Interstate Van Lines

Last updated
Interstate Van Lines
FormerlyAce Van & Storage (1943-1967)
Company typeSubsidiary
Industry Moving company
Founded1943;81 years ago (1943) in Washington, D.C., United States
FounderArthur E. Morrissette
Headquarters
Springfield, Virginia
,
United States
Parent Interstate Group Holdings, Inc.
Website moveinterstate.com
Footnotes /references
[1] [2]

Interstate Van Lines is a family-owned American moving company based in Springfield, Virginia. [3] The company handles storage and shipping for corporate and government clients, including AOL, Hewlett-Packard and the US military. [4] It is a subsidiary of Interstate Group Holdings, Inc. which owns a number domestic and international moving and logistics companies [5] of which Interstate Van Lines is the largest. [6]

Contents

History

Arthur E. Morrissette started the business at a cost of US$450 when he left the Navy Department in 1943. The original name was Ace Van & Storage, based in south-east Washington, D.C.; the present name was used from 1967, when the company also introduced its "Top Hat" logo. Morrissette was the spokesperson for the company for its first 29 years in radio and television advertising [2] and held a patent for a household goods protection system he called "UltraPak". [6] He resigned in 1993 and died on April 24, 1996. [1]

Subsequent members of the Morrissette family who have been involved with the company include at least two who have been its president, Arthur E. "Buddy" Morrissette Jr. [7] and John D. "JD" Morrissette. [8]

In the 1950s, the company began offering storage and rug cleaning services but by the 1960s had shut down the rug cleaning business. Interstate moved to its present location of Springfield, Virginia in 1971 and expanded beyond providing services only to the United States East Coast. [6]

In 1998 the company had been awarded a US$40.7 million contract from Military Traffic Management Command for transport services. [9]

In 1998, Interstate acquired Orange, California-based Global Van Lines to become one of the largest moving companies in the US with reported annual revenues of $120 million. Global was an agent-owned co-operative focused on the West Coast while Interstate's business was still primarily in the Eastern US. [10] Global filed for bankruptcy protection in January 2000 and shortly after, Interstate sold Global to Naperville, Illinois-based Allied Worldwide [11] after a bidding war between Allied and Wheaton World Wide Moving. [12]

Between 1999 and 2011, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration showed a significant decline in the number of power units (trucks or semi-tractors) operated by the company. In 1999 it had 225, [13] by 2004 the number was 126, [14] and by 2011 it was 74. [15]

In March 2010, a Fairfax, Virginia jury ruled against Interstate Van Lines for wrongful allegations of theft that put a former Interstate driver in jail for 34 days, awarding the ex-employee $50,000 for malicious prosecution, $200,000 for false imprisonment and $340,000 in punitive damages. [8]

By 2015, the company had been reorganized into a holding company, Interstate Group, which contained a number of divisions including the original Interstate Van Lines. At that time, the Group reported it had been profitable for 72 years with a net profit of 5%-10% on gross revenues of $87 million to $100 million annually. According to the company, it had 250 full-time and 140 seasonal employees and 300 trucks and moved 20,000 customers annually. [6]

Recognition

Interstate was accredited by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on December 22, 2010 in a deal which involved ICE offering free training. The accreditation recognizes that the company maintains systems to deter the employment of illegal workers. As at December 2010 there were already more than 100 companies accredited under this new scheme, known as IMAGE. [4] Interstate had introduced mandatory urine testing for drugs in 1984. [16]

A press release issued by the company in 2009 announced that it was one of the winners of a National Defense Transportation Quality Award and that this was the eighth time it had been so recognised, The award was for implementing systems for dealing with Department of Defense commissions for the relocation of personnel based around Puget Sound, of which around 500 had been dealt with in the year 2008. [17]

The company was also awarded the American Moving & Storage Association's first Independent Mover of the Year Award, for 2007. [18]

Springfield has been a campaign stop for Republican election candidates. [19] Interstate hosted a rally held by John McCain, Republican presidential nominee and his running mate, Sarah Palin in 2008. [20] In 1996 it had hosted a similar event for GOP presidential nominee Bob Dole. [21]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North American Van Lines</span> Trucking company

North American Van Lines, or NAVL, is a large American trucking company originally formed in Cleveland, Ohio and later based in Fort Wayne, Indiana, which specializes in home and office relocations.

