Packing it up.

• Author: Gilbert, Joe

Making maddening moves merrier

There's no doubt that moving can be one of life's more unpleasant and stressful events. But, for Hoosiers about to move, there are many resources available to help make the transition between homes a little smoother and a lot less stressful.

American Red Ball Worldwide Movers has been on the move since 1919. Three years later, the company was recognized as America's first long-distance mover after sending 10 loaded trucks from Indianapolis to New York City.

Since those early years, Red Ball has completed a series of first: introduction of the weather-tight van; insurance for household goods shippers; and a carrier/agent network. There are 202 full-service Red Ball agents throughout the United States and more than 450 in 170 other countries.

The employees and agents at Red Ball are concerned with more than just transporting goods. "We have some referral programs and reciprocal agreements with real estate agencies throughout the country," says Mike Duffy, executive vice president. "We also have relocation kits, which we provide a customer with about the schools, information about the city--those kinds of things."

The country's fourth-largest carrier, Mayflower Transit joined Red Ball in Indianapolis as an interstate carrier in 1927. As well as providing household services domestically and worldwide--the company has an international forwarder in Carmel--Mayflower employees also serve as consultants for companies to address transportation needs.

"We're dealing with human resources departments, traffic departments, or purchasing departments that procure moving and storage services for their company," says Fritz Lay, corporate relocation manager. "We write transportation agreements and also assist them in writing policy for the employee relocations."

This October, Fort Wayne's northAmerican Van Lines will celebrate its 60th anniversary.

The company has 750 agents in the United States, about 200 in Canada and 250 spread around the rest of the world. Also to its credit, northAmerican is the second largest carrier in the United States and, according to northAmerican's Pete Palmer, is affiliated with the first intercountry European van line. As holder of 40 percent of the shares, northAmerican gave some assistance and technology to get the company going.

Technology is helping northAmerican along, too. The company is a big user of satellites to track trucks, so if a truck should break down, the driver is only 15 seconds...