Investors wrap up rights to moving firm
Published in the Chronicle Herald April 15, 2011
[caption id="attachment_1842" align="aligncenter" width="441" caption="Photo by Bill Peck"]
[/caption] By BILL POWER Business Reporter
Three Halifax-area investors have scooped up rights to the BungoBox moving franchise for Canada and plan to begin renting plastic moving boxes in the Halifax area within the month.
BungoBox is an Orlando company that has achieved success with the do-it-yourself moving crowd in Florida and is expanding across the United States.
"It’s a simple concept," partner Raymond McFadgen said Thursday of the venture.
"We bring the boxes to you and you fill them. We pick the boxes up at the new location once they are unpacked."
McFadgen and business partners Darin and Troy MacLean plan to get the business running in the Halifax area over the summer and add four additional Canadian locations before the end of the year.
They expect to develop 20 to 50 franchise locations across Canada over the next couple of years.
BungoBox started in May 2009 and rents reusable plastic boxes to assist with residential and commercial moves.
The company promotes itself as an environmentally friendly and cheaper alternative to cardboard boxes.
A BungoBox truck delivers the stackable moving boxes, which begin at about $1.75 per box per week.
McFadgen said he and his partners are in the process of converting pricing from the American company to Canadian dollars, but he estimated box rentals for a typical one-bedroom apartment, including delivery to the customer and pick up of boxes after the move, will be about $75 (before taxes).
Commercial moves have been a big part of the business in the United States and the partners expect businesses in Canada will appreciate the concept, he said.
BungoBox packing boxes are made of rigid plastic and each can be used for about 500 moves. Base units feature wheels so the stacked boxes can be moved around easily.
Halifax has a highly transient student and military population and should provide a good starting point for the business, said McFadgen.
He said he and his partners hope to build a national organization, headquartered in Halifax.
The U.S. website for BungoBox provides a good idea of what the rental moving box concept is all about. McFadgen said a Canadian website will be available as soon as the French translation is completed.
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