Power Behind the Pull: Joey Kramer

Did you know that NASA can perform steering alignments on the Mars Rover from thousands of miles away? That’s pretty impressive, but when you think about it, a steering alignment isn’t terribly complicated. What about troubleshooting a high tech, extremely precise laser guided measuring system from thousands miles away, now you’re talking. But that is exactly what Joey Kramer and the rest of the technical support team at Chief do everyday.

Today we are talking with Joey Kramer, Collision International Technical Service Consultant for Chief. Joey is part of the support team that helps trouble shoot issues with Chief’s highly technical tools and equipment. Chief’s support team has a huge responsibility when it comes to the satisfaction of our customers, and Joey is no exception.  

Q: How long have you been with Chief?

Joey: I have been with Chief since 2009, right as we were moving from Grand Island, NE. A funny story; when I was first with the company, I backed our rental car into one of the internal support beams at our Grand Island facility. Gave me and another employee whiplash, and caused several people to come running out after they heard the noise. OOPS!

Q: What do you enjoy about your job?

Joey: I know everyone always says their coworkers, but they’re what make my job so interesting. I definitely enjoy helping our customers overcome issues, but when the chips are down, our support team really bands together and gets the job done for the customer.

Q: What is your background in?

Joey: Since I was little I have always been the type to take stuff apart. I just had to see what was going on inside, but I was always able to get them back together sometimes even working a little better than before. I am no different in my professional career, I have always had a technical job of some sort.

Q: What is one thing about working in your position that someone may not know?

Joey: I do all of the trade show setup for Chief. If you have seen us at SEMA Show, or Automechanika-Chicago, I was one of the guys that assembled the racks or setup the laser measuring systems for the booth.

Q: What is one fun fact about you that people may not know?

Joey: I build and drive race cars in my spare time. I also go by the nickname “Rocket Man.” I got it years ago from a track announcer in Sumner, Illinois and it just kind of stuck.

Q: What do you enjoy doing in your time away from work?

Joey: I like riding anything with a motor.Most weekends you can find me riding ATVs or side by sides with my wife and daughter. I also have a fabrication shop where I make roll cages and various other things for race cars and UTVs.

Q: Are you a music person or a sports person? 

Joey: I am definitely more of music person. I like 80’s hair bands like Motley Crew and Def Leopard. I also like classic rock, with bands like Led Zeppelin, AC/DC and Alice Cooper, how could you not, right? And if the mood strikes me I will listen to some country as a way to mellow out.

Q: What product in Chief’s full line do you think is the most interesting or has the most to offer to the customer? Why?

Joey: I would definitely recommend one of our computerized measuring systems like Laser Lock™. It will show you all of the damage on a vehicle, some known and some maybe not known. Laser Lock ™ will then track the dimensions of the vehicle during repair and document everything for easy record keeping.