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Our Story
Moving Silicon Valley
Forward Since 1990
We're a family-owned moving company built on a simple promise: treat every customer like a neighbor, and handle every belonging like it's our own. For over 36 years, that promise has earned us the trust of thousands of Silicon Valley families and businesses.
Our History
36 Years of
Trusted Service
From a single truck in 1990 to one of the Bay Area's most established moving companies, here are the milestones that shaped who we are.
1990
It Started on Grant Street
One truck. One warehouse on Grant Street in Santa Clara. One family signing the lease and writing the standard on the wall: every move handled by our own people, every time. The Valley was different then — a quieter place, fewer freeways, more orchards on the southern edge of San Jose. The phones still rang the same way they ring now: someone whose life was about to change, hoping the people on the other end would treat it like it mattered.
1997
Going Interstate — and Moving to Alviso
Seven years in, customers kept asking the same question: "Can you take us all the way?" To Boston. To Austin. To Atlanta. The answer became yes when SVM was approved as a licensed interstate agent through Paul Arpin Van Lines — one of the country's oldest van line networks. With long-haul work came bigger trucks, bigger crews, and a bigger problem: the Grant Street yard couldn't hold them. Operations moved to a larger facility in Alviso, on the marsh-edge of the South Bay, where the trucks could line up and the storage finally had room to breathe.
2008
Sacramento — Gold Country Moving & Storage
By the late 2000s, Bay Area families weren't just moving across town — they were moving up I-80 to Sacramento, Folsom, El Dorado Hills, the foothills. To serve them on both ends of the route, SVM opened a sister operation in Sacramento under the name Gold Country Moving & Storage. Same family ownership. Same crews trained the same way. A foothold in the Capital region that meant a customer leaving San Jose for Sacramento was handed off to people we knew, not strangers.
2012
Montague Expressway
Growth has a sound. It's the sound of a dispatcher saying "we're out of trucks for Saturday" too many weeks in a row. By 2012, the Alviso yard was full and the answer was a bigger building. SVM relocated to a larger warehouse on Montague Expressway — more dock doors, more storage vaults, more parking for a fleet that had quietly tripled in size since the move from Grant Street. The scope of the work was widening too: longer interstate runs, more commercial accounts, more of the complex multi-day jobs that don't fit on a one-truck schedule.
2015
Coming Home to Barnard Avenue
Some buildings are buildings. Others become home. The move to 186 Barnard Avenue in San Jose — a full-service climate-controlled warehouse and operations hub — was the one that stuck. It's where the trucks roll out of every morning, where the storage vaults sit stacked floor-to-ceiling, where the dispatchers and project managers work side-by-side, and where 36 years of Bay Area moving is run from a single yard. If you've ever needed a Certificate of Insurance at 7 a.m. on a Saturday, that's the building it came from.
2021
Joining the Bekins Van Lines Network
When Arpin Van Lines was acquired, the Bekins Van Lines network — operating since 1891 — opened the door to a carefully chosen group of independent moving companies across the country. SVM was selected to join as an authorized interstate agent: a designation extended only to operations that meet Bekins' standards for safety, accountability, and customer experience. Nothing about the way we work changed. The same family ownership. The same crews. The same standards we'd been building for thirty-one years. What changed was the network behind us — older, deeper, and one of the most respected names in the industry.
2021
The First Spire Award
The Bekins Spire Award is decided by customer experience scores — surveys filled out by the people who actually let us into their homes. In our very first eligible year inside the Bekins network, we won it. Excellence in Customer Experience. It was the first time a national award validated what our long-time Bay Area customers had been telling us for three decades: when you do the job right, people remember.
2024
Driver of the Year
There are roughly 350 Bekins agents across the country, and on any given day thousands of drivers behind the wheel of a Bekins-branded trailer. In 2024, Bekins named one of ours its national Driver of the Year — the highest individual honor in the network. The same year, SVM earned its fourth consecutive Spire Award for Excellence in Customer Experience. Four straight years of recognition. One driver, hauling Bay Area shipments across the country, recognized as the best in the network. Both awards earned the same way: one customer at a time.
2026
Thirty-Six Years In, Still the Same Family
Most moving companies don't make it five years. We're entering our thirty-sixth — same family at the helm, same Barnard Avenue yard, same standard written on the wall in 1990. Four consecutive Spire Awards. An A+ BBB rating. A national Driver of the Year. A multi-generational customer base that started moving with us in the '90s and is now calling us for their kids' first apartments. Thirty-six years isn't a slogan. It's an audit — and the only way to pass it is to keep showing up, doing the job right, year after year, for everyone who calls.
From the Archives
A few things we've hung onto
Thirty-six years leaves a paper trail. Here are a couple of pieces of it.
Nationwide Partner
Bekins Van Lines
Partnership
As an authorized Bekins Van Lines agent, Silicon Valley Moving & Storage connects you to one of the oldest and most trusted names in the American moving industry. Founded in 1891, Bekins provides the infrastructure, technology, and nationwide reach that make long-distance moves seamless.
This partnership means your belongings travel through a vetted, quality-controlled network of professionals, whether you're moving across California or across the country. You get the personal, family-business touch of Silicon Valley Moving with the resources and reliability of a national powerhouse.
