Editing Bobcat Company

{{short description|American-based manufacturer of farm and construction equipment}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Bobcat Company
| former_name = Melroe (1947–1962)<br />Melroe Bobcat (1962–1972)
| logo = Bobcat Company logo.png
| image = Skid-steer attachments 01.webp
| image_caption = [[Skid-steer loader|Skid-steers]] with different [[Skid-steer loader#Attachments|attachments]]
| type = [[Subsidiary]]
| foundation = {{start date and age|1947}}<br>[[Gwinner, North Dakota|Gwinner]], [[North Dakota]], [[United States|U.S.]]
| location = [[Seongnam]], South Korea
| parent = [[Doosan Corporation]]
| industry = Construction Equipment
| products = Specialized [[Excavators]], [[Loader (equipment)|Loaders]], [[Engines]]
| revenue = [[US$]]6.674 billion (2022)<ref>{{citation|title=Doosan Bobcat reports all-time high revenue and operating profit|url=https://www.doosanbobcat.com/en/mediacenter/news/detail?id=232&page=5&pageSize=10|website=www.doosanbobcat.com}}</ref>
| num_employees = {{circa|9,000}} (2021)<ref name="statista">Number of employees of the company Doosan Bobcat 2021. Statista. Retrieved April 21, 2025, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1429108/number-of-employees-doosan-bobcat/</ref>
| website = http://www.bobcat.com
}}
'''Bobcat Company''' is an American-based manufacturer of [[Heavy equipment (construction)|farm and construction equipment]]. Its American headquarters is in [[West Fargo, North Dakota]], formerly in [[Gwinner, North Dakota]]. Its European headquarters moved in 2017 from [[Waterloo, Belgium|Waterloo]], [[Belgium]], to [[Dobříš]], [[Czech Republic]] (where Bobcat operates one of its European manufacturing plants). It was a subsidiary of the [[Ingersoll Rand]] Company from 1995 until July 2007, when it was sold for US$4.9 billion to South Korean company [[Doosan Infracore]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6921731.stm | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110227053701/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6921731.stm |title=Korean firm buys Bobcat diggers |access-date=2024-09-14 |publisher=BBC News | date=2007-07-30 |archive-date=2011-02-27}}</ref>

The company sells [[skid loader|skid steer loaders]], [[compact excavator]]s, [[side-by-side (vehicle)|side-by-sides]], [[Tractor#Compact utility tractor|compact tractors]], [[mowers]], and other small [[hydraulic]] equipment under the Bobcat brand name. It is one of the few major manufacturing companies operating in North Dakota.<ref>[[Hermann Simon (manager)|Hermann Simon]] mentioned this company in his correspondent Book as an example of a "Hidden Champion" (Simon, Hermann: Hidden Champions of the 21st Century : Success Strategies of unknown World Market Leaders. London: Springer, 2009.- {{ISBN|978-0-387-98147-5}}.)</ref>

==History==
[[File:A small excavator (Bobcat 322) ubt.jpg|thumb|left|A Bobcat [[compact excavator]]]]
[[File:Grävmaskin - Ystad-2021.jpg|thumb|left|A Bobcat excavator is digging for the laying of a [[broadband]] cable in central [[Ystad]].]]
In the 1950s, Louis and Cyril Keller operated Keller Welding and Repair near [[Rothsay, Minnesota]]. In 1956, Eddie Velo, a turkey farmer in 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 developed a small, three-wheeled design with a [[belt (mechanical)|belt]]-driven transmission, and delivered it to Velo on February 4, 1957.<ref>{{cite web|last=Keller|first=Joe|title=How the Bobcat Skid -Steer Loader Came To Be|url=http://www.skidsteerhistory.com/How%20it%20began.htm|accessdate=23 December 2011}}</ref> Velo gave the Kellers full access to his operations, and after the Kellers learned of drawbacks with the belt-driven transmission, they developed and patented a more robust [[clutch]]-based transmission system in 1958. The new transmission became the basis of the [[Melroe M60]] loader.

