Company profile: Cort

As I recently flipped through an issue of BusinessWeek, a two-page advertisement with Warren Buffett's picture caught my attention (a portion of this ad is pictured). It is a little unusual for a Berkshire Hathaway company to use Mr. Buffett as their spokesperson or to include his picture in an ad, so I was naturally curious about what this company did.

According to Cort's website, the company "has been helping companies and individuals manage change" since 1971. The company started out in the furniture rental business, but the company has become a little more diversified. Cort can assist a company with "total relocation solutions." Some services they provide include furniture rental and apartment locating. These services can be for employees that are moving across the country or just across town.

The 2,500 employees of Cort live by the motto, "Wherever you're heading, we'll be there." On the same website, Cort states that it became a part of the Berkshire Hathaway family of businesses in 2000.

Another point that Cort's website brings up is that Berskshire Hathaway is known for their corporate ethics. Berkshire also stays around "for the long term." I think that these are two very beneficial and attractive attributes for a company to have today. Ethics are obviously important in this post-Enron age, and company longevity leads to better job security.