In December 2016, the Kane Co. and subsidiary Office Movers Inc. ceased operations and prepared to lay off at least 900 workers in Maryland and Virginia. Office Movers was the major player in the DC moving arena, and the sudden reduction in business activity left a sizable hole in service.

Suddath Workplace Solutions, the office relocation division of global moving company Suddath, saw it as an opportunity to fully commit to the market.

Suddath opened its first local office 16 years ago near Baltimore, and has since expanded its physical footprint into Forestville, Md., and Dulles, Va., with an additional warehouse lease in the works.

Adding experienced staff has also been a focus of the expansion. After acquiring Security Storage in 2015, one of the nation’s oldest logistics, moving and storage companies based in DC, Suddath initially gained several employees with years of experience in the market. When Kane and Office Movers went under, Suddath sought out Kane’s former employees as a way to further expand its local knowledge base.

The company began the interview process for 100 former Kane employees, and pursued plans to acquire many of the company’s assets.

“The Kane bankruptcy was a shock to the industry, but we knew that Suddath was in a good position to fill a pressing need in the DC market,” Suddath Workplace Solutions president Mark Scullion said, "not only by serving former Kane clients but also by hiring its employees."

A month later, Suddath hired six executives from Office Movers, the commercial moving arm of the Kane Co. James Durfee, a former senior executive with over 40 years of industry experience, is one of the six, and heads Suddath’s DC office moving division.

“Not only is Suddath one of the leading national office moving companies, but it now has a substantial DC market presence," Durfee said. “I look forward to putting my experience and knowledge to work for Suddath as it continues to grow and drive innovation within the commercial moving and relocation industry.”

Expertise, after all, is Suddath’s calling card. Across the 150 countries it serves, the company offers transportation and relocation services, including household goods relocation and global mobility, office moving and total workplace solutions, warehousing and logistics management and specialized transportation. It is also one of the largest military movers in the world. A local army of experts holds these services together, making every relocation effort a precision operation.

Backed by the new influx of talent in DC, the company plans to further expand its existing commercial moving and storage services, desktop technology installations and hospitality and healthcare relocations, while offering an array of innovative services that have yet to be fully explored in this market.

Carl Suddath started his eponymous moving company in 1919, with a cart and two mules. Almost 100 years later, the animals have become a modern fleet of specialized vehicles, but the company still relies on a commitment to personal attention and the knowledge of its employees to move people and businesses where they need to go.

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