Prestige Moving & Storage

General information

The history of Prestige Moving & Storage can be traced back to 1961 when William Mullen incorporated Mullen Moving & Storage in Gresham, Oregon. The company focused primarily on local and intrastate moving. Without developing a van line affiliation, the company stuck to a local moving niche for over 25 years.

In 1990, the company was purchased by Mike Larsen, Dave Borgwardt and Jim Larsen. The name was subsequently changed to Prestige Moving & Storage and became an agent for Allied Van Lines - the world's Largest Mover. Over a short period of time, Prestige grew into one of Oregon's largest and most diversified relocation companies.

As Prestige experienced rapid growth, the company saw a tremendous opportunity for expansion in the central Oregon town of Bend. In 1996, Prestige came roaring into the town of Bend and completely revolutionized the moving business. Today Prestige/Bend owns and occupies over 20,000 square feet of warehouse space and its market share has grown as fast as the business itself.

With the business and real estate success achieved in Bend, ownership felt the next logical step was to build and own their own facility in the Portland metro area. Construction was begun in June of 1998, and Prestige moved into the new facility in March of 1999. The new warehouse is over 110,000 square feet and designed primarily to fit the needs of a moving and storage company.

Changes in the ownership structure of Prestige Moving & Storage were completed in 1999 with the buyout of one of the founding partners of Prestige, Jim Larsen. This was a planned buyout that benefited both parties.

The year 2000 brought further changes in the ownership structure. Bryan Murphy, the General Manager of Prestige/Bend became a stockholder in the Bend operation. Bryan's expertise and connections in the Bend marketplace are invaluable to the continuing success of Prestige/Bend.

In late 2003, a major competitor in Bend, OR went out of business and its assets were purchased by the management of Prestige Moving & Storage/Bend. This acquisition will provide greater economies of scale in servicing and growing the Bend business.

The most recent business within the Prestige companies is Superior Relocation Services. This business, established in 2004, is a third party service company that handles all areas of business that most Moving & Storage companies prefer not to perform—crating, appliance service, etc. This service company will handle the third party needs of Prestige Moving & Storage as well as other moving companies.

While Prestige Moving & Storage is relatively young in relationship to its peers, the company has been remarkably successful in a short period of time. This success can be attributed to one thing - its people and their commitment to excellence in every facet of the moving business.