Toll Group operates a logistics and global freight forwarding network spanning 150 countries, with over 20,000 customers. Toll has more than 16,000 team members across 500 sites.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mayflower Transit</span> American transportation company

Mayflower Transit, LLC, a subsidiary of UniGroup, is an American moving company based in Fenton, Missouri. Mayflower operates as an agent owned co-op to coordinate loads, packing, and third-party services. Agents are independent contractors each focusing on a specific local area. While each agent maintains their own local and intrastate business, the co-op operates in the interstate and international service lines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Van Lines</span>

United Van Lines is an American moving and relocation company and a subsidiary of UniGroup, Inc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Global Van Lines</span> Moving company

Global Van Lines, LLC is an international moving company founded in 1933 by George T. Howard as Howard Van Lines in Dallas, Texas. It took its present name in 1957 when it was acquired by Trans-Ocean Van Service of Long Beach, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moving company</span> Business that provides packing and moving services for relocation

A moving company, removalist or van line is a company that helps people and businesses move their goods from one place to another. It offers all-inclusive services for relocations, like packing, loading, moving, unloading, unpacking, and arranging of items to be shifted. Additional services may include cleaning services for houses, offices or warehousing facilities.

Estes Express Lines is a privately owned American freight transportation provider based in Richmond, Virginia. Founded in 1931 by W. W. Estes, the company is still owned and operated by the Estes family. Robey W. Estes, Jr., became the company’s president in 1990, then chairman and CEO in 2001. He was succeeded by his son Webb Estes as COO and President in 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Shyft Group</span> American automobile design company

The Shyft Group, formerly known as Spartan Motors, is an American automobile design company that designs, engineers and manufactures specialty chassis, specialty vehicles, truck bodies and aftermarket parts for the recreational vehicle (RV), government services, and delivery and service markets. The company started in 1975 as a direct result of the bankruptcy of Diamond Reo. It is currently headquartered in Novi, Michigan and has 3,000 employees.

A moving scam is a scam by a moving company in which the company provides an estimate, loads the goods, then states a much higher price to deliver the goods, effectively holding the goods as lien.

Allied Van Lines is an American moving company founded in 1928 as a cooperative non-profit organization owned by its member agents on the east coast of the United States, to help with organizing return loads and minimizing dead-heading. In 1968 it was reorganized as a standard public company, with shares. In 1999 it merged with its larger competitor, North American Van Lines, and the combined entity then came under the holding company Allied Worldwide. In 2002, Allied Worldwide was renamed SIRVA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">It's a Little Too Late (Mark Chesnutt song)</span> 1996 single by Mark Chesnutt

"It's a Little Too Late" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music singer Mark Chesnutt. It was released in September 1996 as the lead single from his Greatest Hits compilation album. The song reached number-one on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart and peaked at number 5 on the Canadian RPM Country Tracks chart. The song was written by Chesnutt, Roger Springer and Slugger Morrissette.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trucking industry in the United States</span> American industry

The trucking industry serves the American economy by transporting large quantities of raw materials, works in process, and finished goods over land—typically from manufacturing plants to retail distribution centers. Trucks are also used in the construction industry, two of which require dump trucks and portable concrete mixers to move the large amounts of rocks, dirt, concrete, and other building materials used in construction. Trucks in America are responsible for the majority of freight movement over land and are tools in the manufacturing, transportation, and warehousing industries.

Allied Moving Services is a moving company in Australia, New Zealand, United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, and India. It maintains 40 branches across all states of Australia, and over 600 locations worldwide providing removal services across the entire country, and is a subsidiary of SIRVA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gentle Giant Moving Company</span>

Gentle Giant Moving Company, Inc. is a national moving company which was founded by President Larry O'Toole, originated in Boston, Massachusetts in 1980. It has expanded from a single truck business in Massachusetts to opening offices across the United States. Gentle Giant Moving Company is now located in New Hampshire, Rhode Island, New York, Washington, D.C., North Carolina, Washington state, California, Philadelphia, and its newest office in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Moving & Storage Association</span>

The American Moving & Storage Association (AMSA) was the non-profit trade association representing members of the professional moving industry based primarily in the United States. Its approximately 4,000 members consisted of van lines, their agents, independent movers, forwarders, industry suppliers, and certain individuals and organizations.

