About us
We’ve been helping people move and store their personal belongings for more than a century.
Alfred Robinson, the current Managing Director’s great grandfather, started out in 1895 as a coal merchant at Knolls House, Bury, Manchester but faced stiff competition and an increasingly saturated market. Alfred decided to use his assets – his wagons and horses – to move in a new direction: removals. Robinsons Removal Specialists was born.
This turned out to be a shrewd move, and by the mid-1920s Alfred had grown the business to four branches: one for each of his sons to manage in Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol and London.
It was from 1926 – 1928 that our innovative Birmingham warehouse in Moseley was purpose-built. Way ahead of its time, it featured Europe’s largest vehicle lift able to transfer 14 tonnes (a truck loaded full of furniture) up the 6 storey building making the loading and unloading into storage more efficient. In the basement of the building were bedrooms and bathrooms, specifically for the removals crew to undertake rest who were travelling and transporting customers goods from Scotland and the north to the south of England.
During World War II the warehouse, like much of the Midlands, was subject to sustained aerial bombing. Thankfully, due to our staff taking the precaution to fill the roof with 20 tonnes of sand, and despite being hit twice with incendiary bombs our clients’ stored items were left undamaged.
The building remains today, prominent at 585 Moseley Road, having been re-purposed as 45 apartments in a building that still bears the family name. Robinsons.
During the 1950s and 1960s, the development of the UK motorway network promised faster and safer transport for people in their motor cars, but also for goods/freight transport. In response Robinsons invested enormously in the latest motor vehicle and coach building technologies, resulting in an enviable fleet of the latest British purpose built Robinsons removals pantechnicons.
It was during the same period that Robinsons recognised an opportunity to help the growing number of people emigrating from Britain to Australia. The Government of Australia initiated the Assisted Passage Migration Scheme in 1945 (ending in 1982) that enabled 1 million migrants to travel and enter Australia for a ten pound fare (hence the name, Ten Pound Poms). This was the start of Robinsons International Removals as a new branch of the business.
Throughout the 1980’s and 1990’s Robinsons acquired a number of other removals companies as part of its expansion plans.
Companies of note:
Ollis Removals in Bristol,
Cantay Removals in Oxford and Basingstoke
Haward & Robertson in Darlington.
Hobday Removals in Bromsgrove
Robinsons at this time boasted 10 locations throughout the UK (including one in Glasgow) and a small office in Paris, France.
During the same period, the company Chairman, Peter Robinson (grandson of founder Alfred), lead the company through the obtaining of BS5750 and ISO9001 quality standards for all its locations. Peter had the honour of becoming president of FIDI in 1994 and oversaw the launch of FIDI FAIM, the first quality system designed exclusively for the international moving industry.
This was coupled with the roll out of advanced information technology systems and kilostream networking of all locations, enabling the central management of our information systems. In 1995, as a result of expansion, acquisition and the 100 year anniversary of the company, Robinsons retired the black and gold colour scheme of its vehicles and brought all of the brands together under a new modern livery.
In 2003, Robinsons added the offering of Destination Services (DSP) to help service those in need of more than just a removals service. The provision of home search, school search, visa and immigration advice, tenancy management, orientation visits and other assorted relocation services were brought on line to assist the corporate market.
In 2010, the company adjusted its name to Robinsons Relocation to reflect more accurately the full suite of services on offer and a final rebrand was undertaken in 2014 that remains in place today. In 2017, Robinsons launched its first self storage offering at its Abingdon site, enabling local customers a 7 day a week self access storage solution.
Today, Robinsons remain dedicated to meeting the individual needs of our customers in both the corporate and private sectors. Our continuing network of purpose-built storage warehouses, our pioneering development in the use of local Move and Relocation Managers, our hand picked high quality global supply chain and the employment of the latest technologies enable us to provide a solid, professional and trustworthy removal and relocation experience both locally and globally.
