The Bobcat S175 is a skid-steer loader of the S series built by Bobcat Company, an American manufacturer of farm and construction equipment based in West Fargo, North Dakota. It sits in the middle of the S-series models covered here.
Bobcat S175 at a glance
| Maker | Bobcat Company |
|---|---|
| Type | skid-steer loader |
| Series | S |
| Headquarters | West Fargo, North Dakota |
| Original works | Gwinner, North Dakota (Melroe) |
| Skid-steer landmark | Melroe M400, 1960 |
| Bobcat name | since 1962 |
| 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. The original video for this record is no longer available.
History of the Bobcat S175
From a request to a machine
In 1956 Eddie Velo, a turkey farmer near Rothsay, Minnesota, needed a loader small enough to manoeuvre inside a pole barn and light enough to operate on its upper floor. Louis and Cyril Keller of Keller Welding and Repair built him a three-wheeled, belt-driven machine and delivered it on 4 February 1957. Their clutch-based transmission, patented in 1958, became the basis of the Melroe M60 loader.
Melroe and the Bobcat name
Melroe Manufacturing of Gwinner, North Dakota, took the loader to the 1958 Minnesota State Fair and in 1960 introduced the four-wheeled M400 Skid-Steer Loader. In 1962 the Bobcat trade name was applied to the 440 loader; it was chosen by Les Melroe and the advertising agent Lynn Bickett. The slogan of the early advertising was “tough, quick, and agile”. The S series, with the S175 in it, continues that line.
Two changes of owner
Clark Equipment Company bought Melroe in 1969, and Ingersoll Rand bought Clark in 1995. In July 2007 the construction equipment group was sold 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
- Mid-range S series: larger than the S130 and smaller than the S300.
- Skid steering: the machine has no steering axle and turns by varying the speed of its two sides.
- Compact and transportable: the small size that the Keller brothers designed for is still the defining advantage.
- Registered name: Bobcat holds trademark registrations for the brand worldwide.
Bobcat S175 versions
- Bobcat S130: the smaller S-series model.
- Bobcat S185: the next size up.
- Bobcat S300: the largest of the S-series loaders here.
See the Bobcat S130 and the Bobcat S185, or browse the Bobcat collection.
Sources
- Bobcat Company, English Wikipedia: company history, product range, ownership
