The original Behnke truck, 1930
Behnke Inc. is a family-owned trucking business that has been a part of southern Michigan for more than 85 years. Based in Battle Creek, Michigan, Behnke Inc. was started in 1930 after Carl Behnke bought out the Lafler Moving Company. Under Behnke Inc. he continued to handle moving jobs throughout the Midwest. One of the first major jobs Behnke Inc. had was to move the famous magician Harry Blackstone to his various shows around the Midwest.
Carl H. Behnke, Founder
Not only was he running Behnke Inc., Carl also worked as a bellhop at the local Battle Creek Sanitarium where he met many customers who needed to move their furniture and household items. Most of these people also needed a place to temporarily store their items, which was the start of Behnke Warehousing.
Four generations later, we’re proud to remain a family-orientated business and one of Battle Creek’s longest standing businesses. Although we’ve expanded our business over the last 80 years, we haven’t lost sight of one of the core aspects of our company; our family values. Today Behnke Inc. is one of the largest transportation firms in the Battle Creek-Kalamazoo area. We move freight across the U.S., but the majority of our business is moving freight within the Midwest area. We operate close to 45 tractors and have more than 250 dry van trailers.
5 maintenance bays
We provide our own maintenance for both trucks and trailers to provide excellent equipment and service to our customers. We employ qualified mechanics to keep our fleet modern, safe and running efficiently. We have five bays to work on trucks and trailers with all of the appropriate maintenance equipment. This provides our customer with safe equipment that is available when it is needed.
We are proud Battle Creek community members and we support several local organizations and schools including:
- Family & Children Services
- Battle Creek Field of Flight
- All Saints Superfest to benefit Battle Creek area Catholic Schools
- Long-time sponsors for a local amateur baseball team
Work with Us
We wouldn’t be able to run our business without our amazing family of drivers. We seek to hire professional women and men who will conscientiously fulfill the needs of our customers.
“Behnke Inc. is a smaller company where you get to know most everyone’s name—more like family! One where you can, and do get to run home during the week and take your 34-hour breaks at home.”
