As Bobcat marks 50 years of equipment innovation, the company is still seeking input from customers through the How Bobcat Unleashed Me Contest.

From the beginning, Bobcat Company has been listening to customers and providing machines that help operators work better, smarter and faster.

Some fifty years ago, Minnesota turkey farmer Eddie Velo asked blacksmith-inventor brothers Cyril and Louis Keller to build a self-propelled loader light enough to be lifted to the second floor of Velo’s turkey barns and small enough to clean around the poles that supported the floor above. In 1958, North Dakota-based Melroe Manufacturing Company, which later became Bobcat Company, partnered with the Keller brothers. This partnership led to the creation of the skid-steer loader and, over time, the compact equipment industry.

In 2008, Bobcat will commemorate the partnership between Melroe Manufacturing and the Keller brothers that created a world-class company which has unleashed generations of customers, in every imaginable market, from the drudgery of hard labor.

The How Bobcat Unleashed Me Contest asks users to share how Bobcat equipment has helped them in performing work better, smarter and faster. To enter, equipment users need to write a brief essay about their experiences with Bobcat equipment and fill out an entry form at the Bobcat 50 Years Unleashed Web site, Bobcat Company appearing at ConExpo 2008 - Bobcat Company.

The grand prize winner will receive a $75,000 Bobcat gift certificate, good for products or attachments of the winner’s choice at a designated Bobcat dealership in North America. This offer is limited to residents of the continental United States and Canada.

In addition, five second prize winners will receive $1,000 gift certificates, good for products or attachments of the winners’ choice at designated Bobcat dealerships in North America. Ten third prize winners will receive a Bobcat jacket and 50 monthly winners will receive the Limited Tailgate Edition of the book Bobcat: 50 Years of Opportunity, 1958 – 2008. Weekly winners will receive a Bobcat 50th Anniversary hat. The grand prize winner will be selected from the weekly winners.

Selected winning entries will be posted on the Bobcat 50 Years Unleashed Web site. Entries will be judged on creativity, quality, completeness and originality of answers, as well as any supporting documents. The How Bobcat Unleashed Me Contest concludes on May 30, 2008.

Fifty years ago, Bobcat Company unleashed a way to work better, smarter, faster. During 2008, the company is celebrating the 50th anniversary of Bobcat compact equipment, which began with the Melroe Self-Propelled Loader — a three-wheeled front-end loader — in 1958. That machine evolved into the Bobcat skid-steer loader and spawned the worldwide compact equipment industry. Today, Bobcat continues to lead the world in the design, manufacture and distribution of compact equipment.

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