Kane Business Passes to Second Generation

John M. Kane was eight years old when his father bought a trucking company that hauled freight from Baltimore to Washington, D.C.

Over the next 29 years, Eugene I. Kane grew the business into what company officials claim is the largest commercial office relocation firm in the country.

Baltimore-based E.I. Kane Inc. today comprises an office moving company, an office furniture installation company, a limousine service, a records management and storage firm, and a personnel recruiting and training company. It employs more than 1,000 people and generates annual revenue of about $41 million.

In November, 37-year-old John Kane bought out his father to become sole owner of the company, which soon will be called Kane Co.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The new owner, who is now president and chief executive officer, started in the family business at age 10 and worked as a mover, truck driver and salesman. He has been president and general manager for the past five years.

He said he wants to continue growing at a rate of 20% a year.

“That’s what we’ve done the last 15 years,” he said. “It’s aggressive, but still within a reasonable level to allow people to grow as fast as revenue.”

Mr. Kane said his father, who is 69, wanted to retire, although he will continue to serve part-time as president of International Limousine Service.

Both men have been active in industry associations. Eugene Kane was chairman of American Trucking Associations in 1980-81, and both have served as chairmen of the now-defunct Washington D.C. Area Trucking Assn.

John Kane currently is chairman of the Maryland Motor Truck Assn. At ATA, he serves on the board of directors and chairs the Labor & Human Resources Policy Committee. He also was a member of the search committee that selected Walter B. McCormick Jr. to succeed Thomas J. Donohue as president of ATA, as well as a member of the Wren Committee, which developed the recent plan to restructure the association.

Mr. Kane said he will continue to explore options for expanding Office Movers, the largest subsidiary, to markets outside the mid-Atlantic region. The company recently completed large office moves in Dallas, St. Louis and Richmond, Va.

Although it’s a large business, the office moving business is highly fragmented, and most household goods movers do commercial work as a sideline.

“I’d like to digest this purchase for a couple years and then look to go into areas where we have a competitive advantage,” Mr. Kane said. “We do things a different way than household goods movers. It’s a passion for us.”

He also will try to expand Quality Labor, an in-house company that recruits temporary personnel, mostly from nearby military bases, to work as movers and packers. After January, the business will be renamed Office Staffing, and it will begin recruiting people to fill temporary office jobs in companies throughout the Washington-Baltimore area.

Mr. Kane said he would like to place 400 to 500 people, and he expects the business to generate $2 million to $3 million a year in new revenue.

The most important thing, he said, is that the business go on.

“They say that only about 33% of second-generation companies succeed, and that certainly is a daunting statistic. But I intend to be part of that 33%,” he said.