Equipment World Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/389791
EquipmentWorld.com | October 2014 9 reporter | by Equipment World staff T aking cues from tech companies such as Mi- crosoft, Google and Sundog, Bobcat opened its $28 million Acceleration Center in Bis- marck this summer, designed to promote "chance encounters" among its employees, and in the process create a facility unique in the construction equipment business. "Our aim is to fail early and often, spend less money on bad ideas and in the process acceler- ate innovation," says Matt Sagaser, center director. "We're moving from a glorifi ed garage to a best-in- class testing facility." No gopher cube farms here; instead cubicles are waist high. There is no assigned seating, no execu- tive offi ces sucking up the sunshine. Employees get a stationary locker and a "cart" (a lockable, wheeled fi le cabinet) which they are encouraged to move from area to area as work demands. Need to spend time with another team? Wheel your cart to a desktop next to them, hook up your laptop to the workspace monitors, and in fi ve minutes you're off. "There's no nesting and no not talking to anyone," says Sagaser. "We want people to interact who don't normally work together." To get that to happen, there are several casual ar- eas throughout the building, with sofa chairs around a fi replace in one place, grouped seating around a console in another. Large TV screens and white boards are everywhere; in the spirit of experimenta- tion there's a treadmill computer station, video game player and table shuffl eboard game. The 190,000-square-foot Acceleration Center has offi ces, several reserved and unreserved meeting areas, enclaves for private conversations, and what Bobcat is calling the Kiva: a circular room surround- ed by white board, designed for brainstorming. Bobcat is quick to point out that the center is also dealer and customer centric. The inside 35,000-square-foot demo area – with upper and lower arena seating for 35 – allows the company to test and showcase its equipment away from the dictates of North Dakota weather. "Now, instead of taking a prototype on the road, we can bring cus- tomers here, and get immediate feedback," says Jeret Hoesel. Bobcat used 420,000 cubic feet of Class 5 gravel to fi ll the area, a material that will allow it to dig, compact and dig again. The 100,000-square-foot lab area will include a manufacturing process area, allowing the company to test out new ways to make product as opposed to shutting down a manufacturing line to experiment. The lab will include sound chambers, load test cells, dynamometers, vibration, electronic and hydraulic test rooms. – Marcia Gruver Doyle What it's like to work at Bobcat: New offi ce gives equipment giant a tech startup feel