EKKO and Big Joe compete for the same buyer: an operation that wants electric warehouse equipment without paying Toyota or Crown prices. They arrive at that market from opposite directions. Big Joe has built electric trucks in America since 1951 and has stayed deliberately narrow, going deep on walkies and stackers. EKKO has gone wide, covering Class I through Class V with roughly 155 models and lithium across nearly all of them. Neither approach is wrong. This comparison sets out what is actually verifiable about each, where each one wins, and how to decide.
Get Free Quotes 👑Big Joe was founded in Chicago in 1951 by the Kiefus and Levine families and marked seventy-five years in 2026. Its first product, the IBH manual straddle stacker, is still built at its Wisconsin facility, and the company helped establish the ITA Class 3.1 category with its E30 electric pallet truck. EKKO is headquartered in Pomona, California, with business directories listing a founding year of 2000 and 11 to 50 employees. On track record and on domestic manufacturing, Big Joe has the stronger position, and if either of those matters to you the comparison is largely settled there.
Big Joe concentrates on electric warehouse equipment: walkie stackers, straddle and counterbalanced stackers, electric pallet trucks, order pickers and tuggers. It does not build counterbalance forklifts, diesel or propane trucks, scissor lifts or yard ramps. EKKO covers all of those plus the warehouse categories, which means around 155 models across twelve categories against Big Joe's tighter line. If you are buying one type of machine and want it done well, depth favours Big Joe. If you are outfitting a facility and want one supplier, purchase order and service relationship across a mixed fleet, breadth favours EKKO.
Both are serious about lithium, which separates them from much of the value tier. Big Joe has been early rather than late on technology shifts throughout its history and has moved into lithium and then into autonomous warehouse vehicles ahead of most competitors its size, so if automation is on your roadmap it has the more developed answer. EKKO's advantage is breadth: lithium is available across nearly its entire catalogue rather than on selected models, including small walkies. For a buyer electrifying a mixed fleet in one go, that matters more than autonomy does.
EKKO publishes a ninety day maximum lead time and markets it aggressively, which is short against an industry that routinely quotes four to six months on built-to-order electric trucks. Big Joe does not publish a comparable figure, though US manufacturing generally helps on lead time for standard configurations. The honest answer is that neither published claim should decide a purchase. Ask both dealers for a committed date in writing on your exact configuration and compare those, because a specific commitment is worth more than a general claim.
This is the dimension most buyers underweight and it is where the two differ most. Big Joe has seventy-five years of installed base, US manufacturing and an established parts operation. EKKO is a smaller company selling through an independent OEM dealer network, with dealers including Florida Forklift, Pacific Material Handling Solutions, LIFTEC, Hodge Company and Nelson Equipment, and coverage varies sharply by region. In a market with a strong EKKO dealer the experience can be good. In a market without one, a truck waiting on a part from Pomona costs more than the purchase saving.
Both sit below the Toyota, Crown, Raymond and Jungheinrich tier, which is their shared reason for existing. Between them, EKKO generally prices below Big Joe for comparable capacity and lift height, which is consistent with the difference in manufacturing base. Big Joe asks a premium for American manufacturing and a longer support record, and whether that premium is worth paying depends entirely on how long you intend to own the machine and how expensive downtime is for you. On a truck you will run for ten years, support record is worth real money.
EKKO publishes catalogues, brochures, manuals, service manuals, parts lists and warranty policies, which is more documentation than many value-tier brands make available. The caution is accuracy: the EKKO website contains visible inconsistencies, including a model listed at 177 inches on a URL reading 138, an order picker listed at 220 lb whose URL says 2,200, and product images labelled with the wrong model number. Verify every specification on the quote against the brochure and the data plate rather than the web listing, whichever brand you buy.
Buy Big Joe if you want American manufacturing, the longer support record, depth in walkies and stackers specifically, or a path toward autonomous warehouse vehicles, and you are willing to pay a premium for those. Buy EKKO if you need breadth from one supplier across a mixed fleet, you want lithium on everything rather than on selected models, you need categories Big Joe does not build such as counterbalance forklifts, propane trucks, scissor lifts or yard ramps, and you have a strong EKKO dealer in your market.
Call both dealers before comparing the quotes. Ask each one how far they will travel for a service call, what their response time commitment is, what parts they hold in stock versus order from the factory, and what the lead time is on a mast or a drive motor. The brand with the better answer is usually the right purchase regardless of what the spec sheets say, because on a truck you depend on daily, uptime dominates every other cost over five years.
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Big Joe has the longer record, US manufacturing since 1951 and greater depth in walkies and stackers. EKKO has far broader coverage, lithium across nearly the whole line and generally lower prices. Which is better depends on whether you need depth in one category or breadth across a mixed fleet.
Big Joe was founded in Chicago in 1951 and manufactures at a Wisconsin facility, where its original IBH manual straddle stacker is still built. That domestic manufacturing base is one of the brand's main points of difference from value-tier imports.
No. Big Joe concentrates on electric warehouse equipment: walkie stackers, straddle and counterbalanced stackers, electric pallet trucks, order pickers and tuggers. For counterbalance forklifts, propane or diesel trucks, scissor lifts or yard ramps you need a different supplier.
EKKO generally prices below Big Joe for comparable capacity and lift height. Big Joe asks a premium for US manufacturing and a longer support record, which can be worth paying on a machine you intend to own for a decade.
Big Joe, on the strength of seventy-five years of installed base and US manufacturing. EKKO sells through independent dealers and coverage varies sharply by region, so with EKKO the quality of your local dealer matters more than the brand itself.
Call both dealers and ask the same questions: service travel distance, response time commitment, parts held in stock versus factory-ordered, and lead time on a mast or drive motor. Then compare the quotes. On equipment you run daily, support usually outweighs the purchase price difference.