Big Joe Forklifts celebrates 75th anniversary

The Big Joe Forklifts headquarters in DeForest, Wis. (Photo: Big Joe Forklifts)

Big Joe Forklifts, which provides integrated lithium-ion forklifts, warehouse equipment and autonomous material handling solutions, is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year. Founded by the Kiefus and Levine families in Chicago, Ill., today the company is headquartered in DeForest, Wis., and serves customers throughout North America directly as well as through an extensive dealer network.

Big Joe introduced its first product, the In Between Handling (IBH) manual straddle stacker, in 1951. More than seven decades later, the IBH remains in production and continues to serve customers from the company’s Wisconsin manufacturing facility.

Over its history, the company went on to pioneer products ranging from power-drive pallet trucks and compact powered stackers for retail environments, to the E30 Electric Pallet Truck that helped establish the ITA Class 3.1 category.

After becoming part of the EP Equipment family in 2009, Big Joe accelerated its investment in electrification, lithium-ion battery manufacturing and automation. In recent years, it expanded that investment into integrated lithium-ion forklifts and launched an autonomous division focused on practical, user-directed automation solutions.

The Big Joe team at MODEX 2026. (Photo: Big Joe Forklifts)

Today, Big Joe and EP are recognized leaders in lithium-ion adoption and vertically integrated power systems and have become the world’s largest manufacturer of Class 3 equipment, the company asserted.

“Reaching 75 years is an incredible milestone, but what excites us most is the opportunity ahead,” said Dan Rosskamm, president and CEO of Big Joe Forklifts. “As warehouses and supply chains continue to evolve, Big Joe is uniquely positioned to lead the electrification movement, providing purpose-built, integrated lithium solutions as a direct replacement for propane- and diesel-powered forklifts. We are also emerging as a disrupter in the autonomous space, offering approachable solutions that simply work.”

The company’s 75th anniversary theme, “Powering Progress,” reflects both its heritage and its vision for the future, the company stated. Throughout 2026, Big Joe will commemorate its anniversary with special events, historical storytelling, employee initiatives and content highlighting the innovations, employees, dealers and customers that it said have helped shape the company’s success.