Women in Self-Storage: Teresa Sedmak, Everbrite, Inc.

Back in the 1960s, an inventor formulated a liquid coating for the U.S. government. When applied to metals, the coating formed a protective barrier that prevented sunlight and saltwater from causing rust and corrosion. While protecting the metals, the coating also improved the appearance of faded metal.  

After the coating’s inventor passed away, Teresa Sedmak, president of Everbrite, Inc., and her husband, Steve, purchased the rights to the formula. Working as contractors within the mobile home industry, the couple started using the protective coating to restore the aluminum siding of mobile homes in 1990.

Business was going well, and all their customers were pleased with the restorative results of the coating. Then, in 1996, Everbrite discovered a new opportunity. They easily and quickly added another vertical market to their business when one of their clients, an owner of a self-storage facility, inquired about applying the coating on roll-up doors.  

“He said, ‘My brown doors are old, faded, and ugly; they’re 20 years old and I want to make them look better,’” recalls Sedmak. “So, we restored his property in Roseville, Calif., and made the doors look brand new and thought ‘Wow! This is great!’” 

Storage Application 

Following the successful restoration of those roll-up doors, Sedmak knew other storage facilities could benefit from Everbrite’s clear, protective coating as well, especially properties situated in sunny locations and/or near corrosive ocean water. “We started working with other self-storage companies, National Self Storage and many other self-storage companies that had faded old doors,” she says.  

Positive word-of-mouth helped generate new business for Everbrite, Inc., but Sedmak decided to tap into an industry-specific resource for additional exposure in 1999: trade associations.  

“The first trade show we went to was in 1999 in Philadelphia to check it out. We have grown the business through the self-storage trade shows,” says Sedmak. “After we saw the potential of the trade shows and met some people in the self-storage industry, we decided to get involved. Our first exhibit was in Chicago in 2000, and people were lined up around our table. They were so excited to learn about something that could finally be done about these old, faded doors.” 

Although chemicals were not permitted on the trade show floors, thus eliminating live demonstrations, Everbrite’s booth presented proof of the product’s effectiveness via impressive before-and-after photographs. “We had one of those trade show booths that was a pop up with carpet on it with pictures applied with Velcro,” she says. “We had lots of pictures; of course, the self-storage doors show so well because the before and afters are so in incredibly great.” 

The pictures were definitely worth a thousand words, but the Sedmaks were always available to discuss Everbrite’s protective coating with interested individuals at trade shows. “They lined up and we got in touch with them,” she says, adding that Everbrite, Inc. became a vendor member of several self-storage associations after receiving such a warm reception at the company’s first trade show. “We are members of the SSA, and have been since I think 2000, and we are members of California and several of the states. We have been members of Texas [TSSA] because they have a really great show.” 

In Everbrite’s early years within the self-storage industry, “We went to all the national trade shows and some state shows,” Sedmak says. However, the company no longer attends every show in person. “Now, more and more state associations are becoming larger and having trade shows; we can’t go to all of them, but we’re represented by our contractors at many conferences.” 

While she is not present at every trade show these days, Sedmak is committed to sharing her knowledge about the proper care of roll-up doors with the industry; for more than two decades she has been a presenter at conferences and the author of numerous articles for self-storage specific publications. She also keeps Everbrite’s name and products at the forefront of potential customers’ minds through internet and print advertising. “We advertise in the industry’s the four main publications,” she says, “We’ve had ads in the magazines for over 20 years.” 

In addition to Google Ads and YouTube videos, Sedmak says Everbrite’s website, which was launched in the late 1990s, enabled the company to start selling its products online. She also astutely incorporated trending keywords into the website each time a new industry contacted her about Everbrite’s products to take full advantage of organic SEO.  

“As somebody in the jewelry industry would talk to us, then we would sell more to the other jewelry people,” she says about her keyword strategy. “If somebody with aluminum siding or copper roofs or other things started to need us, they tell their peers, we put it up online, and we get other people who use it … the internet really made us grow.” 

Sedmak and Everbrite also focused on curating content, specifically how-to videos, for their YouTube channel. “So, if somebody wanted to try it for their own storage, they could buy a kit, watch a video to show them how it’s done, try it on one or two doors, and then they can either do it themselves or we can get them a certified contractor in most areas of the country.” 

Incorporated Improvements  

Even though Everbrite’s first several years in the self-storage industry were fruitful, Sedmak was determined to improve its signature Everbrite coating for the benefit of her customers. “Many self-storage places have brightly colored doors, and they all fade so badly, so we needed something to not just bring it back but actually protect the colors,” she says. “In 2006, we renovated the whole coating and made it stronger with strong UV blockers, antioxidants, anti-corrosion agents—total protection for the bright colors.”  

