The Berryman Transfer Story
Berryman Coal & Ice (The early days)
Berryman Transfer began in Joliet (Illinois) in 1896 as "Berryman Coal and Ice", delivering coal and ice to homes by way of horse drawn carts.
Using these same carts Berryman began moving household furniture around town.
The 40's, 50's and 60's
During World War 2, the Berryman family owned and operated the company. In the 1950's and 1960's the company was owned by two different unrelated "Hoffman" families. Through an affiliation with a new cross country Van Line (Bekins), Berryman focused primarily on local and long distance transport.
Growth and expansion (1970 to 2019)
In 1971, Carl and Carolyn Carlson, an insurance salesman and homemaker respectively, purchased the company and assets (which at the time consisted of one truck and one trailer) along with the the company name and local reputation.
Over the next 30 years Berryman grew and expanded into other product lines including freight transportation and distribution and warehousing.
In 2003, after having literally grown up in the business, Dave Carlson and wife Lori purchased the company from his parents. Under the guidance and nurturing of Dave's leadership, Berryman's expansion included owning and operating an almost a quarter of million square foot building, 60 tractors and over 200 trailers.
Many years followed of successful growth and partnerships with several Fortune 500 companies relying on Berryman for quality or service and reliable, efficient and repeatable distribution of their goods.
In 2012 with changes in market conditions Dave refocused the company to primarily concentrate on the warehouse distribution business.
In 2019, after 40 years of working at Berryman, Dave and Lori decided it was time to pass the baton to the current business owners.
Born & Raised in Illinois
We're proud our of roots and history as Illinois and Chicago area natives.
We have deep experience and knowledge of the roads, people, businesses and and operations Rockdale, Joliet, Chicago and the surrounding towns, cities and areas.
Berryman is a local family owned business and and we're happy to be able to employ many local people from Rockdale, Joliet and the greater Chicago area.
Berryman's renewed commitment to excellence & customer service
Berryman today is a committed, growing organization that seeks to build on the proud company history, the experience and knowledge of our people, and our reputation as a reliable, great value B2B logistics and fulfilment provider.
Our whole team is empowered and committed to taking the company forward in the best possible way. We believe the future is bright, based on consistently satisfying our clients and caring about our staff and people.
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Please get in touch with us to discuss how we can help with your on-going B2B or B2C Logistics, Freight, Warehousin, Inventory Management or Fulfilment requirements, or for a quote on a specific job.
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