ABC Moving & Storage

Taylor Family Celebrates Three-Quarters of a Century

Twin brothers Ronald and Donald Taylor in the ABC moving and storage warehouse

Donald and Ronald Taylor (l. to r.) in the ABC Moving & Storage warehouse. The twin brothers manage the company that specializes in new product receiving and storage, records storage, and the shredding and disposal of sensitive documents.

Twins Donald and Ronald Taylor take great pride in carrying on the family business. Founded by their parents, Bill and Etta Taylor, in 1949, ABC Moving & Storage of Greenville, NC, is celebrating its 75^th anniversary.

Once a busy residential moving company with 26 employees and a partnership with North American Van Lines, the Taylors switched gears during Covid and got out of the moving side of the business. Today, with a team of six employees, they own 23 storage facilities throughout the area and are best known for commercial and new product receiving and storage, records storage, and the shredding and disposal of sensitive documents.

The Taylor brothers value being close with family and being conservative in business. They value the relationships they’ve built with their customers and the community and the strong work ethic their parents instilled in them from a young age.

“We started working for my dad when we were 12 or 13,” recalls Ronald. “When he built his first building, we had to come out and sweep floors. Later we used to joke with my dad that we could have gotten him for child labor laws, and he would say, ‘the statute of limitations has run out,’” he laughs.

As they got older, their responsibilities increased. They worked as loaders until they got their driver’s licenses. They drove and oversaw moves of clients within North Carolina and to South Carolina, Virginia, and DC. They earned their commercial driver’s licenses so they could drive a tractor-trailer and help with larger moves. After two years of studying business at ECU, the twins were needed to help full-time with sales and eventually take over the company from their dad, who remained involved until shortly before his death in 2013. Their mom just celebrated her 95^th birthday.

“When Covid hit, that’s when we decided to downsize, simplify things, get more into the warehousing business, and enjoy life,” says Donald. “We started buying additional warehouses and reinventing ourselves. When the decision was made between Ronald and me to close the moving side of the business, we were fortunate we had something else to depend on. People might say we were lucky, but you know, really, it’s opportunity, preparation, and hard work.”

“In addition to a strong work ethic, Mom and Dad taught us common sense,” reflects Ronald. “They don’t teach that in college, and it will take you farther in life than what you can learn in a book. Our parents instilled in us to treat people with respect and honesty. That was a big thing with them. Whatever you say you’re going to do, you do. That’s gotten us a lot farther in business than anything else.”

The Taylors connected with TowneBank almost immediately when the bank arrived in Greenville in 2019. Ronald explains, “I was disappointed in my relationship with our previous bank. They treated me like a number and not a person. So I was looking for a new bank and that’s when Towne came to Greenville. So I decided on my personal side to switch and I was very happy about it. From a business standpoint, when Wes Barnes, senior VP and commercial banker, was moving to Towne, we knew we already had a strong relationship with him. We always said our philosophy with banks – and Dad instilled this in us too – was that we wanted to deal with local people and local banks. And Towne said, ‘What can we do to help you?’ They were just very easy to work with.” The Taylors also have their personal and business assets insured with Towne.

As the business has grown, so has the Taylor family’s support of their community. After serving six years in the North Carolina National Guard, the brothers served as members of various civic organizations, the Rotary, and on boards for the airport authority, ECU, and Vidant Health Center. Each has taken a turn serving as president of the North Carolina Movers Association, and both were awarded the association’s James T. Dorman Distinguished Service Award in 2011.

“Not everyone can work with family,” Donald admits. “But twins have a different bond. We’ve always thought alike. Do we disagree? Sure, sometimes, but once we leave the office, it’s over. We have a family cottage down on the Pamlico River and we go down there most every weekend with both of our families and spend time boating and crabbing and enjoying river life. So we work together, but then we choose to spend just about every weekend together, too.”

“We just turned 71 and a lot of our friends have retired,” adds Donald.“ But we still enjoy getting up every day and coming to the office. Ronald and I are still going at it, just like our dad would want us to.”

For more information on ABC Moving & Storage, visit ABCMovingNC.com.