PODS, or Portable On Demand Storage, is a moving and storage company. It was founded in 1998 and is based in Clearwater, Florida.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Van Lines</span>

National Van Lines, Inc. is a privately held American moving and relocation company based in Broadview, Illinois with agents in 48 states and service partners around the world. The company’s services include residential and commercial moving and storage domestically and internationally. National Van Lines has been designated a Pro Mover company by the American Moving & Storage Association.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CRST International</span> American freight company

CRST The Transportation Solution, Inc. is an American freight company based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atlas World Group</span>

Atlas World Group, Inc., is a privately owned company in the moving and storage industry headquartered in Evansville, Indiana. Founded in 1948, Atlas is the 11th largest private company in the state. Atlas World Group is the parent and holding company of Atlas Van Lines, Inc., and eight other subsidiary companies that offer transportation, storage, and related relocation services on a global scale through its network of agents and service partners. Service areas include consumer relocation, corporate relocation, government and military services, international relocation, and logistics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Graebel Relocation</span>

Graebel Companies, Inc., with global headquarters in Aurora, Colorado, is an American privately held company that provides corporate relocation services, offering end-to-end assignment management solutions, policy consulting, and administration of global mobility programs.

References

  1. 1 2 "Van lines founder dead at 82". Observer-Reporter. 1996-04-26. p. A6. Retrieved 2011-02-18.
  2. 1 2 "No headline". The Washington Times. 1993-12-17. Retrieved 2011-02-18.
  3. ↑ "Interstate Van Lines, Inc". TruckFLIX. Retrieved 2009-09-09.
  4. 1 2 Labbé-DeBose, Theola (2010-12-21). "Immigration agency offers companies training in exchange for audits". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2011-02-18.
  5. ↑ Daileda, Colin (2009-06-18). "Running the Family Business". Springfield Connection. Archived from the original on 2009-06-20. Retrieved 2011-02-18.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Heath, Thomas (24 May 2015). "Moving customers, including military top brass, for up to $100M a year". Washington Post. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  7. ↑ Salant, Katherine (1998-05-09). "There's More to Moving Than Packing Boxes". The Washington Post. p. G.01.
  8. 1 2 Jackman, Tom (2010-03-18). "Fairfax jury finds for truck driver falsely imprisoned in resignation dispute". Washington Post. Retrieved 2010-03-18.
  9. ↑ "Contract". US Department of Defense. 1998-08-21. Retrieved 2011-02-18.
  10. ↑ Fruehling, Douglas (5 October 1998). "Major move: Interstate acquires Global Van Lines". Washington Business Journal. The Business Journals. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  11. ↑ Bearth, Daniel P. (23 February 2000). "Allied's Purchase Illustrates Mover Consolidation". Transport Topics. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  12. ↑ "Allied, Wheaton Want Global Van Lines". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. 17 February 2000. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  13. ↑ Behr, Peter (1999-01-03). "Springfield Businesses Brace for Bad Times". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2011-02-18.
  14. ↑ "Four trucking companies receive awards from military". Land Line. 2004-03-31. Retrieved 2011-02-18.
  15. ↑ "Company Snapshot". Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Archived from the original on 2011-03-14. Retrieved 2011-02-18. MC No. 001745
  16. ↑ Freitag, Michael (1988-04-03). "What's New In Moving And Storage; Low Wages and Drug Tests Make Drivers Scarce". The New York Times. Retrieved 2011-02-18.
  17. ↑ "Interstate Van Lines Receives 2008 National Defense Transportation Association Quality Award". Reuters. 2009-04-09. Archived from the original on 2012-09-12. Retrieved 2009-09-09.
  18. ↑ "Interstate Van Lines Picks Up First Independent Mover of the Year Award". American Moving & Storage Association. 2008-04-03. Retrieved 2009-09-09.
  19. ↑ "Palin Plans To Visit Richmond Saturday". WRIC-TV8 / WIRC.com. Associated Press. 2008-10-29. Retrieved 2011-02-18.
  20. ↑ O'Donoghue, Julia (2008-11-03). "McCain Makes Plea for Voters in Springfield". Cascades Connection. Retrieved 2011-02-18.[ permanent dead link ]
  21. ↑ Los Angeles Times (1996-09-24). "Dole attacks Clinton's 'liberal approach to national issues'". The Gainesville Sun. Retrieved 2011-02-18.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.