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Adam Benezra knows ju-twhat
you need foryour next move.
FIFTEEN YEARS AGo, wHuu Adam Benezrastarted selling used movingboxes, recyciing wasn't cool yet. In fact, many of his
friends at Gentle Giant Moving Company,
where he'd been putting in 6o- to 7o-hour
weeks as a crew chief, hassled him about
his business idea. But he had been helping
out with his aunt's fledgling recycling business in Melrose, and he had been raised
with a strong entrepreneurial spirit, so he
;fO NSHORII\IAG.CO\I NI:rrchrApril z,orj
knew he could make it work.
"Within a year, I was paying my moftgage," Benezra brags of his company,
Winchester-based Benezra Boxes. These
days, demand for recycled boxes is so high
that during the busy spring and summer
moving season, when he seils as many as
3,ooo boxes a week, he has to supplement
his offerings with high-qualiry new boxes-
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guesswork out of moving supplies. He'll
bring a van stocked with every conceivable
kind of box to clients' homes or businesses, check out eve4rthing that needs to
be packed, then unload exactlywhat they
need on the spot-all for less money than
your average chain store retailer.
"When [people] are moving, no one
has a clue what to do," Benezra says. "I can
walk through a house and know exactly
what theyneed."
When the recession hit in zooT people
stopped buyingboxes and stated handing offtheir used moving boxes to friends
or tried to se1l them on their own. That's
when Benezra began offering packing services. While he won't name names, he has
packed everyone from hedge fund managers to professional athletes, along with
everl,thing from prize mounted marlins
to a set of fine china that was a gift from
Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana.
With such A-list moves under his
be1t,
rest
assured that your most treasured possessions are in good hands with Benezra.
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enezrab oxes, com
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Siee tWatters Choosing the right box size is esse ntial, according to Benezra. "People always get the
wrong-size boxes," he says. "They'll put books in a box even the Incredible Hulk couldn't lift."
Thg: S{telf Lightweight crushable things like lampshades, dried flowers, or baskets should be put in
boxes labeled "top load on ly." This te lls the move rs to stack those boxes on top, keeping them f rom being crushed by heavier ones.
{.J*fureak*fo** When packing ch ina and other f ragile items, use paper to create an even layer of cushthe bottom of the box, then pack dishes stand ing on edge-not flat. "Th is is what I call 'the egg
theory, " Benezra says. "A lot of weight on an egg sideways will crush it. However, vertically, an egg can
withstand m uch more pressu re." For m o re tt ps, visit be n ezraboxes.corn.
ion ing in
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