The Kellers' uncle, an equipment dealer for the Melroe Manufacturing Company based in [[Gwinner, North Dakota]], suggested that Melroe market the machines, resulting in Melroe inviting the Kellers to exhibit at the 1958 [[Minnesota State Fair]].  <!--  Two years later{{Dubious|date=|reason= 1958 + 4 = 1962 ≠ 1960}} transform the original --> 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.<ref>{{cite book|last=Karolevitz|first=Robert|title="E.G." Inventor By Necessity|year=1968|publisher=North Plains Press|location=Aberdeen, SD|page=135}}</ref>

In 1969, Melroe Manufacturing Company was purchased by [[Clark Equipment Company]] which was then purchased by [[Ingersoll-Rand]] in 1995. In 2007, Ingersoll-Rand sold Clark Equipment Company to the [[Doosan Group]] of [[South Korea]], along with the rest of its construction equipment group for US$4.9 billion. The Clark Equipment Company now does business as Bobcat Company. Bobcat Company owns worldwide trademark registrations for its "Bobcat" name.<ref>Representative examples of U.S. trademark registrations for the BOBCAT mark include nos. 890,034, 670,566 and 1,604,367.  Copies of the registration certificates and information on these registrations are accessible by their registration number through the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Trademark Electronic Search System available at http://www.uspto.gov/trademarks/index.jsp. Representative examples of BOBCAT trademark registrations outside the United States include Australian Registration Nos. 707,659 and 198,207 and European Community Registration No. 29,371. Information on these registrations can be accessed through the countries’ trademark offices [Australia ({{cite web |url=http://www.ipaustralia.gov.au/trademarks/search_index.shtml |title=IP Australia : Trade Marks > Search |accessdate=2007-01-28 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070126071628/http://www.ipaustralia.gov.au/trademarks/search_index.shtml |archivedate=2007-01-26 }}) and European Community (http://oami.europa.eu/ows/rw/pages/QPLUS/databases/searchCTM.en.do {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131006111100/http://oami.europa.eu/ows/rw/pages/QPLUS/databases/searchCTM.en.do |date=2013-10-06 }})]</ref>

On January 1, 2018, Doosan Infracore and [[Doosan Bobcat]] were separated into independent companies, ending a seven-year relationship.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2018-07-10|title=The seven-year itch: Bobcat and Doosan splitting apart - constructconnect.com|url=https://canada.constructconnect.com/dcn/news/economic/2018/07/seven-year-itch-bobcat-doosan-splitting-apart|access-date=2021-07-18|website=Daily Commercial News|language=en-US}}</ref> In July 2021, Doosan Infracore was acquired by [[Hyundai Heavy Industries]], which paid approximately $722.45 million for a 30% controlling stake in the company. Doosan Infracore will become a subsidiary of the newly created Hyundai Genuine group.<ref name=mcloud>{{cite news |last=McLoud |first=Don|title=Hyundai Buys Doosan's Construction Equipment Division |url=https://www.equipmentworld.com/business/article/15114005/hyundai-buys-doosans-construction-equipment-division |access-date=16 September 2021 |publisher=Equipment World |date=19 August 2021}}</ref> However, Bobcat remained a part of Doosan Group, as its majority shareholder has changed to [[Doosan Heavy Industries]] on July 1, 2021, before the sale of Doosan Infracore.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-07-14|title=빚 빠르게 갚는 두산, 역대 최단기간 재무약정 졸업 눈앞|url=https://biz.chosun.com/industry/company/2021/07/14/HDEAKPRL2NDFXEZSKP35QAQ22M/|access-date=|website=The Chosun Ilbo|language=ko-KR}}</ref>
==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Bobcat vehicles}}
*[http://www.bobcat.com Bobcat Company website]
*[https://www.bobcat.com/na/en/equipment/mowers/zero-turn-mowers Bobcat Mowers]

{{Doosan}}
{{KRX 100 companies}}
[[Category:Companies based in Fargo–Moorhead]]
[[Category:Agricultural machinery manufacturers of the United States]]
[[Category:Construction equipment manufacturers of the United States]]
[[Category:Manufacturing companies based in North Dakota]]
[[Category:West Fargo, North Dakota]]
[[Category:American subsidiaries of foreign companies]]
[[Category:1969 mergers and acquisitions]]
[[Category:1995 mergers and acquisitions]]
[[Category:2007 mergers and acquisitions]]
[[Category:Doosan Group subsidiaries]]
[[Category:Manufacturing companies established in 1947]]
[[Category:1947 establishments in North Dakota]]
[[Category:Diesel engine manufacturers]]