Fueled by a complete update of the Big Joe product line over the past few years and several new innovative products, strong sales continued for the brand in the first quarter of 2017.  Now in their eighth consecutive year of double digit growth, the company reports that the first quarter was another record for the firm and being led by sales of  the JX1 task support vehicle.
The JX1 or « Joey » has been a hit for Big Joe since it was introduced at Promat in 2013.  Over the past four years Joey sales have continued to grow as has the number of models in the series.  The Joey line-up now features 5 different models which includes JX1 units that reach elevations of 192″ and new JX2 mini order pickers that feature forks forward operation.
Earlier this month at ProMat 2017 in Chicago, Big Joe invited attendees to drive the whole slate of Joey vehicles in a faux warehouse within their showcase which was again very well received by visitors.  « I am not sure if it is the techno music or seeing people up in the air enjoying driving our vehicles, but the Joey continues to get a ton of interest at the show », said Bill Pedriana the CMO of Big Lift LLC.  « We now have dozens and dozens of requests for demos to facilitate across North America, which will keep us extremely busy over the next few months – a nice problem to have of course », continued Pedriana.
Also at ProMat, Big Joe caught the attention of attendees with a number of other machines slated to be introduced over the next few years.  A new series of innovative products designed to replace many common material handling items was especially popular.  Featuring removable lithium ion battery packs, Big Joe showcased electric powered versions of a two-wheel hand truck, a compact step ladder, and a next generation pallet truck called the e25 expected to be to market later this year.
On Wednesday at Promat, the company announced the winner of their « Let’s Make Some Noise » Joey promotion which included the award of a Harley Davidson Fat Boy motorcycle to Jowell Mariano of Big Joe Handling Systems in Hayward, California.  The announcement was live streamed on Facebook from the ProMat show floor during which Jowell was called with the good news.  « This has to be some kind of April Fool’s day joke! », proclaimed an excited Mariano who was randomly awarded the bike by simply quoting the Joey earlier in the year.
« Our whole team was excited all week with what we are doing and by the interest we were getting from end users, dealer and competitors alike.  Having Jowell win the Harley and being so excited and surprised was so fitting for who we are becoming as a company, we »re having fun, » concluded Pedriana.