Whether moving a celebrity client of storing the belongings of an everyday homeowner, the experts at NorthStar Moving Corporation have their system down to a science. Since the business was created in 1994, it has become one of the fastest growing companies in the United States. “We started with nothing in a space that was only 2,600 square feet,” says Ram Katalan, president of the company. “Now we’re in a 107,000-square foot space that includes our offices and a high-clearance warehouse for storage.” The Los Angeles based company not only moves clients in the area, but also across the country and even internationally.
From small projects all the way up to moving the entire contents of a $125 million home, NorthStar offers high end moving and storage services that go above and beyond those offered by other companies. “A typical moving company is just taking boxes from one end to another,” Katalan says. “We see a lot of needs beyond that, so we take things to the net level to make the move easier for the homeowners.”
For example, one of NorthStar’s popular, and atypical, services is dog care. The company works with Oprah’s dog trainer to ensure that dogs are safe, pampered, and out of the way during the moving process.
NorthStar also offered cat-care services, and even childcare. “We’ve listened to our clients throughout the years, and we pick up on their needs,” Katalan says. “Many clients didn’t even know these services concepts existed and don’t think to ask for them, but we are able to pick up on needs they may not even realize they have.”
Recently, NorthStar formed a partnership with Moving Mountains Design, a home-staging and interior-design firm. “More and more people are using home staging services,” Katalan says. NorthStar also has a partnership with Home Tech, a home-entertainment-design and electronic-installation company. With this, the company can assist clients in turning their old homes into showplaces they can sell. The company then helps them settle into their new home with everything working properly.
NorthStar provides every client with red-carpet treatment, but when in comes to celebrity clients, it offers even more unique services. Over the years, the company’s celebrity-client list has included Angelina Jolie, Eva Longoria, Jim Henson Productions, and many more. To keep celebrity moves quiet, NorthStar will often use decoy moving trucks to distract paparazzi or hire bodyguards. It’s Photo Perfect Packing
services makes sure to photograph and inventory every item so as to place it as closely as possible to where it was before, Katalan says. This service often comes into play when the company is working with production companies on reality shows, such as The Bachelor or The Biggest Loser. Everything is moved from the home and stored during filming, then placed back exactly as it was for the homeowner.
A move with NorthStar can cost anywhere from $500 to $250,000. “We’ve always gone with the concept of providing value,” Katalan says. “We don’t necessarily want to be the most expensive, but we want to do everything possible to make a move go smoothly.”
Today, most of NorthStar’s business, celebrity and otherwise comes from referrals and repeat customers. Over the past few years, the company has experienced a 35-precent annual growth rate, landing it on the Inc. list of the 5,000 fastest growing companies in the United States. While NorthStar has been affected by the economy, it has recently seen an upturn in business.
As NorthStar continues to grow, it will always stick to the same concept with which it started. “When we move people, we’re dealing with all of their valuables, both monetary and, even more importantly, emotional, like photo albums,” Katalan says. “We’ve always tried to be conscious of the fact that a move is more serious that a normal business transaction.”
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NorthStar Moving Corporation
A LEADER IN LUXURY MOVING OFFERS UNIQUE SERVICES
FOR AN ALL-AROUND SEAMLESS EXPERIENCE
By Laura Judy
Taken from the March/April issue of Luxury Home Quarterly
For more infomation visit www.NorthStarMoving.com