Sullivan brothers look to expand Albany-based Two Men and a Truck business

ALBANY – At the moment the Sullivan brothers are two men with two trucks, but their dream is to expand their recently launched Two Men and a Truck enterprise with, well, more men and more trucks.

In the first 30 days of their business, Albany natives Frank and Tom Sullivan, who have built careers in health care, have launched the franchise and are at seven employees, with the idea of adding new locations and covering south Georgia as far as Thomasville and Valdosta.

To do that, they’re focusing on service and building the brand as one that can meet the needs of customers big and small.

“We’ve moved two chairs,” said company General Manager Mike Pitts. “One lady wanted us to move her office into her daughter’s bedroom and her daughter’s bedroom into her office, and they were right next door.”

The business is flexible in meeting customers’ needs, Tom Sullivan said, whether it’s moving a gun safe in someone’s home, a coast-to-coast job or providing moving boxes and supplies.

“We can do smaller moves out of an apartment or moving a single piece of furniture, or we can do a whole house and move them to San Diego,” he said. “It’s bringing a professional moving company to Albany that is locally owned.”

Frank Sullivan, who currently lives in Athens and works in health care sales, and Tom, a health care administrator with the Phoebe Putney Health System, are the sons of a pilot who was stationed at Turner Air Force Base in the 1950s and grew up in Albany.

The military is a large focus of the national company, as are colleges, and those are groups that Two Men and a Truck support as well. The company also requires that franchisees be involved in their communities and donate to local causes.

In addition, the brothers want to make an economic impact on the area.

“We had grown up and been a part of the southwest Georgia community all our lives,” Frank Sullivan said. “We are rooted here, and that’s what’s been important. You want to see your community thrive. You want to provide opportunities. This was just a good opportunity for us to do something together.”

Training is another big focus of the company, and the movers employed in Albany have been through a rigorous process, including elaborately wrapping and preparing the office furniture as if for a move that would see it arrive in the same condition in which it left a customer’s home.

Hiring quality employees and having insurance that covers the customer from the time employees arrive on site through the entire move are among other focuses of the company.

“One of the things we stress with Mike and the employees: Moving can be a happy time. It can be a very sad time. Things happen,” Frank Sullivan said. “It’s very important for our guys to understand that and be empathetic. That’s one of the things we try to instill in these guys.”

After ramping up over its first month of operations, the Albany Two Men and a Truck is looking to expand its presence in the region.

“This is our hub now,” Tom Sullivan said. “Within the next 30 days, we want to get additional trucks in the Valdosta and Thomasville markets as well.”

The Sullivans also see the company’s Albany staff growing by 10, and probably more, in the future.

“We love southwest Georgia,” Tom Sullivan said. “It’s home for us. We love what it has to offer. It’s exciting. We hope that it grows and we’re able to provide a needed service.”