Download Image (329 KB)

Bobcat Company has manufactured its 750,000th skid-steer loader, reaching the milestone 50 years after the Melroe and Keller brothers partnered to introduce the Melroe self-propelled loader, later known as the Bobcat® skid-steer loader. Of the 750,000 5,000 Bobcat loaders were manufactured at Clark Australia 1972 - 1986.
Bobcat employees in Gwinner celebrated this milestone on Friday, Aug. 15, with a special assembly line ceremony. The milestone was also marked during a public celebration of the Bobcat 50th anniversary on Saturday, Aug 16, in Gwinner. That celebration included a program featuring Yongmaan Park, chairman of Doosan Infracore, the parent company of Bobcat.

Bobcat skid-steer loaders are the most popular brand on the market. In February 2001, Bobcat produced the 500,000th skid-steer loader. "It took Bobcat 43 years to produce 500,000 skid-steer loaders," said Rich Goldsbury, president of Bobcat Americas. "It took just seven years for Bobcat to produce another 250,000 skid-steer loaders. This is a testament to the popularity and demand for our product by our customers and to the commitment of our employees to delivery this product to the marketplace".

The commemorative 750,000th skid-steer loader was a model S205, with a rated operating capacity of 931 kg. Bobcat offers 12 models of skid-steer loaders. The smallest is the S70, with a 318 kg ROC and the largest is the S330, with a 1500 kgs ROC.

History of Bobcat skid-steer loader
The history of the skid-steer loader dates back to the late 1950s, when Minnesota farmer Eddie Velo needed an agile, compact loader to clean his turkey barns. Two blacksmith brothers, Cyril and Louis Keller, worked together to meet Velo's needs and invented a small, two-wheel drive front-end loader with a rear caster wheel. In the summer of 1958, the Melroe brothers, owners of Melroe Manufacturing Company in Gwinner, N.D., learned of the machine and invited the Kellers to show the loader in the Melroe booth at the Minnesota State Fair. Fairgoers showed high interest in the loader, which persuaded the Melroes to purchase the rights to the machine and hire the Kellers to refine the design and put it into production.

The company introduced the M60 Melroe Self-Propelled Loader in 1958 and an improved model, the M200, the following year. In 1960, the company introduced the M400, a machine with rear drive wheels instead of a caster wheel. The M400 was the first four-wheel drive skid-steer loader. In 1962, the "Bobcat" brand name and logo first appeared on the model M440, a completely new loader design sporting the distinctive coat of white paint with orange trim that remains to this day.

For more information contact Bobcat Australia on 1800 643 853 or visit www.bobcat.com.au