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Friday, Mar 29, 2024

Packed and Ready

A dozen years ago, NorthStar Moving Corp. was a fledgling company operating out of a tiny office with a rented truck and just one employee: founder Ram Katalan. “It kind of started from nothing,” he said. But Katalan had a plan. With little money in the way of advertising, he hoped that word-of-mouth would bring him customers. Somehow it worked. “Once we started touching clients, it was a snowball effect. People started referring us,” he said. Today, what was once a painfully small company has grown into a major moving service in Southern California. In 2005 alone it tackled 5,000 jobs out of its 107,000-square-foot Chatsworth warehouse. “We can stack three tall in here,” said Katalan, 42, as he walked along one row of the hangar-like space, the rough outlines of padded bicycles, strollers and lawn furniture protruding from the hodgepodge of shipments. Many of the belongings here are in transit, stopping for a few days as they move to Arizona or Seattle or Rhode Island. Mostly, though, the company deals with local moves in the Los Angeles region. Clients usually hire NorthStar to move belongings to a new apartment or home. Rates vary, but a two-man crew usually costs about $75 an hour. For long-distance moves, belongings are placed in cardboard boxes, which are then inventoried, stacked on wooden pallets and wrapped in a cellophane-like material. Then, the whole pallet is moved into a truck and shipped to the storehouse in Chatsworth, before being moved to the final destination. The company contracts out-of-state moves with another carrier. “They’re off-loaded and come here,” Katalan said as a forklift with someone’s boxed home wares zoomed past. Goods can also be stored here for a longer period in the crates. Katalan said it’s easier than a storage facility. “They would have to open the door, start shuffling around,” he said. “That’s what we do. It’s a huge inconvenience.” A ‘star’ is born The company started 12 years ago when Katalan and his wife moved west from New York. He had worked in the moving industry since he emigrated from Israel, where he was a member of the Special Forces. At first he lugged boxes, but eventually worked his way up to foreman, semi truck driver and operations manager. After eight years of labor-intensive work, though, Katalan was more than ready to move on. In 1994, he started NorthStar Moving, a name that was suggested by his wife. “NorthStar is the guiding light towards a new beginning, a new life,” he explained. Early on, he would hire movers to help out on jobs. “For the first few months, we leased a truck,” he said. Today, the company owns 13 bright red trucks and moves hundreds of people every month, ranging from a dorm room that takes a few hours to entire offices that may take two or three days. It also has a number of clients in the movie and television industries, including the Jim Henson Co., Stan Winston Studio and Image Entertainment. NorthStar crews have also moved furniture out of tony mansions for Oscar parties and countless movie and television sets. There are celebrities as well, including Diana Ross, Chuck Norris, Diane Keaton and Angelina Jolie. “Her belongings are still here,” Katalan said with a smile. Keep on trucking Katalan said part of the success they did $5 million worth of business last year is because he has consciously distanced himself from the moving industry’s often-bad reputation. “Everybody has a horror story,” he said. Steve Weitekamp, president of the California Moving and Storage Association, which represents thousands of moving companies in the state, including NorthStar, said the industry is marred by a growing number of bandit movers. “The Internet is rampant with illegal operators,” he said. “A good part of the complaints that come to our office are companies that just don’t have licenses.” It is among the biggest headaches for the industry, the No. 1 being gas, he said. “These trucks get four to six miles-per gallons,” he said. “It’s absolutely a factor.” For Katalan, his red trucks cost about $200 to fill up, which happens about every other day. So far, Katalan hasn’t passed the additional onto customers, he said. But it’s getting tough. “We’re optimistic and hope it goes down,” he said. For now, gas prices have not slowed down expansion. He recently expanded to commercial storage, which now takes up the north side of the warehouse. The idea is to offer the space to companies that don’t have enough room to store goods office furniture, papers or even products that can then be picked up by a client or another company. “If they want to ship a computer to France, they can bring it here and we’ll deal with the paperwork,” Katalan said. In this respect, NorthStar has turned into a freelance distribution facility, acting as relay between manufacturer and vendor. It’s a new niche that has NorthStar bringing in an additional revenue stream. Katalan said nearly all of his new storage clients had used his moving service. It’s the same word-of-mouth model that Katalan has been using for years. “We believe that everyone we touch will be a repeat customer,” he said. Spotlight NorthStar Moving Corp. Year Founded: 1994 Revenues in 2005: $3.5 million Projected Revenues in 2006: $5 million Employees in 2005: 35 Employees in 2006: 50 Driving Force: A full-service moving and storage service focused on the Los Angeles region. Goal: To provide solid customer service while growing financially.

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