The buyout of GEM and Taylor-Dunn was made by five former Polaris leaders that for the better part of the last four years had been leading these businesses, Simon explains.
“This group has a deep appreciation of the legacy of these brands and their roots in a broad set of mature and growing markets. There is also a lot of excitement around the prospects for new and emerging markets,” he declares.
“Waev plans to drive growth in the business by centring on these brands, our employees and dealers, providing a more agile, customer-driven approach that is unconstrained by a larger corporation.
“Our focus will continue to be on mobility, and primarily electric and sustainable solutions that keep us and our customers at the forefront of that transformation in the urban and industrial markets we serve.
“As an independent company, we are transitioning into systems established around the needs of our GEM and Taylor-Dunn customers. We were locked into processes before that didn’t always suit the commercial business model and we have the opportunity now to set things up directly to benefit our customers and make us easier to do business with.”
Customer-centricity is going to be key. “We’re establishing an operating structure that is more efficient and agile, enabling responsiveness to market and customer dynamics in the fast-moving markets we serve. Speed to market is critical, and we’ve demonstrated our ability to lean forward with new products, demonstrated by the recent launch of the lithium-powered Tiger tow tractor and Bigfoot utility vehicle.”
Big cat
The lithium-ion Tiger tow tractor was launched at the International GSE Expo in Las Vegas late last year and orders are being taken for the Tiger now.
The unit is available in two models: the Tiger 30/60 and the Tiger 30/60 XD. The Tiger 30/60 has a fully steel body-on-frame with bolt-on chassis components. The design requires little to no specialised operator training and includes many common GSE parts, simplifying operations and maintenance.
The Tiger 30/60 XD has a 100% steel, unibody frame design. The integrated frame, counterweights, floorboard, front and rear bumpers, and cowling are welded together for added rigidity and durability in the harshest environments. Front and rear leaf spring suspensions provide a smoother ride and controlled handling over uneven pavement. Pedal placement, extensive legroom, spacious steering placement and the plenty of room between operators are designed for operators of all sizes and to minimise fatigue.
The XD model is said to be ideal for operators looking to upgrade to a premium, heavy-duty frame, and fleet managers who want their users to have more control, easier ingress and egress, with more space to operate.
According to Waev, both fully electric Tiger tow tractors are built on industry-proven chassis, have up to 60,000lbs of towing capacity, and are equipped with simple, easy-to-use operational controls, hitch options and durability features.
