R E G I O N A L FOCUS The team at Able Moving & Storage, which grew its commercial division by 30 per cent last year ROADRUNNER SENIOR SALES CONSULTANT PHIL POLLACK The Biden administration will most likely grow areas of government Trump was trying to eliminate, so this will also create additional moving requirements it weather the pandemic. We saw decreases in volume, but with a diverse mix of customers increases in some segments. Others remained flat. We werent unscathed by 2020, but feel fortunate looking into 2021. THE HARDEST HIT Grohmann admits that COVID had a negative impact on Movers Internationals household goods business and its mobility services division. Peak declines were felt in April and May, and despite some improvement in summer and beyond, jobs were cut. However, MI is just one part of the Weichert group, which has 18 companies. Other businesses experienced record levels of activity, such as our real estate, insurance, mortgage and title sectors, he adds. For Isaacs, COVIDs impact on all business sectors was immediate and powerful, says owner Isaac Edry. But once the initial shutdown was lifted, we were able to recover sufficient volumes of local, interstate and international moves. There was a longer pause in international as countries developed rules and regulations regarding imports and exports, but once these were established, a sense of regularity returned. Corporate moves were hardest hit, with most companies drastically reducing their relocations. At the same time, military moves, which had been frozen for three months, opened up, and Isaacs seized the opportunity. This influx of business allowed us to compensate for some of the corporate decline, says Edry. Isaacs examined its overheads, saving money wherever possible. It renegotiated pricing with vendors and pruned operating costs. Despite COVID-forced restructuring, the company also created jobs to help overcome various challenges. military moving contract. Although meant to have been awarded in 2020, these have, as FIDI Focus previously reported, been pushed back to June 2021. The contract will be awarded to a single business, with the winner offering large sub-contracts for other providers. The new system is designed to reduce delayed moves and damage to military personnel goods, two long-standing problems. Kuhn welcomes the change. While Able has never done much military work, well probably start doing some now, he said. The small group of movers that dominated the military landscape probably suffocated the quality of services. Isaacs is anxiously awaiting details of the new arrangement, while Marr sees the change as a huge opportunity for the moving industry to take a leap forward with new solutions. The military sacrifice their lives to protect and serve America and deserve to be treated with care and respect, she said. ELECTION FALLOUT With the dust settling from a turbulent election Roadrunner found new opportunities during the pandemic and retained all its staff MILITARY SHAKE-UP AIRES QUALITY MANAGER LAURA MAY CARMACK One potential source of new business for FIDI Affiliates will be changes to the US Department of Defense 52 FF301 Q2 21 pp46-53 Regional Focus.indd 52 WW W. F I D I FOC U S . OR G 09/03/2021 14:47