Moving for half a century.

• Author: Beck, Bill
• Position: Historical profile of Atlas Van Lines - Company Profile

Founded in 1948, Atlas Van Lines moved itself to Evansville in 1960.

Indiana's reputation as the Crossroads of America has helped it grow some of the major players in the moving business. Celebrating its 50th anniversary this year is the country's fourth-largest carrier of household goods, Evansville-based Atlas Van Lines.

Atlas today ranks among Forbes' list of the nation's top 500 privately held companies. The company employs more than 460 people in Evansville and had 1997 consolidated revenues of more than $490 million, an 18 percent increase over 1996 figures. Atlas World Group Inc., the holding company established in 1994, has seven subsidiaries and does business across North America and around the world.

It all started in French Lick in 1947 when the Independent Movers' and Warehousemens' Association met to discuss pooling efforts in the fast-growing household and commercial moving business. The following year, some 33 movers invested $3,000 apiece and incorporated as Atlas Van Lines. The company opened its headquarters on a cobblestoned 67th Street in Chicago.

By 1957, the company had $5 million in annual revenues, up more than 12 times from the $365,000 reported in 1948, its first full year of operation. It moved that year to South Ashland Avenue in Chicago, but many of the original incorporators felt the company's headquarters should move out of Chicago altogether. A number of large van lines had headquarters in the Windy City, and the competition for labor was fierce.

In 1958, the moving company made the decision to move itself to Indiana. The Hoosier state was centrally located, it had reasonable policies, taxes and vehicle licensing, and it had a pool of qualified labor. Atlas narrowed the search to Columbus, New Albany and Evansville, finally...