MoverOne International, the Canadian owned moving company that really cares

We were delighted to catch up with Anne Martin (left), Group President, and Christina McCarte (right), National Director, International, to hear more about the company.

March 2021

Tell me about MoverOne International’s history and about the key people in your organisation

Anne: MoverOne International is the international division of United Van Lines Canada Ltd, and the organisation has an incredible history! United Van Lines Canada opened in 1953. After the end of World War II, the government invested in the highway system in the country, in particular roads connecting the east to the west. Before then, the country was moved by railway, so it was a great time of growth in the moving industry in Canada. A small group of independent Canadian moving companies approached United Van Lines in the USA and opened under the banner of United Van Lines Canada.

My father, William Charles Martin, or Chuck, was Executive Vice-President of the company from 1962 to 1998. I was strangely determined not to work for my father, but after I moved back to Toronto from Calgary in 1982, the company had an open position for a Training Manager and that was the area I was experienced in, so I joined. In 1998, my father retired, and I applied for the position as President but I didn’t get it. I thought long and hard about what to do, but I was enjoying the work I was doing at the time as VP of Marketing so I continued to work hard. However, things didn’t work out with the person who took over from my father, and so 16 months later in 1999, the company was searching for a new President again. I applied and, well, the rest is history! 

In 2001 we became 100% Canadian owned as we still are today. 

Today, we are a group of companies operating under the MoverOne Group name, and United Van Lines Canada is one of our brands. We are a private company owned by 48 Canadian family-owned businesses. We have 145 member offices throughout Canada, and we continue to use the US trademarked name United Van Lines here for the network in Canada through an agreement with United LLC in the U.S.

The international part of our group of companies, and the one that will be known to Harmony members, is MoverOne International. We’ve been specialising in international household goods moving since 2003.

On a more light hearted note, there’s a funny story as to how we got our name! We were looking for a new name for the overall group of companies, and a visitor come to our offices. His car had a personalised licence plate, ‘MOVER1’ and instantly, I said, “that’s it!”. And so The MoverOne Group was born.

We are of course proud members of Harmony Relocation Network. We are also members of many other associations including the British Association of Removers, the Canadian Association of Movers, the American Moving and Storage Association, the IAM and finally the Canadian Employee Relocation Council. We successfully received ISO9001 designation in 2019.

Can you tell me a little more about your career at MoverOne, Anne?

Well, of course I had never been the President of a company before, so I had a lot to learn! But I had spent 17 years in the company beforehand working in quality, customer service, public relations, marketing, and training. It was certainly an interesting first few years, but I love learning so I enjoyed the challenge.

It was a busy time for me - I became President of MoverOne, I also was named the first female District Governors Representative of the District Rotary Clubs, and I served as Chair of the Canadian Employee Relocation Council (though before I was elected, they had to change the bylaws to allow a supplier to sit on their executive board!).

The achievement I am most proud of though from my time as President of the company is being awarded the prestigious ‘Canada’s Best Managed Company’ award in 2008, and earning platinum status every year since for the last twelve years. It’s an award that really recognises the high standards of quality and care that we offer to our customers, but also the innovative services that we provide.

Christina: Under Anne’s leadership, this company really has gone from strength to strength. In fact, in 2010, Anne’s team entered her into Canada’s “Top 100 Most Powerful Women” award without telling her, and she won! She is the only female President of a van line in Canada today. She’s been an incredible mentor to me since I joined the company and she has allowed me to grow and develop in my own career. Simply put, Anne cares about the people that work here, and it’s tangible. When our employees know that they are important and that they are cared for, they put that care into what they do, and that’s what makes this company so successful.

Christina, could you share a little about your career too?

Of course! I joined MoverOne International two years ago. As Manager of MOI and National Director of International Government Services, I am responsible for the day-to-day operations of the international business. I have worked in the industry for 18 years, and before joining MoverOne International, I worked for other key industry players managing moving, relocation and export services.

What services does the MoverOne Group offer?

As a family of companies, we offer domestic and cross border moving services under the banners of United Van Lines and Mayflower Canada, logistics with MoverOne Logistics, vehicle lease and rental with Univan Leasing and of course MoverOne International for International Moving Services. As a group, we manage 15,000 moves each year.

Canada has some challenging terrain, but we always say that there really is nowhere in the country that we can’t move people to! We have moved people by ferry, barge, and even snowmobile!

Who are your clients?

Our most prestigious client is the Canadian Government. MoverOne International handles the majority of the international moves for all divisions of the Federal Government which includes the Department of National Defense, Global Affairs Canada (Diplomat & Embassy Services), Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), Central Removal Services and Public Services and Procurement Canada. We also work with many corporate and private clients.

How has the company managed the challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic has brought over the past year?

I think it’s fair to say that this year has been a year of new experiences, protocols, technology and a deeper level of relationships with clients and staff. The last year has really shown the importance of caring for both the people we work for and the people who work for us, and we have made an effort to keep that value at the heart of everything we do. Our customers are living in very uncertain times, and it’s essential for them at this time to feel that the people taking care of their move know exactly what they are doing and will make the right decisions at the right time to make the move go smoothly.

It’s definitely fair to say that the movers themselves remain the face of the relocation industry. No matter what is going on in the world, our people put themselves on the front line to help our clients. In almost every country in the world, removal companies were deemed to be essential services so were able to continue operating during the pandemic. This has been true in Canada. Our people showed up, adopted new health and safety procedures and we are so thankful that we have such a great team working with us.

During the pandemic, we saw many Canadians coming home from other places in the world, but we didn’t see many expats leave. I think that says a lot about the type of country Canada is and about how welcoming we are to expats here. It’s a great country to live and work in.

Is technology important in your business?

Because the Canadian government is such an important client for us, we use their protocols and safety and data requirements as the benchmark for all of the clients that we work with. This means that our clients know that regardless of where they’re moving from and to or which services they are using, their data is securely stored.

Our office is 100% paperless and this helps us both in terms of enabling our staff to work remotely and in reducing the environmental impact of our business.

What makes the company special?

It’s all about family; it’s personal. The individual family moving companies that make up the MoverOne group are owners of their own businesses, and they have fought hard to make those businesses what they are today. Everything they do means something, and they are doing it to honour the two, three, or four generations of families that have gone before them. All 56 owner companies and 48 shareholders in the group are fiercely proud of what they do, and getting it right matters. Everyone cares deeply about what they do and will move mountains to relocate our customers to where they want to go safely and with quality.

For those of us in the MoverOne International Group, that feeling of caring is tangible in everything that we do. It’s genuine, and it starts from the leadership right at the top; we really do care about the people that work for us.

How have you been keeping the team together in these difficult times?

Anne: At our management meetings, we ask people how they are. It seems so simple, but when senior management start off by showing their own vulnerabilities and insecurities, it helps the team to see that no one is infallible and that in times like the ones in which we are living, we all face struggles on both a personal and a professional level. When we first started doing this, I was struck by how authentic people were, but it really comes from a place of comfort and security that people feel working here. When we know who is doing ok and who is struggling, be it with work, family issues, or anxieties about the pandemic, it helps us to support and make allowances. It’s this care and support that we have for each other within the organisation that has really helped us to thrive over the past year.

Contact - MoverOne International, Canada

T: +1 905 – 565 – 7801

E: [email protected]

?W: https://www.moveroneintl.ca/

LinkedIn: https://www.dhirubhai.net/company/moverone-international/

?Contact - Harmony Relocation Network

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