Have you ever wondered how a company got started? Many people accept that business are just in business and never stop to think about their origin! Bailey’s Moving and Storage has proudly been doing business since 1952, and this is how it all started:
In 1952, using his garage as an office and warehouse, Cliff Bailey and his son Jay Bailey started Bailey’s Moving & Storage in Orem, Utah. Their first piece of equipment was Cliff’s pickup truck. They mostly performed local moving with some distribution. By the end of 1950′s they had moved their warehouse operation to Bailey’s current location in Orem, Utah, and had become affiliated with Allied Van Lines.
In 1961, Bailey’s Moving branched out to a warehouse location in Ogden, Utah. This operation remained open until 1977. In 1963, Bailey’s expanded to the Salt Lake City area, with a warehouse location in North Salt Lake, Utah. At this time they also made their North Salt Lake location their corporate headquarters. In 1971, an aging Mr. Bailey and his son Jay, having other business interests, sold the business to a group of employees, Bob Linnell becoming President.
In 1984, Bailey’s Moving & Storage was sold again to employees Dennis Slater, John Walker, Dan Bain, Ron Whitehead, and Jimmy Slater. Dennis became President and oversaw operations; John was Vice-President and General Manager; Dan was Vice-President of Special Services; Ron was Vice President of Sales and Marketing; and Jimmy was Vice- President of Accounting. In 1988, Jimmy Slater sold his stock interest to the other four partners, remaining on as an employee.
Having been successful in Utah, and with a large pool of employee talent, Bailey’s expanded in 1989 to Denver, Colorado. Later that summer they purchased All Methods/Merritt Allied in Denver and Colorado Springs, with Bailey’s taking their office and warehouse space. In 1990 they opened an office in the Washington D.C area and later that year also expanded to St. George, Utah. Their next expansion took place in 1992 with the purchase of Buhler Moving & Storage, a Mayflower agent in Boulder, Colorado. In 1993 they opened an additional office in Fort Collins, Colorado and by the end of 1993, Bailey’s had eight warehouse operations divided between Colorado, Utah, and Washington D.C. In 1994 they expanded further in Colorado with the acquisition Berkeley Moving & Storage in Denver and Grand Junction, Colorado, giving Bailey’s Moving then ten locations.
John Walker and Dan Bain purchased Dennis Slater and Ron Whitehead’s stock interest in Bailey’s in 1991. In 1992, John and Dan started selling minority stock interests to several key employees. By 1995 there were thirteen employees owning stock in Bailey’s Moving with John Walker and Dan Bain still having controlling interest, and in 1995 Bailey’s sold their St. George operation to a former partner, Dale Slater. Several other changes took place in 1999. Bailey’s consolidated the Fort Collins and Boulder, Colorado offices to the Berkeley location in north Denver. Five of the partners in Bailey’s Moving purchased the stock interest of the other two partners, leaving just five owners. Bailey’s also did a major overhaul in their clerical and administrative positions, creating the posture of doing more with less. During 2001, one other partner’s interest in Bailey’s was purchased by the other four. In the first quarter of 2002 Bailey’s consolidated their Berkeley warehouse to its Englewood, Colorado location.
Today, Bailey’s Moving & Storage has five locations, North Salt Lake and Orem, Utah, and Englewood, Colorado Springs, and Grand Junction, Colorado. Bailey’s Moving currently employs around 500 people, with around 600+ employees at the summer peak. Bailey’s is a top-five Booker and Hauler within the Allied Van Lines System. They are one of the largest moving and storage companies in the Rocky Mountain States.
We are proud of our heritage and look forward to many more years of business!
