Bobcat started its journey by engineering machines that could empower people to achieve more. The company was founded in 1947 with the mindset of making people’s lives easier by focusing on innovation, they focus on innovating the best equipment, technologies, and services that can help their customers tackle the most challenging jobs. So, what type of innovation did Bobcat bring?

Bobcat started in an era where compact equipment was non-existent, all machinery came in a standard size: big, which meant many people who needed to work on smaller spaces or couldn’t afford large machinery had to use the old shovel and wheelbarrow making the work twice as hard. This is when Louis and Cyril Keller, two brothers and blacksmiths, came into play. The two brothers were experienced in designing and making custom equipment for farmers, the equipment they usually made though were either used for farm work like plowshares or clearing snow. However, in 1956 a turkey farmer came to the two brothers addressing a new issue, he needed a machine to clear manure from the second floor of his barn quickly and efficiently, and since the manure was indoors, the standard loader tractors were too heavy and inflexible to use in the barn, that’s when the Keller brothers were inspired to create a compact and lightweight machine that can help solve this issue. Eventually, they succeeded in making the first three-wheeled compact loader and were overwhelmed with demand that they had to partner up with four Melroe brothers to keep up, and here started the compact equipment industry.

Today, Bobcat produces compact equipment including Skid Steer loaders, compact track loaders, mini excavators, and compact utility vehicles. They also produce a variety of attachments like buckets, grapples, hydraulic breakers, telescopic handlers, and the famous Bobcats toolcat utility machines which are ideal for landscaping, maintenance, and snow removal.

With their focus on customers needs and high-quality products, Bobcat won multiple awards on the way including the CES 2022 innovation awards in vehicle intelligence, transportation, and smart cities categories, following another CES innovation award in 2024 in sustainability, eco-design, smart energy, and smart cities categories. They also won the fast company world changing ideas award and fast company’s most innovative companies of 2024. Bobcat still remains one of the most innovative companies, maintaining their vision from when they were founded and keeping innovation as their core value, and they are now present in over 100 countries.