For a lot of companies the last few years have been like riding a rough roller coaster with the ups and downs of the economy. For those of us that have weathered the most recent storm though I think we all have a story to tell. For Evans, part of our story is how we used our past to push forward when the going got tough. As a family owned company that started up during the Great Depression, there is obviously a lot of passion and strength within the Evans family. That period of time will forever be portrayed in history books, and it’s an amazing inspiration to realize that is when the Evans story started. We repeatedly turn to this story to when the going gets tough, and just as they saw back then we are seeing a resurgence in the economy and new opportunities for Evans to grow and diversify in 2012 and beyond (A New Chapter in the Evans Story).
While many of us within the Evans organization may be intimately familiar with the company history, there hasn’t been much shared externally. If you and your company are looking for an extra push in momentum I hope you can take a look at these photos and find some inspiration to push you forward to great things this year.
1929 – Evans 1st warehouse on Fort St in Detroit, MI
1930 – Evans office workers (perhaps our first customer service team?)
1929 – Warehouse workers before there were forklifts
Early 1930’s – Evans started up a trucking company, learning early that expanding service capabilities is what customers want
1934 – A look inside our Detroit warehouse
Some interesting 1929 facts…
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The stock market crash triggers a 10-year global depression. At the lowest point (1933) a quarter of the U.S. work force was unemployed.
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The Philadelphia A’s won the World Series and Boston took home the Stanley Cup this year.
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The average income was $1,582.
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A first class postage stamp cost $0.02, while a gallon of milk cost just $0.14.
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The millionth Model A was built, which was then quickly followed in July with the two-millionth.
- A gallon of gasoline averaged $0.25.
We would love to hear what inspires your business through the tough times!