Berger Transfer was founded in 1910 by Mr. Carl Berger of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Business assets at that time consisted of a single horse and cart that were used to move household goods from the railway depot to the homes of new arrivals to the Minneapolis/St. Paul area.
Upon the death of his father, Harold Berger took over the business and expanded his services to include the transportation of new furniture from factories to retail stores, and from retail stores to residences within several hundred miles of the Twin Cities area.
In February of 1949 Mr. Robert D. Dircks Purchased 50% ownership in the company. Together Mr. Berger and Mr. Dircks continued to grow the business and found themselves opening the first Berger branch office in Chicago during the summer of 1949.
By 1952, RD Dircks had purchased the remaining 50% of Berger Transfer from Harold Berger and became sole owner of Berger Transfer & Storage, Inc. At this same time he moved the company into a 5,000 square foot warehouse located in Northeast Minneapolis. He also opened a second branch office in Sheboygan, Wisconsin which served the furniture manufacturers of that area with new furniture delivery service into Minnesota, Iowa and the Dakotas.
With the construction of Southdale shopping mall underway, Berger storage began to haul the majority of store fixtures used in the mall from Los Angeles to Edina, Minnesota. Southdale is known for being the first indoor shopping mall built in America. That same year Berger became an agent of Barrett Moving who at that time was an agent of Atlas Van Lines.
Because of the expansion of the Interstate 35W freeway system in 1959 Berger was forced to find a new home. In early 1960 Berger moved into its new headquarters on Macalester Drive in St. Anthony, MN. At that time Berger assets consisted of four tractors, four straight trucks and 12 trailers. Gross revenues were $330,000.
In the fall of 1960 Berger became an agent for Global Van Lines, expanding its capabilities in the handling of household goods nationwide.
Berger began to transport high value products such as computers (the old mainframe systems), medical equipment, copy machines, as well as large imaging systems. During this time Berger became a pioneer in the development of flat floor electronic trailers, air ride suspension, climate controlled trailers and many material handling items used in the transportation of high value products.
Berger storage became an agent of Allied Van Lines. This change enabled Berger to gain significant market share in the area of household goods relocation. Berger purchased the assets of Cooks Moving in Dallas and branded the new location Berger Dallas.
Berger has grown to become Allied Van Lines Top Booker and Hauler.
Berger opens its second Texas branch located in Austin.
Berger continues its expansion by opening the first west coast branch in the Los Angeles area of California.
Berger had three Texas branches with the addition of the Berger Houston location.
Berger experiences explosive growth with the opening of seven new locations: Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Kansas City, Atlanta, Charlotte and Louisville.
Berger adds Berger New Jersey to the Berger storage family of companies.
Berger establishes a new location in San Antonio, TX.
Berger announces two new openings in Phoenix and Mesa, AZ.
Berger reveals two new locations in Florida, opening up offices in Tampa and Sarasota, FL.
Berger establishes a new location in Las Vegas, NV.
Today
Berger continues to be owned and operated by the Dircks Family and has grown to become one of Allied Van Lines largest asset-based partner agent with multiple full-service locations nationwide. From a single horse and cart in 1910, to becoming a worldwide service provider today. Carl Berger would be very proud.
