Bobcat Company

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Bobcat Company

Type	Subsidiary, of Doosan Infracore
Founded	1947, Gwinner, North Dakota
Headquarters	West Fargo, North Dakota
Industry	construction equipment
Products	Specialized Excavators, Loaders, Engines

A Bobcat compact excavator

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; manufacturing plants are in Gwinner and Bismarck, North Dakota; in Dobris, Czech Republic and in Wujiang, China. 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.^[1] 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, and the only manufacturer building compact excavators in the United States.

The skid loader was introduced by the Melroe Manufacturing Company when they produced the M-400 in 1960. The Bobcat name was first used in 1962 on the 440 model loader; the contemporary dictionary definition of 'bobcat' included the adjectives of "quick, tough, and agile" which were well suited to the small loader.

Melroe was purchased by Clark Equipment Company in 1969, and was purchased from Clark by Ingersoll-Rand in 1995.

Although the word "bobcat" is sometimes used to describe any skid steer loader, such usage is incorrect. The Bobcat Company owns worldwide trademark registrations for its "Bobcat" name. Accordingly, the word "Bobcat" only accurately describes equipment and vehicles manufactured by the Bobcat Company. The Bobcat Company is currently engaged in a campaign to inform the public of the proper use of the "Bobcat" trademark. Bobcat Company's efforts are targeted at preventing Bobcat from becoming a genericized trademark.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Bobcat vehicles

• Bobcat Company website
• Information on Bobcat Mowers
• Bobcat Toolcat
• Expressatvs Side by Side

References