Happy daze!

A quick run down of what's on at The Movers & Storers Show 2015 plus a downloadable exhibition guide.

The Grospiron story began in 1840s Paris when Edouard Grospiron started a local delivery service using horse-drawn vehicles. During the next 150 years Grospiron remained a well know name in the city’s removals industry, changing hands many times during its long history.

The introduction of driverless vehicles may be nothing more than science fiction in some people’s minds, but the reality is technology giants across the globe, such as Google, are investing heavily in developing the concept which shows it is closer to reality than people think. By Richard Newbold.

Andrew Elliman, Group Sales Director at AGS 360 Relocations, is no stranger to adventure, from climbing in the Himalayas to trekking across Iceland, Andrew has done it all. But in April 2015 while attempting to break a Guinness World Record on Everest, Andrew was to face his greatest challenge, a challenge that almost cost him his life.

Readers from overseas (and some from the UK) may well wonder what on earth this article is about. Cart marking in London? What’s that got to do with the moving industry? Well, nothing – and everything. Steve Jordan explains.

Ewen Extier is the Branch Manager for AGS Movers in Prague. He’s new to the industry so Steve Jordan caught up with him to talk about his first impressions of this unique business.

Ray Hammond predicts the future at the EuRA conference in April in his ‘Key drivers for the future’ speech. By Sophie Neal.

It was on 11 June in Boston that a young man, Max Cormier, had a life changing experience. At the tender age of 12 he presented the results of his own survey into the reactions of children to the trauma of relocation to the annual meeting of the New England Relocation Association (NERA).

With increasing numbers of illegal immigrants attempting to board lorries in Calais and other Channel ports, James Tennant, Managing Director of Walsall-based removers MoveCorp Ltd. is urging other removal companies to make sure their checking procedures are fit for purpose and are adhered to by their drivers.

By Gavin McCarthy, Sales Director, Britannia Movers International

In a world where effective marketing can be the difference between success and failure, branding is a key element, and it's only likely to become more important.

We have all seen the mayhem that was caused by the French strikers who held the transport industry and the whole of the travelling public to ransom. Some of you were caught in it yourselves. In my opinion this is unacceptable. It’s time we acted.

Steve Jordan dropped in to meet Ingrams of Bishop Auckland and the two brothers who run it, Malcolm and Ian Ingram. It’s not your average moving company, but it’s the way they like it.

Mark Ratcliffe and Andy Pearson have set up a new company called The Next Level. It has been created to help small moving companies become bigger by focussing on the practical side of what they do.

In just a little over 18 months John Sargant has built his trade organisation Move Assured into a network of 55 removal companies covering much of the UK.

The Movers and Storers Show returns to Silverstone on Tuesday 15 and Wednesday 16 September. This event, established in 2008, remains the UK’s biggest trade show for the removals and storage sector.

AS24 bills itself as being the No.1 network for HGVs across Europe. With 750 service stations throughout the continent, it’s probably true.

A totally biased report of the Santa Fe football tournament by Steve Jordan, Football Manager.