‘Two Men and a Truck’ opens franchise location in Hurricane

In 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Two Men and a Truck's Las Vegas location was as busy as it had ever been. According to Suddath.com 52.4% of the state's growing population were moving in, while 47.6% decided to move out of the Silver State, location and date unspecified | Photo courtesy Two Men and a Truck, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — One of the nation’s popular moving companies has opened its newest location in Washington County.

Stock photo | Photo by Unsplash, St. George News

Two Men and a Truck is one of the largest franchised moving companies in the United States, with more than 380 locations in 46 states, as well as the United Kingdom, Canada, and Ireland. The company boasts a fleet of more than 3,000 moving trucks.

On Monday the company expanded its franchise footprint opening its newest location at 5526 W. 240 North, Suite 1, in Hurricane.

Franchise owner Kirk Phillips is excited about the potential that Southern Utah presents.

As an employee in the moving industry since 2015, Kirk Phillips has moved quite a bit himself, working throughout the Southwest, Midwest and Southeast. So transitioning into an ownership role with Two Men and a Truck only made sense, he said.

“I worked in a variety of different capacities with a couple of large multi-unit franchisees,” he said. “Something that they focused on was – and one of the reasons I fell in love with this company – was their main goal to move people going forward in life. Two Men and a Truck does a really good job making this happen.”

More than half of all the company’s franchise owners were once on the frontline for Two Men and a Truck, having been movers themselves.

“This is a pretty impressive statement considering the cost of becoming a franchisee along with the fact that the moving business is a pretty heavy laden asset industry,” Phillips said. “It takes quite a bit to become qualified to become a franchisee.”

When asked why pick Southern Utah to open a franchise? The answer came easily, “quality of life,” Phillips said.

“I decided to expand into Southern Utah because my wife and I love the area,” he added. “We were starting to look at places to raise our family, and St. George fits that bill pretty well. It’s safe, great schools and lots of other great stuff that makes a good community.”

Rather than being the go-to guy to fix struggling and broken franchises, job titles he’s held in the past, Phillips wanted ownership and the chance to prove what could be done to fulfill the company’s expansion objectives and its client’s expectations.

“It was important to me to find a market that was untouched,” Phillips said. “It’s silly how passionate I am about this, but I have grown to love St. George, and I’m looking forward to the opportunity to make a difference … and to become part of the community.”

Industry analysts say the company must be doing something right, as it recorded record-breaking second-quarter 2021 earnings of 32% revenue increase in June, which, compared to last year, marked the company’s highest monthly earnings since it was founded in 1985 in Lansing, Michigan.

This milestone comes on the heels of a reported 14.49% spike in revenue during the first quarter of this year.

The figures reflect what is taking place in America.

The amount of people moving in 2021 is up nearly 20% nationwide compared to 2020, which was already seeing record numbers as people fled cities and relocated because of the pandemic. Moving, storage and junk removal services were in high demand, and Two Men and a Truck delivered, seeing double-digit growth across all revenue streams.

Although the business has healthy growth, there are challenges, Phillips said.

“From the customer’s perspective I think it’s trust,” Phillips said. “You are inviting people into your home, to touch all of your dearest possessions. Customers want to bring people into their homes they know they can trust.”

Two Men and a Truck preaches the “grandma rule,” which mandates all of its workers treat their clients like family.

Although moving rates are on the decline, in 2020 nearly half as many people moved each year as they did in the 1960s, location and date unspecified | Photo courtesy of Two Men and a Truck, St. George News

The challenge from a business standpoint, Phillips added, is that the current labor market is in “such a “mess,” but even during normal times without COVID-19, there are peaks and valleys of doing day-to-day operations. The current supply chain issues being felt around the globe are pinching every startup company.

Getting up and running can be a mountain to climb, Phillips said.

“It really comes down to being able to become integrated into a community to become a household name, and making sure everyone knows they can trust what you are doing as a business,” he added. “But, you have to earn that trust.”

Throughout 2021, Two Men and a Truck has been focused on supporting franchisees as they expand with the brand.

Earlier this year, the moving franchise introduced mini-market incentives, which allow franchise owners to expand to underserved territories with smaller populations. It waives the $30,000 franchise fee for entrepreneurs looking to establish small businesses in areas with populations of 100,000 – 225,000.

Randy Shacka, Two Men and a Truck International’s president is not surprised with the success of the business model. It is the franchise owners and everyone behind the scene that has made the company profitable, Shacka said.

Two Men and a Truck’s Southern Utah Franchise plans to tap into the potential student pool at Dixie State University to recruit a local workforce, location and date unspecified | Photo courtesy of Two Men and a Truck, St. George News

“One of the best markers of success is when our franchisees want to continue building and expanding with us,” Shacka said. “The mini-market incentive is designed to help franchisees grow their businesses and bring the Two Men and a Truck name to new communities nationwide.”

But, as with any industry during the past two years, COVID-19 has had an impact, Phillips said.

“You would be surprised to know that during COVID, moving companies were deemed as essential businesses, which required putting extensive effort into protection protocols … and the industry as a whole did fairly well,” he added.

