Bobcat is a name synonymous with the skid-steer loader, after all, the company created and developed the most successful brand of such machines back in 1960, as the fledgling company moved on from its tricycle loaders designed to clear out poultry sheds.
Since then, Bobcat has moved on even further and now considers itself a leading manufacturer of compact machinery of all sorts, for agriculture, construction, and many other industries in between.
Mechanising the smaller jobs
Here in Ireland the main franchise for the company is Adare Machinery Ltd. based at Patrickswell in Co. Limerick.
The dealership has a long association with the brand and is now devoted almost entirely to selling and servicing the expanding range of equipment with William Cuddy at the helm of sales and marketing.
William explains that the guiding philosophy of Bobcat is to provide compact machines that offer a solution to an owner or operator, and while this may sound something of a cliché he is happy to reinforce his point through example.
He notes that manual labour is becoming ever more unattractive and inefficient, so bringing a machine into a situation that can replace a large amount of physical effort has many advantages.
The chief of these is that more can be accomplished in less time; not only does this mean that a greater amount will be achieved in fewer man hours , but the owner or operator can finish the job earlier too.
Quality time counts
There was a time, not too long ago, when the response to this would have been to take on more work to justify the purchase of a machine. Yet William has noted a shift in emphasis and the reward for finishing a job quicker is often to get home earlier.
This philosophy need not only apply to construction and landscaping, it can carry over to farming and Bobcat, true to its roots, has machines that can bring efficiency to farms of many types and sizes.
Bobcat does tractors
Up until now materials handling and groundwork have been the focus of Bobcat, yet that vision has been expanded recently to incorporate traction and field work with the introduction of a range of compact tractors.
The target market for compact tractors in the west is North America, where there is a huge demand for them from many small family and hobby farms.
Bobcat introduced its take on the tractor type into the US almost three years ago which, apparently, was so well received that the company immediately started planning their launch here in Europe.
Ranging from 21-50hp, the tractors were designed by Bobcat and are produced by a major Korean manufacturer, with the two guiding principles being comfort and agility.
Bobcat mid-range model impresses
Adare Machinery has two examples from the range in its yard and has been promoting the cabbed version of the hydrostatic 35hp model, the CT2535, in particular.
At first glance it might be thought that this is just another baby tractor that has been rebadged to extend the reach of a major machinery company, but that is far too simple an explanation.
What Bobcat has done is to take a small tractor and make it fit the the larger driver/operator, as may be found in the US and Europe, without sacrificing the operating parameters of the machine.
And it appears to have been successful in this quest for the cab is spacious and comfortable with excellent all-round visibility, due, in no small part, to the door making up the complete left-hand side of the cab.
There is no climbing on board this tractor, the operator simply steps in with little to move around or past as he or she does so, and when seated there is an excellent view with plenty of room for arms and legs.
A radio and air conditioning unit are fitted as standard, but what there is not, is storage space or cubby holes for smaller items – this is a compact after all.
Flexible transmission
The hydrostatic transmission has three ranges and the revs can be set on a hand throttle or the speed can be controlled by foot as normal. It all works well although there is a slight, but not critical, jerkiness at take off.
One feature to be wary of is the response to the steering wheel. These tractors turn on a sixpence and it can be a little disconcerting at first as to just how tight that is. Manoeuvrability is certainly not an issue.
The compact tractor market is hotly contested in Ireland and Bobcat makes no bones about the fact that its machines are at the premium end, yet the product appears to fit the price and the cab alone will doubtless sway a lot of sales.
Dedicated Bobcat loaders
Compactness as a philosophy also extends to the company’s loaders with its smallest telehandler being the TL26.50, a machine that packs a 2,500kg lift capacity and near 6m lift height into a frame that is just 2.36m long.
William suggests that this is a machine that competes head on with a small tractor and loader. It exemplifies his point about getting a job done quicker for it is designed to lift and carry far more effectively than a tractor that has been adapted to do the same job.
Again, the ease of entry into the spacious cab is a big plus point and it will win hearts and minds on that alone. On many stock farms where a tractor’s three-point linkage is used solely to carry a counter balance then going down the small telehandler route makes perfect sense.
Full line, but smaller
If a telehandler doesn’t suit then Bobcat have a range of small articulated wheeled loaders that may. The company is intent on covering all bases with small machines that fit both the yard and pocket of many farms of modest size, but it doesn’t cut the corners when it comes to quality.
The Bobcat way of thinking is that small is beautiful and it backs this up with a range of tractors and loaders that duplicate the functions of larger machinery types, but in a smaller package.
It is not just a question of shrinking the dimensions either, these machines are designed to be small from the outset and that is where Bobcat score in being a specialist company. It is known for skid-steer loaders, but today there is far more to the the company than that.