an investment in something like this,” Smith said.
EMS’ headquarters are located at 6910 S. Lake Houston Pkwy. Houston. The business also has an office in Ferris located at 1022 Malloy Bridge Road.
To discover how EMS can help with your business’ unique needs, visit https://ems-llc.com.
The above story was produced by Multi-platform Journalist Mary Katherine Shapiro with Community Impact's Storytelling team with information solely provided by the local business as part of their "sponsored content" purchase through our advertising team.