NEW HOLLAND, Pa. – New Holland Construction has announced that it has manufactured its 250,000th skid steer loader to date. New Holland Construction began skid steer manufacturing 45 years ago in its facility in Grand Island, Nebraska. Skid Steer manufacturing eventually moved to Bellville, Pennsylvania, and finally to a plant in Wichita, Kansas in 2002, where it is today.
“We’re excited to celebrate New Holland’s milestone of assembling its 250,000th skid steer loader and its long and ongoing commitment to providing quality skid steer loader equipment,” said Bret Lieberman, vice president of New Holland Agriculture North America.
The L35, New Holland’s first skid steer loader, features a longer wheelbase for a smooth, steady ride for operator comfort and safety. New Holland also introduced ROPS/FOPS and boom lockouts for operator safety. Up until that, all skid steer loaders were open-top designs, preventing the operator from being protected from falling material, loader arm pinch points, or machine rollover.
Developments from other New Holland products found their way to the L35; the hydrostatic drive system from a self-propelled windrower was incorporated into the L35. These attributes are found in the current line-up of New Holland skid steer loaders and all of these traits have been adopted by other manufacturers. New Holland still prides itself as having the best reach with its Super Boom design and keeping operator safety top of mind with in-cab boom lockout, which is still in production today.
In addition to this manufacturing achievement, New Holland Construction marks the 45th year anniversary of its Super Boom loader, a technology designed by engineer Larry Halls in 1960, whose project was to design a drive linkage for a mower that did not require a pitman arm. Halls devised a four bar link system which evolved into the Super BoomTM as we know it today.
The Skid Steer milestones follows the recent announcement recognizing the Wichita, Kansas manufacturing plant as a recipient of the Silver Level World Class Manufacturing (WCM) certification for the manufacturing of skid steer loaders and compact track loaders.
In addition to the skid steer loader, New Holland offers a full-line of light construction including compact track loaders, loader backhoes, mini excavators, and compact wheel loaders. For more information on New Holland’s light construction equipment offerings, visit construction.newholland.com.
For more information on New Holland Construction’s 250,000 Skid Steer Loader, visit: https://youtu.be/SeDuemyx8OA.