Allied Van Lines

Allied Van Lines is a moving van 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.what In 1968 it was reorganzied 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, Inc., which went public the following year, as the world's largest relocation and van line logistics company.

The Allied Van Lines component company maintains its identity, and is in fifth place in market share with about 10% -11% of the US moving market (according to the US Bureau of Transportation Statistics).

History

In 1979 North American Van Lines (NAVL), based in Fort Wayne, Indiana, moved to the top of the list among the six largest van lines. [http://www.navl.com/AboutUs/Timeline.aspx NORTH AMERICAN VAN LINES HISTORY] , navl.com]

Allied Worldwide

On January 12, 1998, NAVL was bought out from Norfolk Southern Corporation (nyse2|NSC) by the private investment firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice for more than US$200 million.

On November 21, 1999, Clayton, Dubilier and Rice also completed their acquisition of Allied Van Lines and merged it with North American Van Lines to create Allied Worldwide, although each former company maintained its own profile names. Valued at approximately US$450 million in the merger, the Allied Worldwide combined entity became the world's largest relocation and van line logistics company.

The decade of the 2000s saw major internationalization, as the merged company reached far away from North America, beginning operations in other continents, such as Europe and South America.

IRVA, Inc.

On February 11, 2002 Allied Worldwide was renamed as SIRVA, Inc.

In 2003 SIRVA, Inc. announced its initial public offering, and its common shares became listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "SIR".

See also

* Clayton, Dubilier & Rice - major investor in SIRVA

References

External links

* [http://www.allied.com/ Allied Van Lines web site]
* [http://www.dfmobility.com/ Daryl Flood-Allied Van Lines web site]
* [http://www.jobberswarehouse.com/ Jobbers Moving & Storage web site]
* [http://www.navl.com/ North American Van Lines]
* [http://www.sirva.com/ SIRVA]
* [http://www.alliedpickfords.com.au/ Allied in Australia]