Anaheim, Calif., April 26, 2022 – Airports worldwide are under increasingly demanding requirements to cut carbon emissions, and need to do so within existing budgets while overcoming infrastructure barriers. To help address these customer challenges, Waev Inc. has hired ground support equipment (GSE) industry veteran Gerry Hoadley. This major move continues the momentum created with the introduction of the new Li-Ion Tiger tow tractors and Bigfoot utility vehicles, which Hoadley helped develop in 2021.
“Gerry’s invaluable experience and knowledge of the GSE industry led to a partnership to develop the fully electric, lithium-ion-powered Tiger tow tractors, which Gerry will now develop, manage, sell and support. Formally bringing Gerry into the Waev family continues our commitment to the GSE market; we share the same customer-first mentality and a collective passion for electrification and sustainability. Gerry is an experienced business partner, industry leader and GSE consultant that is an absolute asset to every customer he works with,” said Keith Simon, president and CEO of Waev. “Together, with the incredible products we’ve just launched, we are providing unprecedented value to this industry – and it is only the start.”
Hoadley will lead a team established to help GSE customers electrify their fleets, starting with the fully electric, lithium-ion-powered Tiger tow tractors and Taylor-Dunn Bigfoot utility vehicles. This team will serve as a resource to our GSE customers as well as internal Waev teams to provide customer feedback to engineering and product development.
“Having worked with Waev extensively on the electrification of Tiger and helping develop the first Li-ion Bigfoot, I am excited to now be a part of the team. I’m also thrilled to have come full circle and be able to offer the Tiger tow tractor once again, a vehicle I sold years ago as a Tiger sales rep early on in my GSE career. And with the lithium-powered drivetrain, it’ll be a gamechanger in the GSE industry,” said Hoadley, leader of the GSE business for Waev. “As a part of Waev, I will be laser-focused on this market and will have resources available to help GSE customers break down any barriers to electrification for their fleets.”
The Li-Ion Tiger and Bigfoot vehicles provide modern electrification technology, while maintaining the form factors that customers are used to operating and servicing. These vehicles outperform internal combustion alternatives and knock down barriers for their adoption by maintaining uncompromised range, towing and hauling and offering familiar user controls for operation.
More about Hoadley
Hoadley grew up in the GSE industry and followed his father’s footsteps to become a GSE mechanic early in his career. Following that, his positions have included welding, fabricating, shop supervisor, parts and vehicle sales, GSE service provider, repair and painting. Hoadley has also owned a GSE transmission rebuilding company, founded an online market for buying and selling used GSE, developed Lithium drive conversion kits and founded his GSE remanufacturing company, A&V Rebuilding, Inc. He is also a member of the International Airport Equipment Manufacturers’ Association (IAEMA) and the International Air Transport Association (IATA). He and his family proudly call southern-California home.
More about Li-Ion Tiger and Bigfoot Vehicles
The all-new, fully electric, Tiger Li-ion lineup consists of two vehicle models – the Tiger 30/60 and the Tiger 30/60 XD. Both fully electric, Tiger Li-ion tow tractors are built on industry-proven chassis, with up to 60,000 lbs. of towing capacity, and maintain Tiger’s simple, easy-to-use operational controls, hitch options, color choices and durability features.
Bigfoot electric utility vehicles are industry-leading mainstays because of their range of up to 60 miles, load capacity of up to 3,000 lbs and towing capacity of up to 10,000 lbs. and are often used indoors and throughout closed campuses like airports, corporate campuses and convention centers. Li-ion batteries are now available for all three Bigfoot models – Bigfoot 48V, Bigfoot XL and Bigfoot 3000. Li-ion-powered Bigfoot utility vehicles provide customers with the same load and towing capacity, as well as a comfortable operator’s compartment, with two-person seating, tilted steering and adjustable seats. Bigfoot utility vehicles are highly customizable with full cabs, enclosures, integrated racks, carts and other accessories that add to their versatility with customizations for baggage handling, maintenance, ambulance, law enforcement and people movers.
With leading edge, OEM designed and integrated, Li-ion-powered electric powertrain, the all-new Tiger and Bigfoot models maximize the benefits and reliability of the technology, from the operator controls to the rubber that meets the ground. Li-ion power integrated this way further enhances productivity in cargo towing and material handling with increased uptime and performance power, while lowering an operation’s overall carbon footprint and total cost of ownership.
The Li-ion-powered ground support vehicles further expand an already diverse portfolio of industry-leading tough, dependable, and fully customizable vehicles.
