Amigo Mobility was featured in the July issue of the Great Lakes Bay magazine, the Thieme family explains the history of the company and where Amigo is headed in the future.
OUR FAMILY BUSINESS
Amigo Mobility International, Inc.
A family business founded in 1968 (43 years in business)
6693 Dixie Highway, Bridgeport
Toll-Free: 1-800-MY-AMIGO
www.myamigo.com
More than 40 years ago in Bridgeport, young Al Thieme was working a plumbing and heating contractor when a family member began to lose mobility due to Multiple Sclerosis. Witnessing the loss of independence, Thieme worked in the evenings after his job to come up with an independent form of mobility. In November 1968, he invented the first three-wheeled power-operated vehicle – the “Amigo.”
Providing mobility and independence, the power-operated vehicle was referred to by users as their “best friend” and inspired the name Amigo. Soon after, Amigo Mobility International, Inc. was formed and an industry was born. Amigo Mobility was the first company to have motorized carts for retail stores, selling the first Amigo Shopper to a grocery store in Michigan in 1970.
As Amigo Mobility’s president, Al Thieme continues to run the company with his wife, Beth Thieme, CEO. Numerous family members have worked in the business over the years as it grew from Al’s small garage to an international manufacturing facility and headquarters across the street. Today, two members of the second generation work full time in the family business.
“There are many benefits to working in a family business,” says Jennifer Thieme Kehres, international account manager. “Not only do I love coming to work each day, I am constantly inspired to do my best, and I appreciate the open and honest communication we share.”
Serving a variety of markets, Amigo Mobility sells products internationally while keeping all of the manufacturing in Bridgeport. From a lightweight, take-apart travel model, the TravelMate, to a durable, innovative front-drive Amigo for retail stores, the ValueShopper, to the halachically approved Shabbat Amigo for Orthodox Jewish people to use on the Sabbath, Amigo’s specialty is customized products designed for the customer.
As a Green Certified Business, Amigo Mobility saw the need to keep used motorized mobility devices out of dumpsters and landfills. The company Parts for Carts was started in 2009 to recycle mobility carts from grocery stores and resell refurbished parts. Growing to accommodate the nationwide need for recycling carts, Parts for Carts recently opened a location in Frankenmuth.
Beth Thieme says “Being a family business means more than just having family work here. We treat our co-workers and customers as family, too. All of us are proud to be Improving Lives Through Mobility.“
