Claeys Brothers move opens several business opportunities

In August, the longtime Sioux City business left its Floyd Boulevard location for a larger site at 5600 Harbor Drive. The move opened several business opportunities, said Tom Claeys, CEO and general manager.

"The building we were in, we were stagnant. We couldn't do any more," Claeys said.

The former location at 615 Floyd Blvd. was 4,000 square feet. The move into the former Lincoln Feed & Seed building near Sioux Gateway Airport is 25,000 square feet.

Claeys Brothers now offers household and commercial storage and records storage. Customer response has been good, Claeys said.

"Storage-wise, we've got half the building filled," he said.

Dozens of 7-foot by 7-foot packing containers containing household possessions are stacked in the large warehouse. On the other side of the building, pallet after pallet of material from a Siouxland industry are stored.

The new address also contains a 70,000-square-foot, fenced storage area for campers and boats.

In addition to storage, Claeys Brothers added a crating service, in which wooden crates are custom-built for the item a customer needs to have shipped.

"Any furniture, mirrors, artwork that needs to be put into a wooden container, we can design and build accordingly. There's no one in Sioux City that does that," Claeys said.

The Harbor Drive location has been beneficial, Claeys said, because of its exposure and easy access to Interstate 29. The building also has large dock doors, and a semitrailer can pull into the building. Both are features Claeys Brothers did not have in its former building.

Shortly after moving to Harbor Drive, Claeys Brothers became a full-service agent for Wheaton World Wide Moving. The switch to Wheaton was a better fit for the Claeys Brothers philosophy, Claeys said.

"We feel that a lot of the larger moving companies have lost touch with what moving really is - moving a family from one home to another," Claeys said.

Wheaton is a smaller company, Claeys said, but it enables the company to handle each move face to face with customers. Claeys said customer satisfaction with Wheaton is high. The company has received the Good Housekeeping Seal of approval every year since 1964.

"It's the only moving company with it," Claeys said. "They are not the biggest, and Wheaton World Wide doesn't care to handle 10,000 shipments a year. But the ones they do are handled with perfection."

Claeys Brothers moves families and businesses to 22 states. It acts as the agent for Wheaton for moves to the other 28 states.

Claeys Brothers was founded in 1955 by Art Claeys, who retired in 1980. Most management positions are filled by family members. Claeys said family is one of the reasons Claeys Brothers has a deep connection to the community. In return for the support it has received from local businesses and families over the years, Claeys Brothers supports several local charities, organizations and events, Claeys said.

"We are all very active in the community," he said.