The International Office Moving Institute (IOMI) is not an alliance, a trade association, or a moving company, but an independent, unbiased office moving resource and training organization beholden to no one. We accept no advertising. The links from within our pages to other web sites are reciprocal.

For more than a decade, many in the moving industry and companies planning a move have come to rely on officemoves.com as a steadfast source of best practices. We advocate, and through the International Office Moving Institute (IOMI), teach:

• Minimizing the risk of damage to walls, floors, doors and elevators during your move. IOMI Certified Movers and Certified Project Managers® learn the best practice methods for installing extensive building protection.

• Minimizing the risk of damage to furniture and computers during your move. IOMI Certified Movers and Certified Project Managers® learn the best-practice methods for wrapping every monitor, printer, CPU, server, and copier with two layers of anti-static bubble wrap (with the bubbles facing the bubbles) instead of pad-wrapping computers with filthy furniture pads.

• Timing is of the essence on your office move. If your mover doesn’t finish the job on time, it can cost your company thousands of dollars of nonproductive downtime. IOMI Certified Movers and Certified Project Managers® learn an estimating formula that’s based upon man-hours instead of the unreliable method typically used on household moves that's based on weight.

The IOMI proprietary estimating formula is uncannily accurate because it factors in not only volume but the unique logistics of both the building you're moving from and to.

• How can you verify a prospective mover or project manager is IOMI-certified?

If they can't produce credentials, check our list by clicking the appropriate orange or green button below. If they aren't on our list, they aren't an IOMI-trained Certified Mover or Certified Project Manager®.
Recertified, rejuvenated, and handling customers with care
MARCH 19 - 21, 2008 - Midwest Moving & Storage Cares became a slogan with teeth after the company completed Certified Mover training in 2006. The Chicago-area mover backed up its commitment with Recertification Training recently and, for good measure, underwent the scrutiny of a performance audit to ensure service reflects the promises made by their sales staff.

According to Ed Katz, as the proof of the pudding is in the eating, customer satisfaction relates directly to how well Midwest took to its lessons.

“The customer, Denise Rippinger, president of Corporate Artworks, went on and on about how pleased she was with her sales representative, 		Mike Stone, and how much she loved the extensive building protection,” said Trainer Katz, head of the International Office Moving Institute (IOMI). “She couldn’t get over the way the crew handled her furniture and fragile artwork, and loved the fact that she and her staff had little downtime because Midwest moved her lateral file cabinets full using their Spider Crane.” Katz conducted both the Recertification Training held at Midwest’s corporate headquarters and the performance audit.

Midwest’s best-practice methods to minimize the risk of damage to office buildings helped win the job of moving Corporate Artworks into their own new building. Corporate Artworks provides and installs works of art for companies nationwide.
Mike Jackson, project manager, left, and Mike Stone, commercial account manager

Ed Katz has the greatest methods to relocate businesses that I have seen!  We don’t want our competitors to learn his techniques.
Mike Stone, Commercial Account Manager
Ken Stone, commercial account manger, left, and John Malloy, relocation coordinator.

Even though I’m not part of the sales staff, I found the IOMI formula very helpful and easy to understand and learn.
John Malloy, Relocation Coordinator
Ed gave us the tools we needed to be the leader in O&I moves.
Sam Bassin, director - International Division
Mike Scott, sales representative, left, and Bill Owens, executive vice president

I cannot believe that after two years that my second training with IOMI could be so informative and educational for not only me but all of my staff.  My people came out rejuvenated about their job and the entire IOMI process.  Thank you, Ed.
Bill Owens, Executive Vice President
IOMI's Ed Katz audits Midwest's use of their Spider Crane® during an actual move to ensure that service reflects what was promised in the sales presentation. Midwest won customer Denise Rippinger's business when Sales Rep Mike Stone promised her extensive building protection, careful handling of furniture and fragile artwork, and the Spider Crane®, which saved the company downtime because it moved all of her lateral file cabinets fully loaded.
Instead of wrapping expensive entrance doors with "cosmetic" Koroflex, which provides no protection from blunt force, Midwest shows they care by using Mat-A-Doors® to protect the doors in the event of an accident.
As an IOMI-Certified Mover, Midwest's best-practice methods takes no shortcuts when it comes to protecting building surfaces and handling furniture and artwork.
“Neither rain nor snow” prevent Midwest Moving & Storage from serving their clients. While IOMI's Ed Katz, left, readies for a snowball fight, Bill Owens, Midwest's executive vice president, prepares for another office move.
2006

