By Mary Pritchard, Contributing Writer
Westborough – In 1979, Mark Silverman was a student at Northeastern University and what began as a means to earn money during college has become a successful business for 31 years.
“I began Mark's Moving & Storage, Inc. with money I borrowed from a credit card,” Silverman said. “I just wanted to make money while I was in school. Some people said, “you can's do that,” and I became even more determined to do it.”
Mark's Moving & Storage, Inc. began in Brookline and as the company grew, Silverman made the move west. Westborough is now the location of corporate headquarters. “In 2006, I invested heavily in this building and improved the property. This month marks four years we'se been here in our 90,000-square-foot warehouse. We also have a 60,000-square-foot warehouse in Norwood.”
Mark's offers local and long-distance residential and corporate moving services, air freight, container shipping, record storage management, disposal, packing and unpacking services, Mark's on demand storage containers (MODS), and warehousing. Other businesses also operate from the Westborough facility.
“Many local businesses operate from this location,” he said. “They can run their own operation with a lease or we can provide them with distribution services, including labor and trucking if desired.”
Silverman explained that his business is about half moving and half commercial industry, and that there are various situations where residential customers may need storage such as if a home is on the market and they want to reduce clutter, storing personal belongings during new construction or renovations, such as kitchen cabinets or appliances. “We are a resource, not a commodity,” he said. “We'se focused on helping people with problems. Often people store things because of a move to assisted living, fire, flood or divorce. We want to help by moving and storing their belongings safely, securely, and with great care. For office moves, we offer plastic crates for rent. The expense is comparable to buying boxes and it's a “green” option, as they are re-usable. The crates have a dolly so the customer puts an empty box onto the dolly and fills it, then stacks another empty box. The stack of full boxes can be rolled around rather than the customer lifting full boxes.” With approximately 30 employees, many of whom have been with the company for a long time, Silverman takes pride in the business he has built as well as the relationships with employees and customers. “George Jacobs, vice president, has been with me since the beginning. Joe Kansky, sales manager, and Pam Colpitts, office manager, have been here for many years. Each day doing this job, moving and helping people, we are so focused on the quality of our work and people are so grateful for that. We simply do our job, but people appreciate it so much.”
Community is important to Silverman.
“We'se actively involved with the Arthritis Foundation, National MS Society, Kevin Youkilis Hits for kids, and we'se the official mover of United Way of Tri-County. If a large item is going to be donated during a move, such as a piano, we'sl donate the move of that particular item. We like to give back. Individuals and companies have been so good to us; in return, we'se able to be a good neighbor. We'se much more than trucks and a warehouse.”
Mark's Moving & Storage, Inc. is located at 111 Milk Street, Westborough and can be reached at 508-983-6000, 1-800-966-MARK or www.MarksMoving.com.
