Panther Cheerleaders Aren’t the Only Ones With Great Moves!
T-N-T Moving Systems is the official moving company of the Carolina Panthers, the football team based in Charlotte, NC. And boy can they move!
Every summer the team, coaches and staff head to their training camp at Wofford College, in Spartanburg, SC. Everything the team’s coaches, trainers and players will need during the month they are at the training camp is moved there from Charlotte, and there is a lot of equipment to move. The owners of T-N-T Moving Systems, Todd Koepke and Tom Tuloweicki, are depended on for the move, and they work closely with the planners and staff of Carolina Panthers. From the planning to the unloading, they are involved in the all aspects of the move.
To move everything, Koepke and Tuloweicki have a plan to take seven days each July to complete moving all of the equipment. All of that time is necessary to move effectively. Ten to fifteen truckloads filled with uniforms, pads and other equipment are used to move the Carolina Panthers to their training camp. Everything must be set up and ready when the players arrive. The move includes all the equipment that the team needs, from training equipment to the player’s safety equipment. Koepke and Tuloweicki travel with the equipment. One of them flies down, and the other rides along with the moving trucks that contain all that the Carolina Panthers need for their training. Traveling with the moving trucks ensures that the equipment is moved safely and securely.
Some of the equipment being moved is easily recognizable. The trucks will be stocked with six racks of shoulder pads, each rack containing 50 pads. Multiple sizes are essential for the players. Other items are less recognizable. According to Koepke, most of what they see during the move is contained within black cases and trunks. This is for protection, helping to keep the equipment secured so it does not shift around during the move, and helping to keep anything from being damaged during the ride to Wofford College. Most of these cases contain items for the medical center and recreation center to help with the training. The move to the training camp is largely medical equipment, and the larger medical equipment, like the x-ray machines, must be moved with extreme care. Road conditions can be unpredictable. The guys at T-N-T Moving Systems have learned a lot during these annual moves, and they take every precaution to ensure the equipment is undamaged.
Once at Wofford College, the Carolina Panthers team and staff take over dorms and activities offices. By the time they reach the training camp, the players, coaches and trainers expect everything to be set up. Delays caused by equipment not being set up correctly can cause added expense in training or physical fitness. The guys at T-N-T Moving Systems work quickly, setting up all the equipment is to mirror the way it is in Charlotte. They help unload the trucks, place the equipment in the proper areas, and set it up perfectly. With all the medical and training equipment moved and ready, the players, coaches and trainers can quickly get to the important stuff – training. The team only has a few weeks to make sure all the players are ready to work together and ready to win the games.
After the second preseason game, another important move takes place. T-N-T Moving Systems returns to Wofford College, helps pack everything up again, and moves it all back to Charlotte. The move back is done quicker, and normally takes four days to complete.
Creating a seamless experience in the move allows the Carolina Panthers to focus on training and work towards Super Bowl XLVIII in 2014. The Carolina Panthers put their trust into T-N-T Moving Systems, and moving the team to and from the training camp is as big a responsibility as it is an honor.