The Bobcat 325 is a compact excavator from Bobcat Company, an American manufacturer of farm and construction equipment based in West Fargo, North Dakota. Compact excavators are one of the product lines the company sells alongside skid-steer loaders, side-by-sides, compact tractors and mowers.
Bobcat 325 at a glance
| Maker | Bobcat Company |
|---|---|
| Type | compact excavator |
| Headquarters | West Fargo, North Dakota |
| Brand origin | Melroe Manufacturing, Gwinner, North Dakota |
| First Keller loader | three-wheeled machine, 1957 |
| Four-wheel skid-steer | Melroe M400, 1960 |
| Bobcat trade name | since 1962, on the 440 loader |
| Owner | Doosan Group since 2007 |
| Source | English Wikipedia, Bobcat Company |
Model-specific specifications are not covered by the available source, the English Wikipedia article on Bobcat Company; the page is based on that single source.
History of the Bobcat 325
A company built on small machines
Bobcat began with a request from a turkey farmer. In 1956 Eddie Velo asked Louis and Cyril Keller, who ran Keller Welding and Repair near Rothsay, Minnesota, for a machine small enough to work inside a pole barn and light enough to run on its upper floor. The brothers delivered a three-wheeled, belt-driven machine on 4 February 1957 and patented a clutch-based transmission a year later.
Melroe and the Bobcat name
Melroe Manufacturing of Gwinner, North Dakota, marketed the Keller design and in 1960 introduced the four-wheeled M400 Skid-Steer Loader, the machine that set the pattern for the modern skid-steer. The Bobcat trade name was applied in 1962 to the 440 loader, chosen by Les Melroe and the advertising agent Lynn Bickett, and the early advertising promised a machine that was “tough, quick, and agile”.
From Clark to Doosan
Melroe was bought by Clark Equipment Company in 1969 and by Ingersoll Rand in 1995. In July 2007 Ingersoll Rand sold the construction equipment group to the Doosan Group of South Korea for US$4.9 billion, and the business now trades as Bobcat Company. Its European headquarters moved from Waterloo, Belgium, to the Czech Republic in 2017.
Design and features
- A compact excavator: the 325 belongs to the compact excavator line, one of the product families Bobcat sells beside skid-steer loaders and compact tractors.
- The Keller transmission: the clutch-based system patented in 1958 replaced the first belt-driven transmission and became the basis of the Melroe M60 loader.
- Small-site thinking: the original commission of 1956 was for a machine that could work inside a building, and the whole range still starts from that idea.
- A global brand: Bobcat owns worldwide trademark registrations for its name.
Bobcat 325 versions
- Bobcat 322: another compact machine in the same range.
- Bobcat 645: a further model from the compact line.
- Bobcat 743 and 753: the classic 700-series skid-steer loaders.
The Bobcat 322 and the Bobcat 645 are the nearest machines in the range; more are in the Bobcat collection.
Video: Bobcat 325 Excavator
Video on YouTube.
Sources
- Bobcat Company, English Wikipedia: company history, product range, ownership
