Moving sod, dirt or rock has never been made easier than before without the recent innovation of what’s being called a Chore Warrior.
A Minnesota company has rolled out a power assisted electric wheelbarrow made to handle up to 350 pounds. The motorized gizmo was one of the new items featured last week at the North American Farm Show, which attracts thousands of people every year to the Four Seasons Centre in Owatonna.
“This is a game changer,” said Tom Cullen, CEO of Chore Warrior. “It gives the ability to stay in the game at my age (mid-60s) without breaking my back and it saves knees and shoulders.”
While struggling in his back yard with a conventional, unstable wheelbarrow, Chip Michel decided he needed something that wasn’t powered by his back and arm muscles. He developed the powered wheelbarrow. All the assembly, distribution and marketing and research and development in St. Paul.
The motorized wheelbarrow features a push start button, forward and reverse, 8-hour battery life and two-wheel independent drive. The wheels have been moved to the center in an effort to “balance the load,” Cullen said.
Cullen said they have a variety of customers reaching out for the wheelbarrow. Some of them include landscapers, turkey and chicken farmers, hunters and homeowners for simple yard work.
“Horse people love this as a manure remover,” Cullen said. He added hunters have found this especially handy to haul deer out of the woods.
On Thursday at the farm show, a cement contractor from Waseca came over to the show specifically to buy a Chore Warrior.
“We love being in the problem-solving business,” said Spencer Cowley, sales manager for Chore Warrior. “This solves a lot of problems.”
Cullen has found that people enjoy borrowing their wheelbarrow to others. “Take it out in your neighborhood and you will become a popular neighbor,” he said.
He said the Chore Warrior “goes where a skid steer can’t.” Cullen has found the wheelbarrow to provide people with lots of versatility and power without the expense.
“A skid costs you $50,000 where this wheelbarrow is about $600,” said Cullen.
The unit, which normally lists for $799, is on sale for $630 through the end of April.
Though there have been other models developed, Cullen said Chore Warrior was the first on the market a few years ago. He stressed that they are a Minnesota company offering “no tricks in our warranty.” There is a call center in the Twin Cities.
“We have several Chinese competitors,” said Cowley. “But they are significantly less quality. Ours is better. We have the best wheelbarrow in the business, and we have the best customers in the world.”
The company prides itself on the fact that it developed the wheelbarrow based on feedback from their customers, Cullen said. “We strive for feedback from our customers,” he said. “Without it, it will not get better.”