A moving company, removalist, mover or van line is a company that helps people and businesses relocate their goods from one place to another. Typically they use moving vans, but for international moves or where storage is required they may use special containerised vans or shipping containers.
National companies are typically organized with local branches or affiliated agents. That affiliation may be in the form of a franchise, wherein the local agent is a franchise of a national company, or a cooperative, wherein the local agent owns a share of the national company. There are also many small independent moving companies who operate within any given local area. In the United States all legitimate moving companies must be licensed with the Federal Highway Administration and / or their State Commerce Commission.
Household removals require careful wrapping and packing to avoid damage to furniture and effects, so many household policies do not cover goods in transit unless they are being packed, carried and unpacked by a professional remover. In the moving industry, when a customer packs and unpacks his own boxes it is referred to as PBO (packed by owner) and policies do not insure these goods. On PBO moves it can become a point of huge contention between the mover and the customer as to who is at fault regarding damaged items within a box. Was it packed improperly by the customer or did the mover mishandle the box?
The process of packing a van or container for a removal requires that polished surfaces are protected (usually with special blankets or cardboard). China and other fragile effects are packed in rigid boxes, originally wooden tea chests but now usually cardboard, with layers of bunched up blank newsprint commonly used to protect against scratches and chips in transit. Soft materials may be packed in bags, suitcases or boxes.
Removal vans will often have a Luton body, internal wooden wall bars to which tall or heavy furniture can be secured with webbing, and a ramp or tail lift to assist in loading. Space on trucks is at a premium, so an experienced loader will pack into voids in furniture and use awkward shaped items such as ironing boards to fill narrow gaps.
Moving furniture in and out of houses, especially older properties, presents challenges; in areas where there are many older properties, furniture movers may be adept at removing and reinstalling sash window panes. Most double bed bases can be split, folded or dismantled.
Pianos are a particular problem; removals contractors will usually have specialist piano trolleys and there is a device colloquially known as a shoe which is strapped to the side of a grand piano to allow it to be rested on edge on the trolley without damaging the polish or applying excessive force to the sides of the instrument.
==External links==
Packing & Moving Household Goods
http://www.worldmovingandstorage.com
http://www.movingcompanies.co.il
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