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-driven transmission, and delivered it to Velo on February 4, 1957.[4] 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. 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.[5]
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.[6]
On January 1, 2018, Doosan Infracore and Doosan Bobcat were separated into independent companies, ending a seven-year relationship.[7] 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.[8] 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.[9]
^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.- ISBN978-0-387-98147-5.)
^Karolevitz, Robert (1968). "E.G." Inventor By Necessity. Aberdeen, SD: North Plains Press. p. 135.
^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 ("IP Australia : Trade Marks > Search". Archived from the original on 2007-01-26. Retrieved 2007-01-28.) and European Community (http://oami.europa.eu/ows/rw/pages/QPLUS/databases/searchCTM.en.doArchived 2013-10-06 at the Wayback Machine)]
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