In the busy daily life of a body shop, a product that will make techs’ lives easier while saving time and money is a breath of fresh air. In this frenetic, deadline-heavy existence, a useful piece of equipment can help a shop to meet its cycle times and exceed even the most discerning customers’ requirements.
Time is the key and without enough of it in the average day, saving it is a big issue in every body shop on the planet. That’s why shop owners, techs and even hobbyists flock to a product such as the Mobile Lift Jack, distributed by Ikotec USA.
“It’s all about safely lifting vehicles and moving them around the shop easily,” Conrad Egerter, owner of Ikotec USA said. “The jack is small, so it takes up very little space. It runs on electricity so it uses less energy as well. It’s our signature product and we’ve received great reviews on the Mobile Lift Jack from shops throughout the country.”
Ikotec USA has the master distributorship in the USA, Canada and Australia for the Ikotec Mobile Lift Jack, an innovative and unique lifting system for automobile, truck and motorcycle maintenance and repair, Egerter said. Within the past two years, the company has sold more than 1,000 Mobile Lift Jacks in Europe alone, he said.
The Mobile Lift Jack will be showcased at the November 2010 Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show in Las Vegas and on PowertBlocktv.com, Egerter explained.
“We’re proud to be associated with this product, because it works and that’s the bottom line. You’ll be able to see it and use it at SEMA and that’s the best way to understand everything it can do. When people see it for the first time, they automatically start thinking about different ways they can use it in their shops.”
Based on the company’s literature, Ikotec currently has three Mobile Lift Jack models. The Ikotec 1000 is a revolutionary way to lift foreign or sports cars, cars with little ground clearance, or cars with fiberglass trim and moldings with very little chance of damaging the vehicle.
The Ikotec 3000, the most popular model, is a 110-volt all electric wheel lift with 15 different attachments that has a lifting capacity up to 2,250 lbs per column and will lift a vehicle in approximately 35 seconds. The company’s largest lift jack is the Ikotec 6000, a 110-volt wheel lift that can lift industrial size vehicles up to 6000 lbs per column.
“Each product is designed for easy operation,” Egerter said. “They allow users to lift cars, trucks and motorcycles quickly and economically. With built-in safety features, these jacks are truly unique and provide a safe working environment in garages, body shops, inspection stations, tire stores and for the at home do-it-yourself mechanics.”
The Mobile Lift Jack was invented by Christian Koch 20 years ago, Egerter said. After for nearly a decade of perfecting and changing it, the sixth or seventh version of the lift hit the public in 1999. Since then, Ikotec obtained the exclusive Northern American distribution rights to the entire line of Mobile Lift Jacks, he explained.
The Ikotec 3000 has fans throughout the world that are more than willing to praise the product.
To say that Richard Schomaker is a car aficionado is a major understatement. He has 12 cars in various stages of rebuilding and owns a series of garages at his home near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He’s currently working on a ’64 Studebaker Avanti and he’s been using two of his Mobile Lift Jacks to implement the restoration of this prized classic car.
“These lifts are really slick,” Schomaker said. “I’ve owned them for almost two years and I couldn’t do without them. It’s all about the mobility. I need to be able to move these vehicles fast and easily and the Mobile Lift Jack is the perfect equipment for the job. There’s no air required, which means they’re no seals to break. It’s all powered by electricity and we love that aspect of it.”
With so many cars that he’s restoring simultaneously, Schomaker likes the fact that the Mobile Lift Jack works fast and never needs a break, he said. “It lifts a car in roughly half a minute. Time is money when I am working on my cars, because I can only be in one place at any time, but these lifts work quickly, which means I can spend more time doing what matters.”
Schomaker values the Mobile Lift Jack’s portability more than anything else, he said. “We can move this thing all over the shop. Sometimes I’ll wheel them into my driveway. I can go as far as an extension cord will take me. We use it a lot to hold a door on a car or lift up a vehicle’s rear end to remove the gas tank, it’s so versatile and easy to use. That’s the key of the Mobile Lift Jack.”
Sonny Palermo has owned Palermo Auto Body in Wexford, Pennsylvania for 30 years, he said, and he fixes approximately 80 vehicles per month out of a 16-bay shop with eight employees. Palermo purchased a Mobile Lift Jack and fell in love with it after using it just one time, he said.
“I bought a Mobile Lift Jack about two years ago and I saw right away that it was really convenient. Anything that will make my life easier is something I want. We restore a lot of classic cars here, and this lift allows us to move vehicles around the shop in a pinch.”
“If you want to lift something and do a specific repair, this lift can do it,” Schomaker said. “It’s so versatile and adaptable. I’ve purchased several of the accessories and it’s allowed me to do so much more with the product.”
A wide range of accessories for the Mobile Lift Jack are available to enable users to perform various procedures, including wheel sleds, hitch adapters, door supports, jack stands, quick fit plates, plane plates, sill supports, shop crane adapters, spring compressors, transmission adapter , tuning sills and motorcycle attachments.
Ikotec USA is represented internationally by distributors in Spain, Germany, Italy, France and Poland as well as the in the USA, Canada and Australia. The company is the exclusive manufacturer of the products using American manufactured motors and parts and are assembled in the USA, which insures quality control and cost containment. The product can be viewed at www.mobileliftjack.com and information is available through Conrad Egerter, Ikotec USA at 412-427-8031.
Ikotec USA
184 Babcock Boulevard, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15209; (412) 427-8031
Ed Attanasio