Bobcat Co. Celebrates 500,000th Skid-Steer Loader Milestone

"Since 1958, Bobcat skid-steer loaders have helped to change the way the world works," said Chuck Hoge, president and CEO of Bobcat Company. "We are excited at their tremendous growth and acceptance, and we are proud to have a played the leading role in the development of the skid-steer loader industry. More importantly, we are proud to be recognized in the industry as the leaders in product technology and innovation.

"Much of the growth of the skid-steer loader industry is due to the contribution of attachments - ranging from sweepers to snowblowers, pallet forks to grapples, and augers to backhoes - that turn a four-wheel-drive tool carrier into a versatile 'Swiss Army knife,'" Hoge noted. "Bobcat Company designs, manufactures and supports more than 50 different types of attachments.

"In the past decade, we've used our success in this industry to become the leader in another category of compact equipment, compact excavators. A year ago we entered the telescopic material handler business with our acquisition of a French manufacturer, Sambron, and this year we are taking that product worldwide," said Hoge.

"This 500,000th milestone is a tribute to our many dedicated, hardworking Bobcat employees around the world. Together with our valued business partners and suppliers - and supported by a network of some 900 Bobcat dealers worldwide - we are able to offer our customers the best possible value for their money, something we refer to as the 'Bobcat Advantage,'" said Hoge.

USER-DEMANDED, USER-CRAFTED. In the late 1950s, a Minnesota farmer needed an agile, compact loader to work in the tight areas of his turkey barns. Two blacksmith brothers, Cy and Louis Keller, worked to meet his needs and in the process created a small two-wheel drive machine with a rear caster wheel for maneuverability. The Melroe brothers of Gwinner, N.D., eventually bought the rights to the invention and hired the Kellers to refine the design. In 1958, the company introduced the Melroe Self-Propelled Loader, later called the model M-200. Two years later they added rear drive wheels and introduced the M-400, the first four-wheel-drive skid-steer loader. In 1962, the "Bobcat" name first appeared on the model M-440, sporting the distinctive coat of white paint with red trim that still remains.

For a detailed look at Bobcat Company’s history leading to its 500,000th skid-steer loader visit www.bobcat500k.com.

INNOVATION BY LISTENING. Today, Bobcat Company still considers its users' input the most valuable source for compact equipment innovation, according to the company. Bobcat’s engineers design loaders, excavators and attachments to tackle jobs as varied as cutting concrete and grinding stumps, together with compact excavators and skid-steer loaders to meet increasingly diverse needs based on end-user input. "As we look ahead, we will continue to listen to our users around the world to give them the most-effective compact equipment tools available," said Hoge.

Bobcat Company manufactures skid-steer loaders, compact track loaders, compact hydraulic excavators, telescopic tool carriers and attachments at plants in Gwinner and Bismarck, N.D., Grove City and Erskine, Minn., and Pontchateâu, France. Bobcat Company is a unit of Ingersoll-Rand Company, Woodcliff Lake, N.J.