BEGINNINGS Born in 1899, our founder, George W. Pasha, Jr., began his career in the automotive industry when he went to work in 1916 handling auto parts for F.E. Murphy, a then well-known auto dealer. World War I intervened, however, and he found employment as a machinist in one of Seattle’s shipyards, building wooden ships for the government. With his maritime experience now tucked safely away, he returned to his automobile career. Taking a job with the Velie Automobile Agency in Seattle, he soon became a factory service representative in 1924 for the Velie factory in the Western U.S. In 1928, his entrepreneurial spirit led him to purchase the Velie Agency in Vancouver, B.C. During this time, Velie produced a Monocoupe airplane, which he also sold through his agency (adding yet another transportation experience to his resume). When Velie discontinued the manufacture of its autos, our founder relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area, and teamed up with another Velie employee at the Auburn Cord Duisenberg Agency in San Francisco. Eventually he bought the agency, selling it in 1936 when the production of the Auburn auto ended.

Accepting a job with Associated Oil Company, and promoting a new gasoline called "Aviation Ethyl," he soon found that some successful service station operators were making more money than he was. In the early 1940s, he purchased the "Flying A" at Bay and Van Ness across the street from Fort Mason in San Francisco. In spite of the economy and the country’s involvement in World War II, the service station was a success, and shortly thereafter the roots of today’s company, The Pasha Group, were firmly established. The company George W. Pasha, Jr. founded was (and is) dedicated to customer service at fair, competitive prices. Since then the dynamics of change in our industry have matured The Pasha Group, shaping it into a diversified full-service transportation company, while maintaining the ethics and values so well established by our founder, as demonstrated by the leadership of our Chairman, George W. Pasha, III and our President and CEO, George W. Pasha, IV.

BRANCHING OUT  George W. Pasha, III, son of our founder, was born in 1934. A quick learner, by the time he was a teenager he was already very knowledgeable about the automotive transportation industry and the vision and values his father held. George III began his career working in his father’s gas station as a mechanic and parts runner. He and his high school friends also ran a drive-away service picking up and delivering POVs belonging to our troops who deployed in and out of Fort Mason. It wasn’t long before he convinced his father to acquire several auto haulers. He then drove trucks for the company through college and afterward. After graduating from the University of San Francisco, George III became a true partner in the business. In the early 1960s he began expanding the company’s reach to include automobile processing for the import auto dealers located in the San Francisco Bay Area, enabling the delivery of a showroom-ready product from ship to shore. He added stevedoring of vessels to the company’s capabilities to provide a seamless handling of new cars from delivery to the terminal through delivery to dealers.

Recognizing the importance of growth and diversification, the maritime group expanded into break bulk terminal and stevedoring operations, and additional locations were added on both the West and East Coasts.  He acquired a freight forwarding company in 1980, which became the third leg of affiliated service offerings, specializing in the global movement of military household goods and baggage for the Department of Defense.  In 1999 he formed Pasha Hawaii and in 2005 the company’s first vessel, the 579-foot M/V Jean Anne, set forth on her Maiden Voyage from San Diego to Honolulu.    

After more than 50 years in the transportation industry, George W. Pasha III left us on August 20, 2014, but through his many accomplishments his legacy lives on.  Today, thanks to his innovative spirit, The Pasha Group has grown to provide unique, integrated and specialized services that serve a global customer base.       

1947 Following the success of the Flying A, George W. Pasha, Jr. expands his operations to provide storage capabilities for privately owned vehicles of World War II personnel assigned overseas. This leads to the 1947 incorporation of the first Pasha business, Pasha Overseas Automobile Processing Company, and establishes the roots of today’s company, The Pasha Group.

1950 Pasha Truckaway of San Francisco is born with the purchase of a fleet of automobile transporters. The Pasha “Green Machines” become a familiar site on the San Francisco Bay Area roads, transporting customer vehicles across the State of California to port facilities. Pasha continues to offer integrated storage services for vehicles awaiting transit.

1960 George W. Pasha, III, son of the company's founder, opens the first independent automotive port processing on the West Coast at Fort Mason in San Francisco. The first account is British Motor Car Company, quickly followed by Toyota, General Motors, Opel and Volvo. A body shop is built on Fisherman's Wharf to service, repair, and provide a "showroom ready" product.

1970s Pasha develops an extraordinary terminal lease agreement for auto-processing operations at Pier J at the Port of Long Beach, which lays the groundwork for replicating future terminal agreements in Richmond, CA; Wilmington, DE; Philadelphia, PA; and later, San Diego, CA. Pasha Services (today Pasha Automotive Services) is incorporated.

1972 George W. Pasha, III establishes Maritime Services International (later becoming Pasha Maritime Services), providing specialized stevedoring and marine terminal services to the automotive import industry and enabling the company to offer a full range of “ship to showroom” automotive logistics solutions to customers.

