Powakaddy are celebrating 40 years of business this summer. The company has been designing and making golf trolleys in Sittingbourne, Kent, since 1983. But how did the company come to be?
Early History of PowaKaddy
Joe Catford was a Kent-based watchmaker and keen golfer who was introduced to the electric golf world by a friend at the golf club. This member had purchased one of the first-ever electric trolleys on the golf market. The only problem? It kept breaking, and Joe was the only person he knew who had the skills to fix it.
Eventually, Joe got fed up with doing repairs and decided to create a better product that wouldn’t need so much repair work. He used his watchmaking experience to design his own electric trolley incorporating a helical reduction gearbox, replacing inefficient chain and belt-drives.
Initially, he just used this himself, but over time heads began turning, and more and more of his friends were asking for their own. He made a few for his friends, which allowed him to keep honing his trolley skills from home.
Fast forward to 1983, Joe, along with business partner and local entrepreneur John Martin, and son David, went to The Open Championship at Royal Birkdale with a selection of prototypes of the PowaKaddy Classic. This visit to The Open would kickstart the PowaKaddy brand into formal existence, as the team returned from the North-West with over 500 orders. These very first official orders began shipping to golf professionals and retail outlets in late 1983.
