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Jim Thompson
Chairman, Worldwide Group |
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As Crown celebrates
its 40th year in business on February 1st, Jim Thompson looks back
to the early days in the life of the company. As a young man in
Yokohama, Jim realized the need for a reputable international moving service. With only US
$1,000 in his bank account, Jim cashed in his plane ticket back
to the United States and started his adventure.
“I began planning for the establishment of the company in late December
1964, and throughout the month of January we put all the pieces together,” Jim Thompson explained. “We didn't have a warehouse nor did we have our
own packing materials. But we arranged to get these from other established Japanese movers so we could perform
our first jobs.” |
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Crown's
First Check |
The
very first check Crown received was payment of a move from Yokohama
to Los Angeles for an American man who was a pilot for Japan
Air Lines. Japan Air Lines didn't have enough Japanese trained
pilots for their commercial aircraft so they contracted with
a company in Burlingame, California called IASCO (International
Air Services Company) that provided trained pilots. |
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That's why the
check is issued by them. The original name of the company was Transport
Services International. “Receiving a check for US$1,045 was
a big thing for us because we had so little capital to start with,” said
Jim.
The first packers
hired were excellent, so Jim knew that if he could book business
they would perform the work to the complete satisfaction of the
clients. Crown was quality driven from the very beginning.
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Jim's
Father, Family Friend and Mother Proudly Displaying the Certificates
of Incorporation |
“On February
1st, we were officially registered as a Japan Branch of a U.S.
(Delaware) corporation and legally entitled to do business in
Japan,” said Jim. “On February 2nd we received our
first payment. We lived pretty much hand to mouth for the first
six months of 1965, but by May we were able to land a very steady
packing contract with the U.S. Navy at a base called Yokosuka
Naval Base. This provided us with steady business from that point
forward.”
Jim smiled
as he remarked, “And we never looked back.”
If you would like to
read more about Crown's History, click
here.
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