TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® Offers Diverse Line of Services to Expand Revenue Streams

With nearly 340 locations, 2,094 trucks, and 8,000 employees, there’s a lot more to running a TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® business than what meets the eye.

Just ask Bert Kolz—he’s experienced the many moving parts of TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® firsthand as the head of operations for the Black Wolf Group.

Ten years ago, Kolz, Bill Bass, and Don Hughes all worked at Lands’ End, a premier American clothing retailer. After making the decision to part ways with the company, Bass and Hughes started their own catalogue business—marking the beginning of their first endeavor under the Black Wolf Group name.  

But, when Bass and Hughes decided it was time to diversify their enterprise, they began looking for additional business opportunities. Their requirements for a new business included upholding the highest standards of customer satisfaction while providing a necessary and valuable service to clients. After some research, Black Wolf Group took on TWO MEN AND A TRUCK®, purchasing the Tucson, Ariz., territory. The duo turned to a former colleague, Kolz, who was just the man to oversee operations.

They have since grown their moving franchise to include locations in Mesa, Ariz.; Orlando, Fla.; St. Petersburg, Fla.; Las Vegas, Nev.; and three locations in Minnesota, including Edina, Golden Valley, and Woodbury. Most recently, they added an additional three locations in Salt Lake City, as well as three locations in Miami. Across their 15 locations, the Black Wolf Group staffs 200 employees and has 50 moving trucks. Kolz serves as the group’s president, while Bass serves as chairman and Hughes serves as CEO.

Today, as the president of Black Wolf Group, Kolz is responsible for watching over the operations of eight TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® locations throughout Nevada, Arizona, Florida, and Minnesota. On any given day, you can find him and his team members taking on whatever challenge come their way in order to make the business run smoothly. That involves a variety of different tasks—after all, being a part of the growing moving industry doesn’t simply mean unloading furniture and boxes all day. Instead, he’s focused on running the many elements that TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® has to offer. That means Kolz’s schedule often varies every single day depending on what his employees and customers need.

“Unfortunately, there is a myth that investing in a brand like TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® means moving couches off of trucks all day. But, take one look at everything this brand has to offer and you’ll quickly see that there’s so much more,” Kolz said.

This is especially evident in his involvement with the brand’s new Value Flex program—the missing piece to the company’s current long-distance offerings. Introduced in the summer of 2016, a Value Flex move utilizes the service of a dedicated long-haul carrier to transport the container to another TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® franchise near the customer’s final destination. From there, that local TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® team will make the delivery to the customer’s new location.

Black Wolf Group’s Orlando location was one of three cities selected to test out the initial Value Flex pilot. The program works in this fashion-  for example, when a customer moves from Cincinnati to Orlando, the Cincinnati franchise would load the container and ship it out with a trusted carrier. Then, the Orlando-based franchise would take care of the final unloading process.

According to Kolz, adding a service like Value Flex has helped to diversify the location’s revenue streams—giving the franchise system an additional way to expand the brand’s notoriously exceptional service to a long-distance platform.

“This has ultimately allowed us to be even more effective and efficient and it adds on to the current proven service model. It’ll improve upon what’s already in place, kick up efficiency, and incorporate enhanced technology to make long-distance moves smoother,” Kolz said. “Customers now have another option when they choose our services, making TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® more accessible than ever before.”