Bobcat Company

Bobcat Company is a manufacturer of farm and construction equipment, part of Doosan Group of South Korea. Its American headquarters is in West Fargo, North Dakota, USA, formerly in Gwinner, North Dakota. Its European headquarters is in Waterloo, Belgium. It was a subsidiary of the Ingersoll Rand Company from 1995 until July 2007, when it was sold for US$4.9 billion to Doosan Infracore. The company sells skid steer loaders, compact excavators, compact utility vehicles, compact tractors, and other small hydraulic equipment under the Bobcat brand name. It is one of the few major manufacturing companies operating in North Dakota.

In the 1950s, Louis and Cyril Keller operated Keller Welding and Repair near Rothsay, Minnesota. In 1956 Eddie Velo, a turkey farmer from the area, described to the Kellers a need for a machine small enough to maneuver inside a pole barn and light enough to operate on its upper level. The brothers worked out a small, three-wheeled design with a belt-driven transmission and delivered it to Velo on February 4, 1957. Velo allowed the Kellers full access to his operations. After the Kellers learned of drawbacks to the belt-driven transmission, they developed and patented a clutch-based transmission system in 1958 which was more robust. The new transmission became the basis of the Melroe M60 loader. Their uncle, an equipment dealer for the Melroe Manufacturing Company based in Gwinner, ND, advocated for Melroe to market the machines, resulting in Melroe inviting the Kellers to exhibit at the 1958 Minnesota State Fair. Melroe introduced the four-wheeled M400 model "Skid-Steer Loader" in 1960 and began using "Bobcat" as a trade name for such products in 1962 on the 440-model loader. Les Melroe and advertising agent Lynn Bickett settled on the "Bobcat" name while exchanging name ideas during a drive between Minneapolis and Gwinner. Bickett and Sylvan Melroe developed the "tough, quick, and agile" slogan used in advertising the early loaders.

Subject ID: 21508

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Bobcat Company is a manufacturer of farm and construction equipment, part of Doosan Group of South Korea. Its American headquarters is in West Fargo, North Dakota, USA, formerly in Gwinner, North Dakota. Its European headquarters is in Waterloo, Belgium. It was a subsidiary of the Ingersoll Rand Company from 1995 until July 2007, when it was sold for US$4.9 billion to Doosan Infracore. The company sells skid steer loaders, compact excavators, compact utility vehicles, compact tractors, and other small hydraulic equipment under the Bobcat brand name. It is one of the few major manufacturing companies operating in North Dakota.

In the 1950s, Louis and Cyril Keller operated Keller Welding and Repair near Rothsay, Minnesota. In 1956 Eddie Velo, a turkey farmer from the area, described to the Kellers a need for a machine small enough to maneuver inside a pole barn and light enough to operate on its upper level. The brothers worked out a small, three-wheeled design with a belt-driven transmission and delivered it to Velo on February 4, 1957. Velo allowed the Kellers full access to his operations. After the Kellers learned of drawbacks to the belt-driven transmission, they developed and patented a clutch-based transmission system in 1958 which was more robust. The new transmission became the basis of the Melroe M60 loader. Their uncle, an equipment dealer for the Melroe Manufacturing Company based in Gwinner, ND, advocated for Melroe to market the machines, resulting in Melroe inviting the Kellers to exhibit at the 1958 Minnesota State Fair. Melroe introduced the four-wheeled M400 model "Skid-Steer Loader" in 1960 and began using "Bobcat" as a trade name for such products in 1962 on the 440-model loader. Les Melroe and advertising agent Lynn Bickett settled on the "Bobcat" name while exchanging name ideas during a drive between Minneapolis and Gwinner. Bickett and Sylvan Melroe developed the "tough, quick, and agile" slogan used in advertising the early loaders.

Melroe was purchased by Clark Equipment Company in 1969 and then by Ingersoll-Rand in 1995. Doosan currently owns Clark Equipment Company, which does business as Bobcat Company.

Subject ID: 21508

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