- SIRVA
SIRVA, Inc. (formerly Allied Worldwide), based in
Westmont, Illinois , is a privately ownedMoving industry holding company which resulted from the merger ofAllied Van Lines withNorth American Van Lines . The corporate name was coined from theLatin word "servire", "to serve." [ [http://www.pickfords.com.my/html/s02_article/article_view.asp?id=116 TRANSFORMING ITSELF FROM A TRADITIONAL MOVING COMPANY,SIRVA ASSEMBLED A RANGE OF SERVICES AND EXPERTISE - pickfords.com] ]The company was formed in 1999 when
private equity companyClayton, Dubilier and Rice merged its Allied and North American properties. In 2002, it traded on theNew York Stock Exchange under its new SIRVA name under theticker symbol of "SIR."In early 2008 it sought
Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection claiming that it was an early victim of the 2008 housing crisis. Its stock has been delisted. In May 2008 it emerged as a private company. In addition to going private $150 milliondebtor-in-possession financing was converted to $215 millionSenior debt . [http://sirva.com/Default.aspx?tabid=184&Article=NR/NR_Court_Approves_SIRVAs_Plan_of_Reorganization_5-8-08&NodeId=AS3.11]The company's strategy is to be a one stop shop for all aspects of moving including home purchase and home sale services, household goods moving, mortgage services and home closing and settlement services. In 2007 it handled 300,000 relocations. [http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS215547+12-May-2008+PRN20080512]
History
Beginning in late 1964 NAVL created its High Value Products Division (HVPD), which later was bought out from SIRVA and taken private as an independent company named Specialized Transportation Inc. The original division began with 20 drivers from the NAVL Exhibit and Display Division, and moved high value electronics for defense installations, contracted by
Control Data Corporation ,IBM and the computer division ofGeneral Electric . [http://www.navl.com/AboutUs/Timeline.aspx NORTH AMERICAN VAN LINES HISTORY] , navl.com]In 1979 NAVL moved to the top of the list among the six largest van lines.
On
May 3 ,1984 NAVL was approved for sale byPepsiCo Inc. (nyse2|PEP) toNorfolk Southern Corporation (nyse2|NSC) for US$315 million. [http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Norfolk-Southern-Corporation-Company-History.html Norfolk Southern Corporation, Company History:] , fundinguniverse.com] At the same time PepsiCo was also negotiating sale ofLee Way Motor Freight , as a further move in its divestment of its transportation division. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E01E2DB1038F930A35756C0A962948260&n=Top%2fNews%2fBusiness%2fCompanies%2fNorfolk%20Southern%20Corporation Pepsico Considers Sale of Lee Way] , New York Times Archive, REUTERS, Published: May 3, 1984]Over the subsequent two years NAVL was merged with the railroad in a deal that had been initially approved by the
Interstate Commerce Commission , but then went through some rocky times in the ICC approval process after that. [http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F50716FE3A5E0C728CDDA90994DE484D81&n=Top%2fNews%2fBusiness%2fCompanies%2fNorfolk%20Southern%20Corporation Norfolk Purchase Challenged] , New York Times Abstract, October 1, 1986, AP (NYT); Financial Desk, Late City Final Edition, Section D, Page 21, Column 1, 250 words] [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A0DE7DE153DF937A15755C0A960948260&n=Top%2fNews%2fBusiness%2fCompanies%2fNorfolk%20Southern%20Corporation Advertising; Thompson Gets North American Van] , New York Times Archive, By PHILIP H. DOUGHERTY, Published: June 24, 1986] In 1992 Norfolk Southern's trucking operations, including NAVL, recorded a loss of close to $40 million, and Norfolk Southern Corp. decided to sell off two of its trucking divisions in 1993, although it retained NAVL for another five years. In 1998 Norfolk Southern exited the trucking business entirely when it sold NAVL.Allied Worldwide
On
January 12 ,1998 , NAVL was bought out from Norfolk Southern Corp. by the private investment firmClayton, Dubilier & Rice for more than US$200 million.On
November 21 ,1999 , Clayton, Dubilier and Rice also completed their acquisition ofAllied 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 company reached far away from
North America , beginning operations in other continents, such asEurope andSouth America .IRVA, Inc.
On
February 11 ,2002 Allied Worldwide was renamed toSIRVA, 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".On
October 11 ,2004 , a group of 43 North American Van Lines' agents, named the Specialized Transportation Agent Group Inc., bought out NAVL's High Value Products Division from SIRVA. The buyers renamed the new companySpecialized Transportation Inc. (STI). [ [http://www.stidelivers.com/ Specialized Transportation Inc.] ]On August 1, 2005, SIRVA sold its warehouse operation business to
Lake Capital , a banking company. The employees who transferred to the new company were allowed to dub it NAL Worldwide, which is alimited liability company . The NAL doesn't stand for anything in particular, but it does beckon to a familiar sound to previous customers and anyone else familiar with the old North American Logistics. NAL is chiefly involved inwarehousing operations andlogistics .BANKRUPTCY: On February 5, 2008, SIRVA filed for protection from creditors under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. The company's Plan of Reorganization became effective May 12, 2008, at which point its Chapter 11 case concluded and it became a private company.
Livery
The North American Van Lines trucks are painted in
white and a clearshadow ofblue , withred and bluecircle s on the white area, and a white arrow crossing the circles. The name North American is spelled "northAmerican" on the company's trucks' liveries.References
External links
* [http://www.navl.com/ North American Van Lines]
* [http://www.sirva.com/ Sirva]
* [http://www.nalworldwide.com/ NAL Worldwide]
* [http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/07/prweb262263.htm NAL announces the purchase of SIRVA Logistics]
* [http://www.emediawire.com/releases/2005/8/prweb272183.htm NAL completes purchase of SIRVA Logistics]
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