For three generations, Clark Transfer has been a leader in a very specialized arena — we proudly serve the entertainment industry, providing reliable, cost-effective solutions to the logistical and transportation challenges of getting the stuff of live entertainment where it needs to go, when it needs to get there.
Since our modest beginnings in Philadelphia just after World War II, much has changed. We have grown, we have adapted, and we have learned. But one central commitment has always remained constant: we are fanatically dedicated to service. You can count on us to get your show on the road. Because there is, after all, no business like show business.
Norma Molitch Deull
President
Clark Transfer, Inc.
When Clark Transfer was born, getting the show on the road was a new idea. There were no interstate highways; America relied on the railways — and the railways had limited reach — so first-class live entertainment could only be found in the major cities. Clark Transfer helped to change all that, bringing the performing arts to America’s heartland. For us, “Let’s Get the Show on the Road” is much more than a slogan.
- 1949: OPENING NIGHT. The National Touring Company of Mister Roberts was loaded into the back of a specially designed Clark Transfer semi-trailer. For the first time in history, a Broadway show took to the highways.
- 1954: SONG AND DANCE. Clark Transfer moves eleven tours more than 161,000 miles, including The Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, The Berlin Philharmonic, The Philadelphia Orchestra, The Boston Pops, Guys and Dolls, Oklahoma, and The New England Opera.
- 1966: ARIA AND CHORUS. Clark Transfer moves the first summer national tours for The Metropolitan Opera, featuring multiple full-scale operas performed in repertory — a complex logistical dance that became a model for large-scale touring.
- 1972: ROCK ON. Clark launches the mega-tour, taking The Rolling Stones, Emerson Lake and Palmer, Jethro Tull and other major bands to arenas and stadiums around the USA.
- 1984: VARIETY ACTS. Clark expands its services to encompass conventions, trade shows, corporate roadshows, festivals, sporting events and other entertainment-related industries.
- 1990: PERESTROIKA. Clark takes to the air to move the Moscow Ballet on their first US multi-city tour, and the National Symphony Orchestra on their first trip to Russia. During the 1990’s Clark begins providing comprehensive transportation logistics services for major international festivals, including domestic and international road, air and sea transportation, packaging, customs clearance and warehousing.
- 2000: BEAM ME UP. Clark adopts fleet-wide satellite tracking technology to support its 24/7 dispatch and provide up-to-the-minute location information for critical loads — identifying problems before they become problems.
- 2008: TOURING GREEN. As part of its broader commitment to environmental sustainability and leadership, Clark launches its Touring Green initiative, designed to offset carbon emissions from show transportation.