Ever since Robin Cheng started storing with us in 2019, he would visit his storage units at least once every two weeks. Most of the time, he would bring in plastic containers filled with electronic parts into his storage. When he started bringing in banquet tables, I assumed that he was storing them as well.
About a year later, Robin showed up with another banquet table. This time, we had a small talk. He told me about how he used banquet tables to organise items in his storage units. So, I followed him to his storage units to see for myself what he meant.
“Some of these banquet tables were from my previous office,” said Robin as he opened his storage door. “We used them for training last time. But I’ve given up my office because we’re online now.”
Inside his storage unit, banquet tables were stacked to create shelving for the plastic containers. I could see electronic parts through these containers, and each of them was labelled with a red marker pen. It was impressively systematic and well-organised.
“So, what does your company, Trackertronix, do?” I asked.
“We used to provide training, like robotics in Malaysia, to teachers and lecturers from vocational schools and polytechnics,” he said. And when I asked, when did he start the business, Robin simply said, “Many years ago.”
On Trackertronix website, the company’s tagline is: “Poweroff Troubleshooting since 1979.” So, it’s been about 41 years since the company was launched, which is indeed “Many years ago.”
Before Trackertronix, Robin merely enjoyed playing with computer-based communication and robotics. Upon learning about the demand for trainers in vocational schools and polytechnics, Robin started Trackertronix.
It was one of the first companies in Malaysia to supply materials and training services that revolve around computer-based communication and robotics.
As the years went by, rapid social and technological advancement gradually shifted Trackertronix’s business direction to repairing and supplying tools and programming systems. They also ventured into various types of test equipment.
Now, as they have gone online, there’s no longer a need for a physical office. As part of their transition solution, Robin came to Cube Self Storage to store his business stock and leftover materials from his previous projects.
“I cannot just store these electronic parts in room temperature. They will deteriorate and won’t work anymore. If they’re damaged, how am I supposed to sell them?” He chuckled.
“Temperature is very important to preserve them. That’s why I keep them here in climate-controlled storage. I feel good when I come to do some work here. So, I can imagine how good my items feel like being in this storage all the time.”
Although the market for Trackertronix is a niche, Robin still travels between Vietnam and Malaysia to support and train people in the industries that use robots and programming systems, such as the automotive industry.
Sometimes, he would still get enquiry about his old electronic parts that are no longer in production from schools and trainers who had training from him for robotics in Malaysia.
“Students tend to blow things up,” Robin explained. “So, they’ll always be looking for parts. If you’re a student, you need to do all these mistakes and errors. You need to blow things up to learn so that once you start working, you don’t blow things up,” he laughed. “Nobody becomes good without first failing.”
As I left Robin to let him continue stacking a banquet table to create more shelving for his containers, I thought about what he said: “Nobody becomes good without first failing.”
It is a truth that we tend to ignore, for nobody likes to fail. But sometimes it is necessary to fail for us to continue growing. And I wondered, how many times did Robin fail before he figured out how to use banquet tables as shelving for his items?
Perhaps that would be a 1 sq.ft. Story for another time.
By Tilon Sagulu
1 sq.ft. Story is a series in which customers of Cube Self Storage share unique lifestyle choices, experiences, and stories. See the entry from Elaine Hong of ENYA here. If you’d like to get featured, get in touch with Tilon at herlveron.sagulu@cubeselfstorage.my