1980 The acquisition of AFI Worldwide Forwarders leads to our third operating division, Pasha Relocation Services, which today provides domestic and international freight forwarding, logistics and NVOCC services for shippers of U.S. Government and DoD-sponsored household goods and general cargo.

1987 Pasha Maritime Services opens an omni terminal at berths 174-181 in the Port of Los Angeles to provide comprehensive one-stop facilities for breakbulk, containers and other cargoes. Steel products are added to the stevedoring services and the company is renamed Pasha Stevedoring & Terminals (PST). Today, PST is the third largest independent West Coast terminal operator.

1990 Pasha Automotive Services opens a new facility at National City Marine Terminal at the Port of San Diego to meet the expanding Southern California market. Processing 30,000 cars in the first year, the facility has now exceeded 5 million processed vehicles and has become the model for additional Pasha automotive processing centers.

1993 Pasha Distribution Services is created, supplying total logistics management for finished and pre-owned vehicles via an extensive overland transportation network throughout North America, while providing single-source management and reporting. The automobile transporter fleet jumps to 85 with the acquisition of 62 from Mabro Corp.

1999 Pasha Hawaii is formed to build, launch, and operate a brand new Jones Act pure car/truck carrier for the Mainland/Hawaii trade lane. Developed in response to demand from the shipping community, the new roll-on/roll-off (Ro/Ro) service will transport vehicles and other rolling stock between San Diego and Hawaii. Halter Marine (now VT Halter Marine) begins construction of the new ship.

2005 Pasha Hawaii celebrates the M/V Jean Anne’s maiden voyage and the start of Ro/Ro service to Hawaii with an initial call in Hilo, followed by port calls in Kahului and in Honolulu. The Jean Anne brings state-of-the-art ocean transportation to Hawaii, creates healthy competition, and provides businesses and residents with new options for shipping rolling stock between the Mainland and Hawaii.  

2009 Pasha Hawaii begins construction of a second ship, the M/V Marjorie C, a 692-foot, combination container/roll-on/roll-off (ConRo) vessel, representing a total $200 million commitment from the company into the Jones Act trade. The ship sails under the name Marjorie C in honor of President and CEO George Pasha, IV's grandmother, Marjorie Catherine Ryan.

2014 Pasha Hawaii's new M/V Marjorie C is launched at VT Halter Marine’s shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi. The Pasha Group also announces an agreement to acquire the Hawaii trade-lane business of Horizon Lines, Inc. The transaction will greatly expand and complement Pasha’s current offerings for shipping between the Mainland and Hawaii.

2015 Pasha Hawaii's M/V Marjorie C embarks on her maiden voyage and begins service in the Mainland/Hawaii trade lane. The Pasha Group nearly doubles in size as it welcomes team members from Horizon Lines, Inc. Hawaii business, including subsidiaries Hawaii Stevedores, Inc. and Sea-Logix, LLC, and adds four U.S.-flag, Jones Act containerships to its fleet.

2016 Pasha Automotive Services launches new auto-processing facilities in San Francisco, CA and Baltimore, MD. Pasha Stevedoring & Terminals, the Port of Los Angeles, and California Air Resources Board enter a partnership to develop a Green Omni Terminal, including a solar-powered microgrid, and zero and near-zero emissions equipment to move goods from ship to destination. 

2017 Pasha Hawaii supports Puerto Rico hurricane relief efforts with the deployment of the Horizon Spirit. Pasha Hawaii announces that two LNG-fueled containerships will be joining its fleet, named after George III and Janet Marie. Hawaii Stevedores, Inc. confirms commitment from the Hawaii State Department of Transportation for the joint development of the new Kapalama Container Terminal. 

2018 Pasha Hawaii celebrates the steel cutting for the M/V George III, the first of two LNG-fueled containerships being built at Keppel AmFELS that will join its fleet. Pasha Hawaii also receives 600 new reefers and 400 new dry containers as part of its container replenishment program. Hawaii Stevedores, Inc. marks the groundbreaking for the new Kapalama Container Terminal project in partnership with the Hawaii State Department of Transportation. Pasha Automotive Services welcomes Toyota to National City Marine Terminal with custom processing and accessorization for Tacoma trucks. 

2019 The San Diego Port Tenants Association selects Pasha Automotive Services to demonstrate two zero-emission BYD trucks at its National City Marine Terminal facility, thanks in part to a $5.9 million grant from the California Energy Commission. Executives from Pasha Hawaii and Keppel AmFELS join dignitaries for the ceremonial keel laying for M/V George III and the cutting of the first steel plates for M/V Janet Marie. Pasha values in action are demonstrated by our IT and HR teams during widespread Public Safety Power Shutoffs.

2020 The Pasha team quickly adapts to the COVID-19 pandemic impacting our communities, remaining 100% fully operational in support of our customers. Pasha Hawaii celebrates the Naming Ceremony for the M/V George III and construction progress of the M/V Janet Marie at Keppel AmFELS. Pasha Automotive Services marks three decades of service at the Port of San Diego.

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