Lift Hero and EKKO chase the same buyer: an operation that wants capable equipment without paying Toyota or Crown prices. They get there differently. Lift Hero is the North American brand of Lonking, a construction equipment manufacturer founded in 1993, and concentrates its line in the 2,800 to 6,000 lb warehouse classes where most buying happens. EKKO is a Pomona, California manufacturer that has gone deliberately 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 verifiable about each and how to decide between them.
Get Free Quotes 👑Lift Hero sits on the Lonking platform, a lift truck and construction equipment manufacturer founded in 1993 that describes itself as the fourth-largest in Asia. EKKO is headquartered in Pomona, California, operates three warehouses and is listed by business directories at 11 to 50 employees, with a founding year of 2000 that EKKO itself does not publish. On manufacturing scale behind the badge, Lonking is the larger parent by a wide margin. On American presence and the ability to walk into the company, EKKO is the closer operation. Which matters more depends on whether you care about production depth or about reaching someone domestically.
EKKO is the broader line by a distance: diesel and LPG counterbalance, three-wheel and four-wheel electric, stand-up riders, stand-up and walkie reach trucks, order pickers, counterbalanced and straddle stackers, pallet jacks from manual to lithium rider, scissor lifts, a tow tractor and a portable yard ramp, around 155 named models across twelve categories. Lift Hero covers lithium-ion, conventional battery and LPG forklifts, stand-up and sit-down reach lifts, and telehandlers. If you are outfitting a mixed facility from one supplier, EKKO covers more ground. If you want warehouse forklifts and yard telehandlers, Lift Hero covers that pairing and EKKO does not build telehandlers.
This is the most practical difference. Lift Hero has concentrated inventory in the 2,800 to 6,000 lb warehouse band, and one model, the CPD25 at 5,000 lb, dominates its listings. EKKO spreads across 1,550 lb walkie stackers to 10,000 lb propane forklifts and everything between. If your purchase is a 5,000 lb electric counterbalance truck, Lift Hero is competing exactly where it is strongest and there is real inventory to look at. If your purchase is a straddle stacker, an order picker or a yard ramp, Lift Hero does not make one.
Both are serious about lithium, which separates them from the bottom of the value tier. EKKO offers it across nearly the entire catalogue, with roughly sixty lithium variants spanning forklifts, reach trucks, order pickers, stackers, pallet jacks and scissor lifts. Lift Hero offers lithium-ion alongside conventional battery across its forklift line. For a buyer electrifying a mixed fleet in one purchase, EKKO breadth is the stronger hand. For a buyer electrifying three counterbalance trucks, both answer the question equally well.
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. Lift Hero does not publish a comparable figure but had roughly 131 machines listed across the major equipment marketplaces at the time of writing, which is inventory you can go and look at rather than a lead time you have to trust. Those are two different kinds of availability. Ask both dealers for a committed delivery date in writing on your exact configuration and compare those rather than the published claims.
Both sell through independent dealer networks rather than factory-direct, and both networks are uneven by region. EKKO has publicly named dealers including Florida Forklift, Pacific Material Handling Solutions, LIFTEC, Hodge Company and Nelson Equipment. Lift Hero describes a growing North American network with nationwide delivery excluding Hawaii and Alaska. In practice this means the brand comparison matters less than the dealer comparison: in a market with a strong dealer for one and none for the other, the decision is made for you regardless of which catalogue you prefer.
EKKO publishes catalogues, brochures, manuals, service manuals, parts lists and warranty policies openly on its site, which is more than many value-tier brands make available, though the site contains visible inconsistencies between listed specifications and product URLs that are worth verifying against the brochure and the data plate. Lift Hero does not publish warranty terms on its site, so those must come from the dealer in writing. On documentation available before purchase, EKKO is ahead; on both, verify the quote against the data plate rather than the web listing.
Buy Lift Hero if your purchase sits in the 2,800 to 6,000 lb warehouse band, particularly a 5,000 lb electric counterbalance truck, if you want a larger manufacturing parent behind the badge, if you need telehandlers alongside warehouse trucks, or if having inventory on the ground to inspect matters to you. Buy EKKO if you need breadth from one supplier across a mixed fleet, if you want lithium on equipment types beyond counterbalance forklifts, if you need stackers, order pickers, scissor lifts or yard ramps that Lift Hero does not build, or if a published lead time commitment is what you are buying on.
Call both dealers before comparing quotes and ask each the same four things: how far will you travel for a service call, what is your response time commitment, which parts do you hold in stock versus order, and what is the lead time on a mast or a drive motor. The brand with the better answers is usually the right purchase whatever the spec sheets say. On equipment you run every day, uptime dominates every other cost across five years, and uptime is a dealer property rather than a brand property.
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Neither universally. Lift Hero has the larger manufacturing parent in Lonking and concentrates inventory in the 2,800 to 6,000 lb warehouse band. EKKO has far broader coverage across twelve categories with lithium on nearly everything. Your local dealer usually decides it.
EKKO, by a wide margin, with roughly 155 named models across twelve categories from 1,550 lb stackers to 10,000 lb propane forklifts. Lift Hero concentrates on forklifts, reach lifts and telehandlers in the 2,800 to 6,000 lb range.
Lift Hero does, reflecting the Lonking construction equipment heritage. EKKO does not build telehandlers, though it does offer scissor lifts, a tow tractor and a portable yard ramp that Lift Hero does not.
They offer different kinds of availability. EKKO publishes a ninety day maximum lead time. Lift Hero had roughly 131 machines listed across the major marketplaces, meaning stock you can inspect. Ask both for a committed date in writing on your configuration.
Yes. EKKO offers lithium across nearly its whole catalogue with roughly sixty lithium variants including stackers, order pickers and pallet jacks. Lift Hero offers lithium-ion alongside conventional battery across its forklift line.
By dealer, not by brand. Ask each dealer their service travel distance, response time commitment, what parts they stock locally, and the lead time on a mast or drive motor. Uptime over five years outweighs the purchase price difference on any truck you run daily.