Jose Marrero, operations manager for Suddath locations in London, New Jersey and Connecticut, has been elected president of The Pan American International Movers Association (PAIMA), an association representing member companies in over 45 countries around the world dedicated to improving the international moving industry.

Crown World Mobility has announced the appointment of Hanneke Noort as its new Director for Europe.

Graebel has recently announced that Steve Smith has been promoted to Vice President of Operations of Move Management, Inc.

Beth Pasiak has recently joined Graebel as its Vice President of Operations and will manage the company’s Atlanta, Georgia centre.

The government has announced several proposed changes to employment law. It has also launched a number of consultations on further proposed changes. Here is a roundup of these changes.

On 3 December, 2014 the Chancellor George Osborne delivered his autumn statement, which included major changes to the way Stamp Duty is levied on UK property sales. Below are some of the comments we received at The Mover office following the Chancellor’s announcement.

A new company from The Netherlands, Move4U, has developed a range of online products specifically for moving companies.

A landmark case brought by environment group Client Earth will allow people to sue the British government for breaching EU pollution laws and force ministers to take action to improve air quality more quickly in major cities.

In the wake of a European court ruling that puts the UK under pressure to cut pollution from diesel engines, John Baldwin, Managing Director of CNG Services, a company that provides design, consultancy and project management services for gas distribution, and a member of the DfT Transport Energy Task Force, says that there is now a major shift from diesel to gas.

O’Neil Software recently announced that the company will be hosting its 2015 oneilPartner Conference at the beautiful beach location of the Sheraton Resort & Spa, in Carlsbad, California from 15 – 17 September.

Imagine you are a magazine editor. Every month you start with a clean sheet. Four weeks later a new, shiny magazine runs off the press. Where does the information come from? How do you write 48 pages from scratch? The answer, of course, is you don’t. By Steve Jordan

UniGroup Relocation was honoured for outstanding performance at Cartus Corporation’s 2014 Global Network Conference held last October in Chicago, Ill. The organisation was named winner of the Global Network Commitment to Excellence Silver Award for its exceptional service results.

Graebel Relocation has ranked 11th among the leading 250 Top Private Companies as researched by the ColoradoBiz magazine, up one place on last year.

102 moving agents were recognised for their outstanding service at the Atlas Van Lines annual convention in Hawaii in November.

Suddath has announced its sponsorship of a “Visit from St. Nicholas” on behalf of HandsOn Jacksonville.

The Arpin Group has become the first company in the moving and transportation industry to perform a sustainability self-assessment with the help of the International Society of Sustainability Professionals. The assessment helped the company to assess its performance against existing sustainability benchmarks

Interdean is hosting its annual six-a-side football tournament on 16 May in aid of Marie Curie. Once again the event will be held at the historic Ascot United Football Club in Berkshire. Two prizes will be up for grabs, The Overall Winner Trophy and the prestigious Mover’s Cup for the best performing team from a moving company.

Bournes Relocation Solutions, from Rye in Sussex has won The Forum for Expatriate Management’s (FEM) EMMA award for ‘International Moving Company of the Year’ at the 2014 Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) awards presented on 7 November 2014.

As I write this month’s Mover magazine, I am haunted by the tragic case of the two Polish lads who were killed while trying to lift a sofa over a balcony in Knightsbridge. It seems to me that it was an accident, if any of us are allowed to have an accident any more. But is it an accident from which moving professionals can learn?

Reason Global Insurance was in a charitable mood at the Movers & Storers Show in October raising both funds for Macmillan Cancer Support and a smile at the same time.