MARCH 22 -27, 2006 ELK GROVE VILLAGE, IL - Quality starts at the top and at Midwest Moving & Storage, Inc. that's Luis Toledo, company president.

His philosophy is simple: Even though Midwest is one of Chicago's largest and most succussful office movers, Toledo still keeps a hand in operations. It's not unusual to find him overseeing the loading of one of his many moving vans or making sure movers don't cut corners when it comes to protecting office buildings. He also insists managers stay tuned in to the front lines.

"To ensure we render the service that our sales people present in their proposals, managers and
 leaders work a move several times a year. That way they see what's really happening and make changes if necessary," said Toledo.

After three intense days of training with Ed Katz of the International Office Moving Institute, Toledo is ready to take Midwest to a new level of excellence.

Toledo learned the moving business from the ground up, working on the back of a truck as a mover for someone else. Today, Midwest is the only Certified Office Mover with unionized labor that can work in any office building in  metropolitan Chicago. And only Midwest offers the "boxless" move.
To a moving company, a real hall of fame gets through an office move without damage. Here, Luis Toledo, right, inspects Midwest's "hall of no claims" which features Masonite-covered floors, Koroflex on the walls, and Mat-A-Doors® protecting the double entrance doors on both sides of the lobby as well as the lobby side of the passenger/swing elevator. When working in an office building, Midwest Moving behaves as a guest that wants to be invited back. Therefore, they go to great lengths to minimize the risk of damage to floors, walls, doors and elevator entrances.

Movers carefully prepare a sensitive copier for transport. Midwest President Luis Toledo makes sure that every monitor, CPU, and printer is wrapped with two layers of anti-static bubblewrap before being placed in his custom-made computer crates.  Most movers choose to take a shortcut and up the risk of damage by wrapping only the keyboard, mouse, and cables in a bubblepack bag and simply blanket-wrapping monitors, CPUs and printers.
Luis Toledo, (left), president of Midwest Moving & Storage, with his dad, "Mr. T", who is also an employee. 
After three days of intensive classroom training led by Ed Katz of the International Office Moving Institute, Midwest Moving & Storage earned its Certified Mover diploma.

Comments from Attendees

This seminar has helped me gain the confidence I needed to perform my job to the fullest.
Mike Jackson, project manager

Thank you very much for all your help, I have seen your training come out in many ways from the movers to the salespeople to the inside marketers, I hear your voice and ideas come from their mouth, that is validation!
Bill Owens, operations manager

I feel that I can now take my company to a new level of excellence after taking Ed's seminar.
Luis Toledo, president

Why hire an IOMI Certified Office Mover?

1. On time for the price quoted

One of the biggest complaints about movers is that they often badly underestimate the cost of a move and then don't finish on time. An International Office Moving Institute (IOMI)-trained mover learns a formula for accurately estimating cost. By calculating the number of trucks and movers for how long, IOMI Certified Office Movers can base estimates on man-hours, volume, and logistics, and not weight, which household movers typically use when quoting an office move. As a result, the chances of a move completing on time for the price quoted is greatly improved.

2. Minimize risk of damage

IOMI Certified Office Movers learn the latest techniques to minimize risk of damage to furniture and computers, and are trained in extensive building protection to minimize risk of damage to carpet, walls, doors, and door jambs.

3. Minimize downtime

There is a better way! IOMI Certified Office Movers understand that their customers can't afford to shut down operations during a move, and are trained in techniques to keep client employees working. Many IOMI graduates offer the "Boxless" move -- moving the contents in the furniture instead of the contents and the furniture.

Learn More About Becoming An IOMI
Certified Office Mover
Call 1-800-464-8688