Two Men and a Truck franchise grows
An interview with Two Men and a Truck franchisees Paul and Kristy Brown.
Q: Before owning the Orland Park and Elmhurst locations, did the franchise owners have any experience with Two Men and a Truck?
A: Before opening the Illinois locations, the owners’ family owned and operated two locations in northwest Indiana (Valparaiso and Cedar Lake) for the last 10 years.
Q: What prompted the opening of the two new locations?
A: Despite the current housing market and business climate, Two Men And A Truck has experienced continuous double digit growth the last consecutive 36 months. This growth has created over 50 new jobs within the Elmhurst and Orland Park communities. “People are amazed that we have done so well despite the current economic conditions. It’s rather simple though, when you provide a quality service focusing on the customer’s needs and keeping them happy everything else just falls into place,” owner Paul Brown said.
Q: Why those two communities?
A: Our current locations service the entire Chicagoland area. The new Chicago location will geographically help us better serve our Chicago and Western suburbs customers by reducing travel time which not only makes it more convenient but also helps them save money on our moving services. When asked why he chose the Joliet, Shorewood area Brown said, “we were blown away at how much growth the southwest suburbs have seen over the last decade. Areas such as Joliet, Shorewood, Plainfield and New Lenox have really exploded and become such great communities to live and work.”
Q: Will the two new locations handle interstate and intrastate moves?
A: The new locations in Chicago and Joliet-Shorewood coupled with the existing operations in Elmhurst and Orland Park provide our customer base with convenient locations for local moving services as well as economic solutions for their interstate and cross country moving needs.
Q: How many employees will work at the two locations?
A: Based upon our experience from our existing operations, the new locations should create over 50 new jobs over the next 12-24 months. “In these tough economic times, it is so gratifying for our company to be in a position to offer local communities possible employment opportunities” said Brown.
Q: How many trucks will be dedicated to each location?
A: 10 trucks between the two new locations.
Q: Can you provide some additional bio info on the owners and their owners?
A: Paul & Kristy Brown have 3 children (Haley age 10, Luke age 8, Jamie age 4) and reside in Elmhurst. Prior to opening their first location in Elmhurst, Paul owned an insurance agency for over 10 years, and Kristy was a high school history teacher for 10 years. They are very active with community events including local church activities, various chamber of commerce events as well as supporting other local businesses in the area.
Q: Can you provide a summary on charitable work done by your existing locations in Orland Park and Elmhurst?
A: The current locations have provided over 100 hours of charitable and community work in 2012 to organizations such as Kiwanis, Operation Support Our Troops, Move for Hunger, and various local church and food pantry programs.
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Two Men and a Truck Movers
Address: 209 Amendodge Drive, Shorewood, IL, 60404 (815) 272-9393
4201 W. 36th St., Chicago, IL 60632, (773) 289-5000
Also locations in Elmhurst and Orland Park
Owners: Paul and Kristy Brown
When business started: Elmhurst in 2009; Orland Park in 2010.