The Bobcat 645 is a compact machine from Bobcat Company, an American maker of farm and construction equipment headquartered in West Fargo, North Dakota. The company sells skid-steer loaders, compact excavators, side-by-sides, compact tractors and mowers.
Bobcat 645 at a glance
| Maker | Bobcat Company |
|---|---|
| Machine class | compact farm and construction equipment |
| Company base | West Fargo, North Dakota |
| Original factory | Gwinner, North Dakota (Melroe) |
| First loader | Keller three-wheeler, 1957 |
| First four-wheel skid-steer | Melroe M400, 1960 |
| Bobcat name | in use since 1962 |
| Present owner | Doosan Group |
| 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 645
The loader that started it
Louis and Cyril Keller ran Keller Welding and Repair near Rothsay, Minnesota. In 1956 the turkey farmer Eddie Velo asked for a machine that could manoeuvre inside a pole barn and work on its upper level; the brothers delivered a three-wheeled, belt-driven machine on 4 February 1957 and replaced the belt drive with a patented clutch system in 1958.
Melroe puts it on the market
The Kellers’ uncle, a dealer for Melroe Manufacturing of Gwinner, North Dakota, brought the machine to the company, which exhibited it at the 1958 Minnesota State Fair. Melroe introduced the four-wheeled M400 Skid-Steer Loader in 1960 and adopted the Bobcat trade name in 1962 for the 440 loader, with the slogan “tough, quick, and agile”.
Clark, Ingersoll Rand, Doosan
Clark Equipment Company bought Melroe in 1969, Ingersoll Rand bought Clark in 1995, and in July 2007 the construction equipment group passed to the Doosan Group of South Korea for US$4.9 billion. The company trades as Bobcat Company and moved its European headquarters from Waterloo, Belgium, to the Czech Republic in 2017.
Design and features
- Compact format: the 645 is one of the smaller Bobcat machines, the class of equipment the company was created to build.
- Clutch transmission heritage: the 1958 patent made the loader reliable enough to sell, and it became the basis of the Melroe M60.
- Four-wheel skid steering: introduced on the M400 in 1960, the layout is still what most people picture when they hear the name Bobcat.
- Small-site equipment: Bobcat sells loaders and compact machines for farm and construction work, the market the 645 belongs to.
Bobcat 645 versions
- Bobcat 322 and 325: the other compact machines in the listing.
- Bobcat 732 and 743: the first of the classic 700-series loaders.
- Bobcat 843: a larger machine from the 800 series.
Nearby machines are the Bobcat 322 and the Bobcat 743; the whole range is in the Bobcat collection.
Video: Bobcat C645 working
Video on YouTube.
Sources
- Bobcat Company, English Wikipedia: company history, product range, ownership
