I always tell my customers when choosing a moving company they should first decide which company addresses their needs most completely. Then they should worry about the price. If you don't feel the necessary level of personal commitment from that company, then the old cliché applies, "You get what you pay for."

- Michael S. Hoffberger | Owner

Posts Tagged experience

Turning a Customer into a Partner

We learn a lot about an organization when we help it move.

We’re not just talking about its equipment, furniture and supplies. We learn about everything from how its work environment operates to how it uses space to maximize productivity. Most importantly, we learn about where that organization is heading – literally and figuratively – in the future.

That’s why at Hoffberger, we take a lot pride in developing long-term relationships with our commercial moving clients. The better we get to know a client, the more we can help ensure each moving project is as safe and hassle-free as possible.

One of our longest working relationships has been with Johns Hopkins University and Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. Hoffberger has been working with Hopkins for as long as we’ve been an independent company, and several of our senior managers have been helping Hopkins with moves for nearly two decades.

The university and hospital are world-class organizations, right in our backyard, and we are honored they view us as their preferred commercial relocation company. Working with them has also sharpened the expertise we can bring to moving clients in the healthcare, education and life sciences fields.

Some examples of moving projects we’ve completed for Hopkins include:

  • Johns Hopkins University, Carey Business School. We relocated 77,000 square feet of classrooms and offices in a single night.
  • Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Over the years, we have relocated more than 1 million square feet of research facilities.
  • Johns Hopkins Hospital, Pediatric Medical Outpatient Building. We moved the pediatrics group into a 100,000-square-foot new facility in one weekend.
  • Johns Hopkins University, Mt. Washington Campus. This project included approximately 250,000 square feet of various groups and departments.
  • The Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins. We moved the Institute from its old building into a new, 240,000 square-foot building, including clinical and research space. The new building was designed by the renowned architectural firm Ayers Saint Gross.

The Book on Library Moves

Few things in the moving business require more precision than a library move.

Every single volume has to be meticulously packed, shipped and unloaded in the correct order – shelf by shelf. If even a single row of books is moved out of place, it could knock an entire collection out of order. That could delay a library opening by several days!

In short, hiring an experienced library moving company matters.

Over the years, Hoffberger Moving Services has developed a reputation as one of the most trusted library movers in the Baltimore, Washington, D.C. and Northern Virginia region. We have experience with libraries ranging from 2-million volume university collections to personal studies.

We know how important books are to our clients, and we’ll take any measures necessary to protect them. We have moved rare, priceless and out-of-print books that required white-glove handling and specially made protective containers. For all library relocations, our movers use our own, custom-built moving carts that are packed and sealed in protective shrink wrap.

In fact, during our most recent library move, a 50,000-volume collection at The Library of the U.S. National Arboretum, Washington, D.C., we:

  • Cleaned each book prior to packing with a gentle vacuum.
  • Combined collections from multiple locations to one location on the new shelves, a process known as “interfiling.”

What’s more, Hoffberger can also offer climate-controlled warehouse space for books that need to be stored for any period of time.

Some of our current and past library clients include:

  • The Edward Rhodes Stitt Library of the National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, Maryland. We packed and moved the 50,000-volume collection and dismantled and rebuilt all shelving.
  • Washington County Free Library System Headquarters, Hagerstown, MD. We will pack 250,000 volumes, including rare books, and dismantle and rebuild 1,100 sections of shelving. (Scheduled for November).
  • US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit Library, Washington, D.C. We will move 60,000 volumes in four stages to minimize disruptions. (Scheduled for later this year.)
  • Johns Hopkins University Library Service Center, Baltimore, Maryland. At 2 million volumes, this has been our largest library move to date.
  • Shepherd University, Shepherdstown, West Virginia. We moved 450,000 volumes – Shepherd’s entire library – into another building. Then, we moved them again a year later to spread the collections between the new and the newly renovated original building.