History of JOIST GmbH
Continuous growth since 1972
Founded in 1972
In 1972, Cornelius and Marianne Joist founded M. Joist as an OEM retailer for landscaping and gardening technology. Their vision was to act as an intermediary for the manufacturers and motorists within a 100-km radius, thus facilitating the purchasing process for both parties.
Growing customer base due to exclusive distribution
With two other employees, M. Joist started as an exclusive sales agent for Briggs & Stratton, Toro and Tecna Motor (now: Tecumseh), making us the first wholesaler of this kind in the marketplace. Our warehouse consisted of just seven shelves with the most common parts; orders were processed using printed lists and telex. With more and more motorists wanting to use this unique service provided by Cornelius Joist, our customer base increased rapidly, enabling M. Joist to continue its solid growth path despite suddenly surfacing competitors and to provide its now market-leading services to customers across Germany.
Following the technological progress
The advent of microfiche replaced printed lists in the 1980s, made finding spare parts significantly easier and enabled us to provide swifter customer advice. In the 1990s we increasingly used fax and phone for sales operations so several employees now dealt with customers all the time. Cornelius Joist was already thinking ahead, introducing his son Christian to the business at an early stage.
Expansion to Europe
In 2001 Christian Joist took over the company, then acting as a dealership for 30 manufacturers, and renamed it Joist GmbH. Christian Joist expanded the company into Austria in 2004. In 2006 he brought in the digital era by setting up an online shop with a spare parts finder, hugely facilitating the ordering process for motorists. In 2007, Joist GmbH expanded further – into Switzerland – and since 2014 the company has been selling its goods into Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands. In 2011, we also increased our range to include automotive engineering.
Tradition & future
Today, 60 people are employed by Joist GmbH – and the first employees from the 1972 founding year are still with us! We deal in over 60 brands, list 1.8 million goods and permanently stock 100,000 items. At our busiest, we ship up to 2,000 orders per day. This – together with our extensive range and our experienced employees – makes us so unique. Just like Cornelius, Christian Joist also embraces tradition, family ties and experience – so the next generation is already working in the business to make it future-proof.