Two Men And A Truck®/international, Inc. Awards Canadian Master Franchise Rights To Heron Capital Corporation

LANSING, MICH. (Monday, January 10, 2005) - TWO MEN AND A TRUCK®, the nation's first and largest local moving franchise company, has awarded the Canadian master franchise rights to the Toronto-based franchise management company Heron Capital Corp., effective immediately.



The TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® concept was born in the early 1980s in Lansing, Mich., when high school students Brig and Jon Sorber began moving people in an old pickup truck for extra spending money. To help attract customers, their mom, Mary Ellen Sheets, designed and placed a community newspaper ad promoting the business with the now familiar stick men logo.



Today, TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® has become the fifth-largest moving company in the United States with 145 locations in 27 states and more than 970 trucks on the road. The company handles more than 275,000 moves annually. Its mission is 'to continuously strive to exceed customers' expectations.' For the 10th consecutive year, the company appears on Entrepreneur Magazine's Franchise 500 list. (www.entrepreneurmag.com)



Said Melanie Bergeron, President of TWO MEN AND A TRUCK®, "We're delighted to be able to partner with Heron Capital, which has an experienced franchise management team and a successful track record with the added bonus of being linked to an industry close to ours."



Said Heron Capital Corp. President & CEO John Prittie, "The business philosophy of TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® is in sync with how we view our customer and business partner relationships. Because of a long-standing home building legacy, we see some key marketing opportunities for our franchisees, all related to our core business – connections to new home builders, condo and apartment managers, real estate brokers and agents, as well as house inspectors.



"We expect to be very successful in building a strong Canadian franchise business," said Prittie, a 25-year franchise industry veteran. "Our long-term goal is to develop and support a network of 40 franchises across Canada, including Québec."



Added Prittie, "We see a polarized moving industry in Canada with large, national and international movers competing with small, independent movers. This presents us with a tremendous opportunity, right up the middle."



TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® franchises provide consumers with a comprehensive array of moving services, whether moving one appliance, an entire household or a business. The company offers packing and unpacking services, loading and unloading services, boxes and a wide choice of packing supplies, crating and storage (optional). "Customers benefit from having trained, uniformed movers who are insured and bonded to handle all residential or commercial moving tasks," Prittie added.



"Independent research conducted by Capital Research Services in 2004 revealed that 94.9 percent of TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® customers are willing to refer TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® to others and 95.6 percent believe we provide excellent value," Bergeron said. "This is consistent with similar independent research we've commissioned over the previous four years."



"A proven operating system is the most significant franchisee benefit. Franchisees attend Stick Men University®, a complete three-week training program at the company's international headquarters (www.twomenandatruck.com) in Lansing, Mich.," Prittie said. "Front line staff (drivers and movers) receive extensive training including the opportunity for hands-on experience in a fully-furnished, two-story facility with a 26-foot truck bed where training is life sized – packing and loading boxes and moving real furniture onto real trucks. There is system-wide buying power on equipment and supplies through a sponsorship program plus a comprehensive marketing manual, advertising support, an extensive on-line support network and a 1-800 support line. The latest high-tech tools help franchisees provide better customer service."



Edwards Global Services, Inc. (www.edwardsglobal.com) of Irvine, Calif. assisted with the transaction.



ABOUT HERON CAPITAL CORPORATION



Heron Capital is a franchise management company, founded in 1997. Shareholders include The Heron Group of Companies, business associates of the Heron Group as well as Heron Capital's President and CEO John Prittie. The Company's mandate is to develop and manage a number of truck and service related franchise businesses. The principals have successfully managed a number of franchise organizations in Canada. Heron Capital recently purchased the shares of Proshred Franchising Corp, which owns the international rights (excluding Canada) to the proprietary franchising system of Proshred Security, who pioneered the on-site shredding industry.





ABOUT THE HERON GROUP OF COMPANIES



The Heron Group's businesses include franchise and real estate companies. Since 1997, the real estate companies have been responsible for more than 10,000 residential units in the Greater Toronto Area and developed three million square feet of commercial and retail space. The Group's member companies include Heron Capital Corporation, Heathwood Homes, Heron Homes, Herity Corporation, Heron Consolidated Inc, Simerra Property Management Services, Equity Development Group, Herity Reality LLC, Heron Building Corporation and The Heron Group Limited.

The corporation is owned and managed by a compact, cohesive team of professionals - engineers, accountants, sales and business executives - who combine strict, operational discipline with entrepreneurial flair and spirit. Over the years, the many prestige communities designed and built by The Heron Group have earned the company an enduring reputation for quality, value and absolute integrity.

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