Global Van Lines
Corporate brand
UnclaimedA United States-based international moving and relocation company.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
Global Van Lines is an American moving and relocation company with roots in Dallas, Texas. George T. Howard established the business in 1933 under the name Howard Van Lines. The company adopted the Global Van Lines name in 1957 after its acquisition by Trans-Ocean Van Service, a Long Beach, California-based operator. The renaming reflected the business's international orientation and its development within the broader interstate and overseas moving industry. Over the following decades, Global Van Lines passed through several ownership structures. WKG Corporation of Houston acquired the company in 1981, and Contrans Corporation purchased it in 1985. In 1990, Global's agents acquired the company, creating an ownership model resembling a cooperative in which the agency network had a direct connection to the enterprise. That structure was later replaced when Interstate Van Lines acquired Global in 1998. Global Van Lines was sold to Allied Worldwide in 2000. Allied Worldwide subsequently became part of SIRVA, a relocation-services group. The transaction placed Global within a larger corporate platform serving household moves, employee relocations, and related transportation needs. In the same year, SIRVA moved Global Van Lines' world headquarters from Anaheim, California, to Fort Wayne, Indiana. The company previously operated its world headquarters near Disneyland in Anaheim. The site was notable not only as an administrative location but also because Global Van Lines was a corporate sponsor of Disneyland. The mid-century modern headquarters building was demolished during the 1990s; the site later became associated with Team Disney Anaheim, a Frank Gehry-designed facility. Global Van Lines' core business is moving services, particularly household and international relocation. Its historical development illustrates the consolidation of the American van-line sector, moving from founder-led operation to acquisition by larger transportation and relocation groups. Publicly available reference material provides limited detail about its current standalone operations, product portfolio, leadership, financial performance, and brand strategy. Accordingly, this profile focuses on the documented history of the brand and does not assign unsupported current ownership, executive, financial, or web information.
History
Global Van Lines began in 1933 in Dallas, Texas, when George T. Howard founded Howard Van Lines. The business operated for nearly a quarter-century under its original name before being acquired in 1957 by Trans-Ocean Van Service of Long Beach, California. Following that transaction, it adopted the Global Van Lines name, establishing the identity by which it became known in the moving industry. The company subsequently experienced a series of ownership changes characteristic of the transportation and van-line sectors. WKG Corporation, based in Houston, acquired Global in 1981. Four years later, in 1985, Contrans Corporation purchased the company. In 1990, Global's agents acquired the business. This arrangement gave the company a cooperative-like character, with participating agents playing a direct role in ownership rather than the brand being controlled solely by a conventional outside corporate parent. That agent-oriented period ended in 1998, when Interstate Van Lines acquired Global Van Lines. In 2000, Global was sold to Allied Worldwide. Allied Worldwide later became SIRVA, placing the Global brand within a broader relocation-services organization. Also in 2000, SIRVA relocated Global Van Lines' world headquarters from Anaheim, California, to Fort Wayne, Indiana. Global's Anaheim headquarters had occupied a prominent site at the northeastern edge of Disneyland. The company was also a corporate sponsor of Disneyland, linking its public profile to the theme-park complex. The headquarters building was a mid-century modern structure, but it was demolished in the 1990s. The location was later used for Team Disney Anaheim, a Frank Gehry-designed building. The documented history presents Global Van Lines primarily as a moving-company brand whose development was shaped by acquisitions, agent participation, and integration into progressively larger transportation and relocation groups. The available reference material does not establish a complete account of its present-day service network, current corporate structure, management team, financial performance, or marketing programs. Those areas remain unspecified rather than inferred.
- 2000
Sale to Allied Worldwide and headquarters relocation
[1]Global Van Lines is sold to Allied Worldwide, which later becomes SIRVA. That year, the world headquarters moves from Anaheim, California, to Fort Wayne, Indiana.
- 1998
Acquisition by Interstate Van Lines
[1]Interstate Van Lines acquires Global Van Lines.
- 1990
Global agents acquire the company
[1]The company's agents acquire Global Van Lines, producing an ownership structure resembling a cooperative.
- 1985
Sale to Contrans Corporation
[1]Contrans Corporation purchases Global Van Lines from WKG Corporation.
- 1981
Acquisition by WKG Corporation
[1]WKG Corporation of Houston, Texas, acquires Global Van Lines.
- 1957
The company adopts the Global Van Lines name
[1]Trans-Ocean Van Service of Long Beach, California, acquires Howard Van Lines, after which the company begins operating under the Global Van Lines name.
- 1933
Howard Van Lines is founded
[1]George T. Howard establishes the moving company in Dallas, Texas, under the name Howard Van Lines.
Products and positioning
A moving and relocation brand associated historically with interstate and international household transportation, supported by a network-oriented agency model and later integrated into larger relocation-services groups.
Moving and relocation
Household moving services
Global Van Lines' core historical business has been the transportation and relocation of household goods. The available reference material identifies the company as an international moving company but does not provide a detailed current catalog of packing, storage, valuation, or delivery packages.
International relocation
International moving services
The Global Van Lines identity has been associated with international moving and cross-border relocation. The documented sources do not specify particular destination programs, logistics technology, service tiers, or current geographic coverage.
Employee relocation
Corporate relocation services
As part of the broader relocation-services sector, Global Van Lines has been associated with moving needs that can include corporate and employee relocations. The supplied reference does not describe a distinct branded corporate-relocation product or its current availability.
Brand decisions
2000
Headquarters relocation to Fort WayneStrategyBackground
After Global Van Lines was sold to Allied Worldwide, the parent organization reorganized the brand's corporate footprint.
Action taken
Global Van Lines' world headquarters was moved from Anaheim, California, to Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Aftermath
Fort Wayne became the documented headquarters location associated with the brand.
1990
Agent-based ownership transitionStrategyBackground
After successive corporate ownership changes, Global Van Lines' agency network became directly involved in ownership.
Action taken
Global's agents acquired the company, creating a structure described as similar to a cooperative.
Aftermath
The company operated under a network-oriented ownership model until its acquisition by Interstate Van Lines in 1998.
1957
Adoption of the Global Van Lines identityStrategyBackground
Following its acquisition by Trans-Ocean Van Service, the company moved beyond its founder's surname-based identity.
Action taken
The business changed its name from Howard Van Lines to Global Van Lines.
Aftermath
The new name became the company's long-term public identity and emphasized an international moving orientation.
Sources1 sources
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