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Frank "The Chief" Corrigan left the lumber camps of Quebec in 1923  with a dream of earning $5 a day.  He moved to Dearborn, Michigan and joined the Ford Motor Company where he worked the Ford farms; sometimes he chauffeured Henry Ford. The Chief was ambitious and when he wasn?t working at Ford, he worked after-hours delivering ice.

When the Depression hit, many folks were economically strapped and forced to move from their homes.  The Chief made the most of the opportunity and in 1929, he switched from hauling ice with his three trucks to helping people move.

When Frank's eldest son, Paul Corrigan, returned from the U.S. Air Force in 1946, he found his father ill due to the pressures of running the business and struggling without good help during the war years.  Instead of going to college, Paul took over the business and put himself through the "school of hard knocks."

In 1949 Corrigan began hauling for United Van Lines because the idea of an agency-owned van lines appealed to him.   To this day, agents like Corrigan, hold ownership in the van lines and are involved daily in every aspect of quality services.  This is the foundation of the United agency system which led to United Van Lines being America's #1 Family Mover?. 

Getting back to the Corrigan family, Paul married Kathleen O?Hehir in 1954 and through the years they had six children: David, twins Jeannette and Joanne, Michael, Maureen, and Karen. All the children have worked some part of the business; one job or another. Michael reports, "Around the dinner table, we were talking a lot about moving and storage."

The Corrigan children have worked all areas of the moving business as drivers, helpers and packers; in departments of accounting, sales, operations, and customer service. Corrigan Moving and Storage grew strong with financial controls and the Corrigans have earned respect in their community as sound business owners and developers.

In 1956, Paul Corrigan negotiated the first national account for Corrigan Moving & Storage with Ford Motor Company. Paul visited Ford in the morning, and Ford?s representative telephoned later that day with an order.  Contractual agreements were simpler then.

In 1986 Corrigan purchased an 87,000 square-foot warehouse/office facility in Farmington Hills, Michigan, and moved their corporate offices from Dearborn. The Corrigan business continued to grow through acquisitions and new construction.  Corrigan purchased Hurd Moving & Storage, Ann Arbor, Michigan; Midland Moving & Storage, Midland, Michigan; constructed new warehouses/offices in Auburn Hills, Michigan; Grand Rapids Michigan, and Toledo, Ohio. The newest 106,000-square-foot branch is located in Novi, Michigan, and is shared by Corrigan Record Storage Co. and Corrigan Installation Services & Commercial Moving.

Corrigan has evolved into Corrigan Moving Systems with 12 locations in Michigan and Ohio, 550 employees, 102 full-time owner-operator drivers, and 500,000 square feet of warehouses. Today they generate $50 million in sales revenue. A long way from hauling ice, Corrigan now handles a wide range of household goods transportation and relocation services for, not only Ford, but major corporations worldwide. Services have expanded to international freight forwarding, office records storage, office systems furniture assembly and disassembly, and logistics management.

Paul Corrigan has always been involved in the promotion of quality transportation programs which deliver customer satisfaction.  In 1994 the Michigan Movers and Warehousemen?s Association presented their Mover of the Year award to Paul Corrigan and David Corrigan; this was the first time in the 72-year MMWA history a father-son team had been so recognized.

In 1995 United Van Lines presented Corrigan Moving Systems the initial President?s Quality Award for outstanding customer service, recognizing them as "best of the best" among all domestic United agents.

The sons are currently active in the family business. David was named president and COO in 1995, Michael was promoted to executive vice president, and Paul Corrigan became chairman of the Corrigan Board and CEO.

Today as you enter the main warehouse in Farmington Hills, Michigan, there is the Kathleen Corrigan Training Center. Conceived and designed by Paul?s wife, Kathleen, the mini-home apartment was constructed in 1996 and is completely outfitted with the furnishings that make a home?TV, personal computer, furniture, china, family pictures, etc. Here Corrigan trains their drivers and packers in the fine art of packing household goods, so the crew receives hand-on training before they arrive at the customer?s door.

Now the great-grandchildren are learning the trade also. This website was initiated by Nathan Corrigan,  great grandson of the founder.

Corrigan Moving Systems / United Van Lines ICC NO. MC-67234  US DOT NO. 077949