GOVERNMENT MOVERS INC history

Bekins led the moving and storage business away from horse-drawn wagons with the first motor trucks in 1903.

The first concrete and steel warehouses were built by Bekins in 1906.

But then in 1928 a group of independent moving companies formed an alliance wherein they could work together sharing information on jobs, keeping all of them busier and more profitable.

Starting in 1933 President Roosevelt began introducing a series of domestic programs known as the New Deal.

In 1948 Congress passed the Reed-Bullwinkle Act.

In 1960, Bekins established Bekins World Wide, later known as Bekins International.

In 1963, membership was opened to all those with an interest in the moving industry, and the first international companies joined as Associate (now Core) members.

By 1969, HHGFAA’s 7th annual meeting drew members from 11 countries, and the Association began a decades-long era of growth.

On October 22, 1976, with $300 and a lot of hope, two college friends launched Truckin’ Movers Corporation.

But in 1980 Congress voted to deregulate the trucking industry.

Bekins became a leader in residential delivery service, later named HomeDirectUSA in 1994.

Bekins led an industry consortium to develop the CPM (Certified Professional Movers) program, a CD-ROM based training module in 1995.

Bekins became the first van line to earn CPM status in 1996.

Bekins is the first van line to install nationwide warehouses and storage management systems to assist in order management and tracking in 1997.

By 2001 the moving industry was ranked sixth on the list of most frequently researched businesses with 274,388 inquiries.

By 2006, that number had reached 1,109,342, with “those trucking movers” becoming the fourth most checked out group of professionals.

After much research and study, the HHGFAA membership voted in 2008 to change its name to the International Association of Movers (IAM), a name that reflects the worldwide scope of the Association and the environment and industry in which it operates.