Sedmak and the Everbrite team also wanted to expand the company’s product line to help owner-operators protect other surfaces within their facilities. “We needed something that was stronger for door handles and sinks and other areas that get a lot of use, elevators and that type of thing, so we invented ProtectaClear, which is a harder coating,” she says. “Since then, we have come up with a few variations, but our basic product line has stayed the same.  

Besides the Everbrite and ProtectaClear lines, the company also offers CrobialCoat, which includes Microban technologies to reduce the growth of bacteria and microbes, as well as cleaners and polishes for the various coatings. All our coatings are made with no carcinogens; they are solvent based, so you don't want to drink them, but we are very proud that there are no carcinogens in them. That is very important to us.” 

Everbrite was reaching more customers than ever before thanks to its expanded product line, but COVID-19 shook up the company’s structure approximately a decade later. Because nonessential employees were not allowed to leave their homes during the lockdowns, Sedmak and the Everbrite team of contractors discontinued the application side of the business. Instead of applying the coatings themselves, the company elected to start a network of certified contractors to do it.  

“We transitioned out of ourselves doing it because my husband [who ran Everbrite’s contracting division] was ready to retire and we didn’t have other people to take over that division,” says Sedmak, who mentions that it was a blessing in disguise as it eliminated the need to hire people to apply Everbrite’s coatings, which was becoming increasingly difficult, particularly in California. “So, in the meantime, we have trained other contractors. They come out to the company’s Rancho Cordova, Calif.-based office for training. We train them exactly how to do it; once they are certified contractors, then we refer them to other customers in the self-storage industry.” 

The training course, which was designed by Sedmak’s daughter, Jackie Belau, teaches them about Everbrite’s products and how to use them. “It’s not just classroom training or internet training,” she says. “They come in, they put it on metal, and then they take it off; then they learn how to put it onto other surfaces like stainless steel, and they take it off. Then they go out to a self-storage facility here locally and they actually restore some doors, learn how to do the work so that they can see what it’s like to do the doors the proper way. So, they get complete hands-on training.” 

Currently, Everbrite’s contractor network has approximately 30 contractors who apply the protective coatings across the nation, thus enabling Sedmak and the other nine Everbrite employees to direct more attention on manufacturing and selling the products to more industries in more countries. Beyond self-storage applications, Everbrite’s products are used to protect historical and high-rise buildings, including the Empire State Building; metal art; automotives, including Tesla’s Cybertruck; boats; patio furniture; water treatment plants; and “any metal that needs protection from sun, salt, air, and corrosion.”  

According to Sedmak, the company’s goal is to keep its industry list “very diversified” to ensure its success no matter what’s going on with the economy. “We sell in so many areas and so many industries, and there are so many different uses for it that if one thing turns down because of the economy, the other ones stand up.” 

She goes on to say, “We have distributors in New Zealand, Australia, England, and South Africa. And we sell all over the world out of here [the Rancho Cordova, Calif.-based headquarters].” However, Sedmak notes that most the company’s self-storage customers are in the U.S., while a few have been from Canada and Mexico. 

“We ship all our products out of our offices here, package, pack and ship; we do all the customer service and technical support as well,” says Sedmak. “We are a small company, but we like it that way. We can give individual help to all our customers We’re not so large that we lose that friendly, helpful staff, but we’re well enough established, where even large companies can rely on us. We’re not going anywhere.” 

In 2019, to further solidify Everbrite’s place within the self-storage industry, the company created a “Top Operators Program” that enables participants, like StoragePRO Management, the program’s first member, to learn how to apply the coatings but with ongoing support from the Everbrite team. Having an in-house facilities team trained in the Everbrite Restoration System process decreases maintenance expenses while increasing curb appeal.  

Next In Line 

As Sedmak and the Everbrite team steadily expand the company’s reach, they’re also preparing for a potential passing of the torch. “When I eventually retire, which I may not, I’m taking on less and less work, my daughter Jackie is going to be taking over,” Sedmak says, adding that Belau, whose first job was at Everbrite at 13 years old, has been taking on more responsibilities over the last five years, including speaking at self-storage conferences. “I’ve kind of stepped back and allowed her to do that. She’s great at it.” 

There’s even a possibility that Everbrite will someday be passed on to Sedmak’s young grandson when he’s older. Until then, she’s more than content with her role within the company. “I will always keep my fingers in it … I love the advertising and the marketing and talking to our self-storage friends.” 

And so long as Everbrite’s receiving positive feedback, her steadfast dedication to the company she built alongside her husband is all worthwhile. “We’ve had a lot of people who write and tell us thank you for making their property look great or thank you for helping them solve a problem with their buildings or that type of thing,” says Sedmak. “I think our awards are happy customers.” 

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Erica Shatzer is the editor of Modern Storage Media.