Dandelion Moving & Storage Inc. of Fort Collins is expanding into Greeley.
The 18-year-old company, which provides both business and residential moving, will add about five employees to its current 20 to open the Greeley office, said Bret Lamperes, Dandelion’s president and co-owner.Lamperes said the company’s business began to take off when Fort Collins’ population reached 65,000 to 70,000. He noted that Greeley’s population now stands at about 63,000.
“The market down there is growing, and there isn’t really an alternative down there for a Mom-and-Pop-type moving company,” Lamperes said.
Dandelion operates eight trucks but will add more as business warrants, Lamperes said. Dandelion has provided moving services to such companies as The Group, Poudre Valley Hospital, Baker Instrument Co. and Colorado State University.
Lamperes’ co-owners and vice presidents are his brother, Mark Lamperes, and Jason Benjamin.
The trio bought Dandelion in February from the Lamperes’ step-father, who founded it 18 years ago with the Lamperes’ mother. The company started out with one blueberry-picking truck.”I was probably in third grade when I was handing up two-by-fours to build our first truck box,” Lamperes said. The company’s current six trucks include two yellow Ryder trucks that he purchased in February.
The Lamperes left Colorado for a short time, long enough to found Dandelion Moving & Storage in 1977 in Massachusetts, but the family soon returned to Fort Collins, where Lamperes was born.
Lamperes said Dandelion has relied on word-of-mouth referrals for much of its business and that his company prides itself on its personal service.”We feel like we’re extremely accountable to the work,” he said, noting that Dandelion doesn’t hire temporary workers. That fact increases quality control and accountability, he said.
Dandelion moves businesses and residences within Colorado and southern Wyoming, with much of its business residential.
“With the residential, we’ve been strong,” Lamperes said.
The company posts annual revenues of $500,000 to $750,00, Lamperes said.