Nationwide CoverageQuality AssuredSatellite TrackingClaims Support
Bekins Van Lines Agent
Nationwide coverage since 1891
How we work
We're not a broker.
Every move is handled by SVM crews who work for SVM. We don't broker, sell, or hand off your job to another company.
The crew that shows up on move day is on our payroll, trained by us, and accountable to you through us — never an outside contractor we found and dispatched.
Recognition & Industry Coverage
Don't take our word for it.
Take theirs.
Every credential we claim is independently verifiable through a third-party institution. Below is the public record. Click through any of these to confirm.
2024
Bekins Driver of the Year
The highest individual honor in the Bekins Van Lines national network — awarded to a single driver each year out of thousands. Joe Childs of SVM received the 2024 award at Bekins' sixth annual Van Line Summit & Awards Gala on February 27, 2025.
Read Bekins' announcement →2021 · 2022 · 2023 · 2024
Bekins Spire Award (4× consecutive)
Awarded to Bekins agents for Excellence in Customer Experience. Determined by customer surveys, not by company self-reporting. SVM has won the Spire Award every eligible year since joining the Bekins network.
2022 & 2024
Bekins Customer Loyalty Award
Recognizes Bekins agents whose customers consistently return for repeat moves and refer family and friends. Two-time recipient.
August 2024
Bekins Agent of the Month
Single-month recognition awarded across the Bekins agent network for outstanding operational performance and customer outcomes during the month.
Accredited since 2005
BBB A+ Accredited Business
Better Business Bureau accredited with an A+ rating. Our BBB profile, complaint history, and customer review summary are public record.
View our BBB profile →Press Coverage
Industry trade publications independently covered Joe's 2024 Bekins Driver of the Year award. None of these are paid placements; each is a journalistic report.
Truckers News
Silicon Valley Moving & Storage's Joe Childs Bekins' Driver of the Year →
Yahoo Finance
Bekins Van Lines Names Driver of the Year →
Truck Drivers USA
Joe Childs of Silicon Valley Moving & Storage Earns 2024 Bekins Driver of the Year Award →
Bekins Van Lines (corporate)
2024 Bekins Driver of the Year awarded →
Verify Us — Public Records
Every license, registration, and accreditation we claim is in the public record. Most movers don't link directly to these. We do.
Bekins Agent Listing →
Independently confirms our agent status
FMCSA SAFER →
Federal motor carrier safety record
California PUC Licensee →
CAL T 188960 — household goods carrier authority
BBB Profile →
A+ rated, accredited since 2005
Wreaths Across America →
Transportation partner directory
Joey's Toy Drive →
Founded 2012 — 30,000+ toys annually
Cambrian Park Little League →
Registered 501(c)(3) — long-term sponsor
Yelp Profile →
84 reviews, public photos and history
Google Reviews →
5.0 / 5 average — verified customers
Community First
San Jose & Bay Area
Giving Back
Rooted in Our
Community
Silicon Valley isn't just where we work — it's where we live, where our kids go to school, and where our neighbors become our friends. That's why giving back has always been part of who we are, not just what we do.
From sponsoring local youth sports teams and contributing to San Jose food banks, to providing free moving assistance for families in crisis, we believe that a moving company should help build community — not just relocate it. We're proud to support organizations throughout the Bay Area that make our region a better place to call home.
Youth SportsFood BanksCrisis AssistanceLocal SchoolsHabitat for Humanity
Credentials
Licensed, Insured,
Fully Certified
Your peace of mind starts with knowing your mover meets the highest industry standards. We carry every credential required by federal and state authorities.
USDOT
70719
Federally registered with the U.S. Department of Transportation
CAL T
188960
Licensed by the California Public Utilities Commission
Licensed
& Insured
Full liability coverage and workers' compensation on every move
Bekins Van Lines
Agent
Authorized agent with access to nationwide moving resources
Bekins Spire Award
4× Winner
Four consecutive years (2021–2024) for Excellence in Customer Experience
BBB
A+ Accredited
Better Business Bureau Accredited with an A+ rating since 2005
Our Work
Moves That
Speak for Themselves
From cozy apartments to sprawling corporate campuses, every project gets our full attention and care.
Residential Move
Palo Alto
Corporate Relocation
Sunnyvale
Long-Distance Move
San Jose to Portland
Storage Solution
San Jose Warehouse
Office Move
Mountain View
Specialty Move
Cupertino
Google Reviews
What Our Clients Say
“A wonderful team moved me a week ago. They arrived on time, were friendly, polite, and finished in a timely manner. My belongings were treated with utmost respect and protected completely. They made a difficult experience very pleasant.”
Patricia M.
February 2026
“Cheri, Joey and their team are awesome. They moved my mother-in-law from a two bedroom space into a large studio. They were on time, efficient, organized, personable, extremely polite, fun to work with, and handled the job quickly. I would recommend them for any job, big or small!”
Karen W.
December 2025
“Amazing service — from our initial phone call to the moment the moving team left. They were kind, courteous, professional and helpful. They even offered to help us unbox and organize. It was a seamless transition from home to home.”
Priya N.
October 2025
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