Suddath History
When Carl Suddath bought
a moving company with "two mouse-colored mules and related harness, one
moving van, two touring cars, a desk and a chair" in 1919, he could have never
imagined the growth and success that was to follow. During the early years, the
company grew slowly, but steadily. It was not until the 1970's and 80's, with
the addition of new businesses such as Suddath International, Suddath
Transportation Services, Air Land Forwarders and our becoming
a United Van Lines agent, that Suddath experienced the
explosive growth that transformed the company into a leader in the industry.
Today, we are a group of multifaceted companies serving the global relocation
and transportation market places with over 1,200 employees nationwide and over
$200 million in annual revenues.
Please select a time period to see specific history details.
| 1919 |
With two mules, a truck and a typewriter, Carl
Z. Suddath begins operating Ellis Transfer and Storage in
Jacksonville, Florida |
| 1921 |
Ellis Transfer and Storage renamed to Suddath Moving and Storage |
| 1935 |
Suddath obtains motor carrier authority from
the newly formed Interstate Commerce Commission, becoming one of
the first national motor carriers |
| 1938 |
Suddath opens its first office outside
Jacksonville in Orlando, Florida |
| 1946 |
Continuing the legacy of his father, Carl
Suddath, Richard (Dick) H. Suddath joins the company |
| 1952 |
Suddath
opens Miami, Florida office |
| 1956 |
Suddath begins overseas shipping for the U.S.
military |
| 1960 |
Suddath completes construction of new, larger headquarters facility in
Jacksonville, Florida Suddath opens office in Pensacola, Florida |
| 1968 |
A.
Quinn Bell joins Suddath as General Manager |
| 1973 |
Suddath International begins household goods
forwarding operations and eventually grows to become one of the
top 5 international forwarders in the nation
Suddath opens Atlanta, Georgia office |
| 1978 |
Suddath restructured under holding company The
Suddath Companies and Suddath Moving Systems formed |
| 1979 |
Suddath opens new office in St. Petersburg, Florida |
| 1980 |
Air
Land Forwarders is formed to handle Suddath's growing international relocation
business for the military and the government's General Service
Administration division |
| 1981 |
Suddath becomes agent for United Van Lines, the
largest household goods mover in the U.S. |
| 1982 |
Suddath Transportation Services is formed to
capitalize on the growing need for specialized transportation
and site logistics providers Suddath opens office in
Melbourne, Florida |
| 1984 |
Data
Storage Center (DSC) begins operations in Miami, Florida Suddath acquires Withers Van Lines in Miami, Florida, a long time provider of
moving and storage services to the Miami-Dade County area
|
| 1985 |
Suddath opens office in Boca Raton, Florida |
| 1986 |
Suddath’s Jacksonville branch loads, transports and delivers
the over 130 items of
the Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses II exhibit |
| 1989 |
Steve Suddath is named Chairman of the Board of The Suddath Companies
Suddath develops the moving industry’s first mobile training center
-- "retro-fitting" an 18-wheel, tractor trailer with a training
room and moving "props" (furniture, shipping containers and
packing material) to train Suddath
employees located throughout the U.S. |
| 1990 |
A.
Quinn Bell elected to the Board of Directors for United Van Lines Suddath International acquires airfreight company, Centra Worldwide in Los
Angeles |
| 1991 |
Suddath opens first West coast office in Los Angeles, California |
| 1992 |
Suddath acquires branch office in Dallas,
Texas, which soon becomes one of Suddath's leading revenue
producers
Suddath provides
transportation and relief services to thousands in South Florida affected by
Hurricane Andrew |
| 1993 |
As
one of the largest national network of records management companies, DSC opens operation in Charlotte,
North Carolina. DSC now serves 42 cities in 19
states, Puerto Rico and Bermuda. |
| 1996 |
Suddath establishes a presence in the Northeast
with the opening of a new office in Suffern, New York |
| 2000 |
Suddath sells its highly
successful Data Storage Centers operation to Iron Mountain Suddath partners with
the local business community and the PGA Tour to
form one of the first chapters of the First Tee youth golf program in
Jacksonville |
| 2001 |
Suddath opens National Training Center in
Jacksonville Suddath establishes new offices in Maryland and
California with the acquisition of American Security Storage with locations in
Forestville, Maryland and Annapolis, Maryland and Golden State
Services of San Jose, California, both United agents
Suddath Relocation Services changes name to Lexicon Relocation |
| 2002 |
Lexicon Relocation opens Atlanta, Georgia office
to better serve its growing corporate relocation client base Suddath consolidates Annapolis and Forestville, Maryland offices into one
location in the Washington, DC suburban city of Odenton, Maryland
Barry S. Vaughn appointed Chief Operating Officer of The
Suddath Companies
Suddath Transportation Services partners with Paramount Tour
to form Paramount Event Management |
| 2003 |
Barry S. Vaughn appointed to Chief Executive
Officer of The Suddath Companies |
|
|
