SportsTurf provides current, practical and technical content on issues relevant to sports turf managers, including facilities managers. Most readers are athletic field managers from the professional level through parks and recreation, universities.
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40 SportsTurf | October 2014 www.sportsturfonline.com Milestone Series Special so many reasons — from the generations that have been employed to the products they've produced. ousands of Bobcat employees have given many global customers the tools they use to make a living." Bobcat Company also helped Gwinner city officials dedicate three welcome signs at different entrances to town signifying "Home of Bobcat, one million loaders and counting." e company celebrated the production of 500,000 loaders in 2001 and 750,000 units in conjunction with its 50th anniversary in 2008. e million loaders built by Bobcat represent the largest production of this equipment by any manufacturer globally. An "UnstoppAble" force To commemorate the year-long celebration, Bobcat developed the "Unstoppable" campaign, which recognizes the company's rich history and heritage, yet illustrates its plans to continue to set the pace in the compact equipment markets it serves. e celebration started in January, as Bobcat Company launched a contest that ran through June, asking participants to answer the question, "How does Bobcat make you unstoppable?" e grand prize winner will receive a Special Edition One-Millionth Bobcat Loader. Bobcat unveiled its Special Edition One-Millionth Bobcat Loaders at the CONEXPO-CON/AGG trade show in Las Vegas in March. Bobcat Company social media channels — Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google Plus, Flickr and YouTube — feature various elements of the celebration and Unstoppable content and promotions. Fans and followers can participate in merchandise giveaways and trivia contests, show pride by selecting a "pride badge," share stories and read about how others are joining in the celebration. A special app enables customers to upload photos, and apply a custom "One Million Strong" treatment. Several celebration-focused videos are available as well. "e ceremony in Gwinner is a great centerpiece to what we are doing to celebrate all year," Goldsbury said. "But it doesn't start or end with this. 'Unstoppable' is a theme that started in January, and we still have a lot of celebration time left in 2014 and beyond." ■ Information provided by Bobcat Company. Left: Pictured are descendants of the Melroe and Dahl families. The Melroe and Dahl families helped the original Melroe Manufacturing Company produce, market and brand the original Bobcat loader. Sylvan Melroe (pictured in the blue shirt, far right, first row) was one of the company's original advertising managers. Middle: Bobcat Com- pany and Doosan North America President Rich Goldsbury and Cy Keller, one of the inventors of the original loader. Right: Bobcat Company and the City of Gwinner, North Dakota dedicated three signs at entrances to town; they signify that Gwinner is "Home of Bobcat, one million loaders and counting." e Million Loader celebration honors the revolutionary three-wheeled loader engineered by brothers Cyril and Louis Keller of Rothsay, Minn., designed to clean turkey manure out of barns. Second-generation Melroe Manufacturing Company leaders — sons of founder Edward Gideon "E.G." Melroe — Clifford, Lester, Roger and Irving Melroe; and their brother-in-law Eugene Dahl saw strong potential for the machine to meet the needs of any livestock farmer. In 1958, the Gwinner-based manufacturer bought the rights to this innovative three- wheeled loader, and Louis and Cyril Keller became employees of the Melroe Manufacturing Company, assigned to put the loader into production. e Keller Loader, as the original machine was called, was improved with a larger 9-horsepower engine, and a new product line for the Melroe Company was born — the M-60, a three-wheeled Melroe self-propelled loader. It was the forerunner of what became the Bobcat skid-steer loader, and ultimately launched the compact equipment industry. en, in 1960, the company built the first true skid-steer loader with four-wheel drive. In 1962, the loaders were branded "Bobcat" after the "tough, quick and agile" prairie animal. Today, the Bobcat name still matches the performance qualities of the enduring international brand. Bobcat Company has become North Dakota's largest manufacturer with more than 2,000 employees in the state. Bobcat products have representation through more than 900 dealers in more than 100 countries with production facilities in Gwinner, Bismarck and Wahpeton, N.D.; Litchfield, Minn.; France and the Czech Republic. The loader that launched an industry