Story of MaxJax

Usually these "About Us" pages include things like company mission statements, value propositions and other who-we-are mumbo-jumbo’s. Sure it’s important, but first we’d like to tell a story of how the MaxJax was born. You can read the mumbo-jumbo at the bottom of this page if you’re into that stuff.

We’re car guys, we get it. Car ramps suck because they slide every time you try to use them, and floor jacks, although great for single wheel service, surely don’t shout efficiency. And until they come up with a mechanical locking system for floor jacks, you’re stuck tossing jack stands around to keep the car in the air, invariably because you’re old floor jack leaks down faster than your dad’s old waterbed. Portable low-rise and mid-rise lifts are an option, but access under the car is limited. There had to be better way, and like they say, build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door.

The MaxJax was created in the year 2008 in Southern California by one of our engineers, a tinkerer of sorts, who was also a car guy. What is a car guy? Well, they’re like a regular guy, but way cooler. He could smell 90-wt. from a mile away, would never get caught on the road without at least a roll of duct tape and jumper cables in the trunk of his car, and he knew how to back up a boat trailer. That kinda guy.

After a few weeks of machining, cutting and welding, a proof of concept was born. You know, the realization of a certain idea in order to demonstrate its feasibility; a demonstration in principle with the aim of verifying that the concept had practical potential. It wasn’t pretty, in fact it was ugly. No paint, no cool stickers and a helluva a lot of rust, but gobs of what we were certain had huge potential.

It worked, and it worked fabulously. We all stood back, pensive men clutching our chins, contemplating how we would take this one-of-a-kind, never-been-invented, must-have product to market. We were pretty sure we had just created one of those products that make you rich. Maybe not yacht rich, but pretty darn close. We felt sorry for Otto Frederick Rohwedder, the sliced-bread inventor. The hard work was now in front of us. We had to take this ingenious product to market.

Original MaxJax prototype arms
Working under MaxJax two-post lift prototype
MaxJax two-post lift prototype arms
Lifting MaxJax two-post lift prototype

The first thing we did was secure the global patents, and that we did. The guy at the Patent Office was one of our first customers.

Patented MaxJax Two-Post Lift

Next, we had to come up with the name of our badass invention. It first started out as BlackJax, then Yellow Jacket, until those with the respective trademarks got their panties all in a twist.

BlackJax Logo
Yellow Jacket Logo

Eventually we settled on MaxJax, and it has been history-in-the-making ever since.

MaxJax brand

We produced some cool videos and even a TV commercial that aired on Discovery Channel and other car-themed networks. Since then, you’ll find hundreds of other self-proclaimed producers' works on YouTube, all touting the benefits that only the MaxJax delivers. Be sure to check them out.

We exhibited at a few local car events and got the MaxJax featured on some TV shows.

Since its first introduction in 2008, we have been improving it ever since. It now has automatic safety locks, beefed up arm restraints and is ALI approved on top of some other significant product enhancements that developed over time. You can read about all of the current features on this website.

Now for the mumbo Jumbo.

Mission Statement

As global leaders in the automotive industry, our ambition, passion and commitment are to keep looking at the market and opportunities that present themselves with a fresh outlook. So that we can continue building brands that evolve as benchmarks of excellence. Rather than overhauling past traditions, we will wisely take the successes from those strategies while at the same time continue looking for new inspirations and perspectives that will benefit our customers.

Vision and Core Values

Our vision is simple. Continue building better products that better people’s lives, now and for future generations.

Uncompromising integrity and professionalism are the cornerstones of our business philosophy. In all that we do to support and uphold a set of core values and principles. It’s these values and principles that form the foundation of good corporate citizenship and frame our relationships with customers, employees, suppliers, and our local communities. Through our adherence to ethical business practices, we continually enhance our value and maintain industry leadership in all aspects of corporate governance.

Our success is dependent on the willingness of each individual to act in accordance with these continuing values and principles. We must remember that misconduct by only a few can seriously harm our reputation, and reflect poorly on all of us. No success is worth the expense of compromising ethical behavior. Our Code of Conduct sets the standard for how we work together to develop and deliver products and how we protect the value of our core principles.

Our Code of Conduct affirms our core values:

  • Operational Excellence
  • Customer Commitment
  • Power to Innovate
  • Exceptional As One

The seriousness of our mission requires that we achieve excellence in our product and delivery. To accomplish this balance, we are deliberate in our actions and decisions and execute with a sense of urgency. We never compromise on quality and mediocrity is not in our vocabulary. We collaborate across boundaries to prioritize the customer. We listen to our customers’ needs and we value their feedback and center their experience in our design and delivery.

We provide an exceptional customer experience for every customer, every time.