Made in Kane County: Jack Stands Used By Jay Leno
Introducing ‘Made in Kane County’
“Americans don’t make things anymore!” is a complaint you hear from time to time in response to some concern about the national or local economy. But to that we say, “Hogwash!”
In fact, we make a lot of stuff — a lot of really cool stuff — right here in Kane County, IL.
So today — thanks to the creative thinking of the Kane County Jobs Committee, co-chaired by Rebecca Gillam and Brian W. Dahl — we’re starting a series of stories on Kane County Connects to showcase the Kane County companies that are manufacturing that cool stuff.
We’re calling this series “Made in Kane County,” and you can look for the stories in this blog space on the last Friday of every month. (For KCC e-newsletter subscribers, look for the teaser in the Monday e-newsletter following that last Friday of the month. Click here to subscribe!)
— Rick Nagel, Kane County Outreach Coordinator
All About Jack Stands
Seriously, how many products do you know about that were both made in Kane County and endorsed by a major national celebrity?
Well, now you know at least one.
If you want to talk about jack stands, you go to Jay Leno’s garage. If you want one of the best jack stands ever made, you go to Batavia, IL.
Because that’s where JackPoint Jackstands LLC’s manufacturing plant is located.
According to its website, JackPoint Jackstands, LLC, manufacturers the only jack stand that allows you to use a conventional floor jack to lift your car on the proper factory jacking location and use that exact same location to support your car on a fixed, secure jack stand.
The advantage of a JackPoint stand is that you won’t have to guess or gamble on an alternative spot to jack up your car or place the jack stand, because you can use the factory location for both.
The unique design features of Jackpoint jack stands include their open front and wide base. These features allow the JackPoint jack stand to fit around floor jacks while the jack is supporting a vehicle.
JackPoint uses Almag 535, a light-weight, high-performance, high-strength magnesium aluminum alloy and wall thicknesses of 1/2 inch or more to evenly distribute load throughout the jack stand base. The results are jack stands that meets ANSI standards at 4,000 pounds and a stable base nearly twice as wide as conventional jack stands, according to JackPoint’s website.
Another unique feature is the contoured, interlocking pad and base design. The bottom of the pad is angled to match a parallel angle in the top of the base.
Jackpoint Jackstands are 12 inches high, 16 inches wide, and 12 inches deep overall. This provides a wide and deep base that is stable and prevents tipping. Though shorter than some jack stands, Jackpoint Jackstands provide greater ground clearance when used in pairs because they support the vehicle at a location that takes advantage of geometry when the front or the back of the vehicle is supported.
Also unique to the Jackpoint Jackstand, according to the JackPoint website, is the top surface of the pad which is designed to match the jacking location on your car.
Some auto manufacturers use reinforced pinch welds on the unibody chassis to create the factory jacking location. Other manufacturers use a flat surface with a hole or other recessed point in the flat surface as the jacking location. The basic Jackpoint Jackstand pads are designed to accommodate these common, but different jacking configurations.
How It Works
SOURCE: JackPoint website
Got an Idea For a ‘Made in Kane’ Story?
If you know about a cool company or product that’s “Made in Kane” worthy, please send an email to Kane County Land Use Planner Chris Toth at tothchris@co.kane.il.us. Include a brief description of the company or product, a link to its website and, if possible, contact information.