The effect of COVID on the moving industry is a little more complex than just making course corrections, Phillips said.

The industry shifted away from moving entire homes to an emphasis on moving freight.

Prior to the pandemic, some moving companies, such as Two Men and a Truck, pivoted and added shipping recyclables and other throwaways to transfer and recycling facilities, as well as thrift stores and charities such as Habitat for Humanity ReStore Program.

To accomplish its commitment to protect and preserve the environment, Two Men and a Truck has established its “junk removal,” program.

“We started this program because we were getting calls from people asking us to help get rid of junk,” Shacka said. “Through our partnerships, we are able to recycle a lot of junk and reduce the footprint in waste generated by moving or the amount of garbage going to the landfill.”

How much waste does moving create?

Moving creates more waste – usually finding its way into landfills – than most consumers realize. Annual numbers include:

  • Approximately 900 million cardboard boxes
  • More than 8 million tons of junk. This includes all of the things sitting in cabinets, drawers and garages that get thrown out
  • More than 340,000 tons of food
  • More than 350 million gallons of fuel
  • Approximately 90 million pounds of packing paper
  • Approximately 30 million rolls of tape

Company officials say the program was a “natural transition.”

Along with moving homes and businesses, Two Men and a Truck assist clients with their junk removal needs, taking care of the heavy lifting and disposal of unwanted items. The company uses specialized “junk trucks” to de-clutter a client’s residence, home renovations, home staging, business or estate cleaning and garbage removal.

“Two Men and a Truck has always been very forward-thinking when it comes to how much waste is generated,” Phillips said. “Along with this, we are very interested in partnering with local charities and organizations to fill any of their needs.”

Phillips embraces the “power of community service” and helping others, which is a company objective.

“We’d love to help everyone we can,” Phillips said.

In recent years there has been an increase in long-distant moves among retirees. According to the Washington Post, many people in this demographic moved from the city to rural areas especially during the COVID-19 pandemic | Photo courtesy of Two Men and a Truck, St. George News

Economists say, whether it’s a McDonald’s franchise or Two Men and a Truck, they are all small businesses and are the lifeblood of any community they serve.

“Our mission is to help our communities,” Shacka said. “It’s part of our core value to give back. It’s a team effort from our board members to corporate ownership and our franchisees … we want to make a difference.”

Because of the speed of the startup in Hurricane, the location currently does not yet have direct connection capabilities.

Moving industry statistics

  • According to the latest industry statistics, the fourth quarter of 2021 had about 7,000 moving companies in the United States with 13,900 locations across the U.S., directly employing a workforce of approximately 190,000 with a payroll estimated at $3.6 billion. The annual economic impact domestically is estimated at $86 billion.
  • Approximately 31 million moved in 2019. Taking the average American household size of 2.3 people that means 15.3 million American households move annually.
  • Despite big-box movers like U-Haul and PODS, the industry is largely comprised of small businesses. Nearly 50% of all moving companies in the U.S. have fewer than five employees and 8.5 % percent employ more than 100 employees.
  • About 22% of renters moved in 2017, compared to 35% in 1988, with 5.5% of homeowners moving during the same time span compared to 9.5% in 1988.
  • Tax revenues in 2021 were estimated at $9.4 billion.
  • It’s not just the moving companies that benefit from a mobile society. More than 480,000 jobs indirectly are created by the moving industry, such as real estate agents, painters, contractors and other professional trades.
  • U.S. citizens move approximately 11.7 times during their lifespan.
  • About 9 million people in the U.S. have moved their homes since the “start” of COVID-19 in 2020. This is an increase of about 94,000 compared with 2019 with most people making their move in March.
  • Of those who move tend to stay in the same state with 40% relocating less than 50 miles from their old home to their new one.
  • Approximately 20% more Americans are planning to move this year than 2020. Many are not moving because of COVID-19 safety concerns but people in increasing numbers are moving because of job flexibility, lower cost of living and relocating because of the opportunity for homeownership.
  • On average, local movers charge $25 per hour.
  • Industry statistics indicate where people are moving long-distance – 500 miles or more – including Idaho, Nevada, Vermont, New Jersey, South Carolina and Maryland. Residents seem to be leaving include Illinois, West Virginia, New, York, Texas, California and Pennsylvania. Consistently Utah ranked in the top 20 states losing population in 2021 across several polling agencies.
  • Do-it-yourself moves have increased by about 1 million people who choose to move on their own, while 650,000 opted to hire professional movers last year.

According to Two Men and a Truck company officials, 118 of its franchises notched the highest revenue month ever in June.

“Our processes and systems were designed to help our franchisees move people forward,” said CEO Jon Nobis in an official statement. “The revenue growth and geographic expansion of the brand is due to both the spike in moving needs and the quality of service our franchisees provide.”

Franchise opportunities for standard markets range from $179,400 to $595,000 and mini-market opportunities range from $100,000 to $222,000. Find more information about Two Men and a Truck franchise opportunities online.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2021, all rights reserved.

Free News Delivery by Email

Would you like to have the day's news stories delivered right to your inbox every evening? Enter your email below to start!