Posts

Bobcat dealer resurrects M-600D loader

/in , , /by

Bobcat dealer resurrects M-600D loader: Kono, the Riga-based Authorised Dealer for the Bobcat range in Latvia, has completed a project to renovate a very rare and historic Bobcat M-600D skid-steer loader that is around 50 years old and now fully working again.

The M-600D was first introduced to the Bobcat range in 1967 and what makes this refurbished M-600D such an incredibly rare find is that it was not manufactured at Bobcat’s traditional base in North Dakota in the USA, but instead under licence by Scheid Maschinenfabrik GmbH in Germany in the early 1970s. The M-600D could have been lost for all time, but was found by Ivars Gailums, a Director at Kono, buried on the internet, where it was being offered for sale by a used equipment supplier in Berlin.

Bobcat dealer resurrects M-600D loader

Bobcat dealer resurrects M-600D loader

In 2018, Bobcat celebrated the 60th Anniversary of the compact loader and a sixty year legacy second to none in the worldwide construction equipment market. After its introduction in 1967, the M-600D model was a popular model and Bobcat carried on producing it until 1975.

Bobcat Loader Manufactured in Germany in the Early 1970s

Several challenges had to be overcome to transfer the M-600D from Berlin to Riga and Ivars Gailums has paid great credit to the truck driver who finally brought the machine to Kono about two years ago, when work began on rebuilding the unit. Ivars Gailums commented: “Thanks to the efforts of the driver, we now had this M-600D delivered and it was my goal to rebuild it as authentically as we could, to keep its original parts intact as much as possible. Shortly after the M-600D arrived, I contacted Robby Bosch, who has recently retired from Bobcat in EMEA after nearly 40 years of service, hoping that his experience and knowledge would be of great use, which of course it has been.”

Calling on Expert Advice

In the EMEA region, there can be no better person to ask than Robby, who has carried out similar refurbishments himself. Prior to joining Bobcat as a Field Sales Trainer in 1981, Robby already had six years of experience as a Service Manager with a Bobcat dealer in his native Netherlands, where he worked with several customers with M-600Ds.

Ivars Gailums continued: “The first thing Robby asked me was whether or not the rear counterweight was still present, as this tends to be the first component that disappears. Fortunately it was still in place. Over the last two years, Robby has generously continued to provide valuable advice, as has Jurgen Gremez, Bobcat Institute Director for Doosan Bobcat at the EMEA headquarters in Dobris in the Czech Republic.”

The biggest challenge has been obtaining specific parts, which because of the age of the machine are obviously no longer available to order. It was also a challenge to find out what the M-600D really looked like, as there were several engine variations that affected how the overall machine appeared.

Ivars Gailums added: “I have focused on every aspect – even whether the bottom of the seat was one piece or sewn together, as well as the colour of the bucket, they are all important to me. On the internet, the book published to celebrate Bobcat’s 50th anniversary had pictures of machines with buckets painted white. Again, thanks to Robby Bosch, who was able to answer questions like this about the M-600D.”

Refurbishing in Busy Times

The duration of the project has been just over two years, but it could have been shorter except for the last winter season, when it was much busier than usual at Kono and this delayed the renovation process.

Ivars Gailums continued: “Because we were busy, we changed our plans and speeded up the process. The M-600D when it was disassembled into many parts, tended to take up a lot of space so we had to take account of this so it didn’t cause problems in our workshop. The work on the machine was mainly done by a team of three of our service engineers.

“The team was led by our most experienced engineer, Juris Gailitis. The Deutz engine was brought back to life by our youngest service engineer, Davis Graustins, who can be assigned the finest and most accurate work tasks. Last but not least, the third member of the team was Dzintars Lorencs, who performed welding and repair work on the steel components.

“Demonstrating Bobcat’s ‘One Tough Animal’ motto, several components such as the chaincase and chain had survived the years of service in pretty good condition. But the engine cooler on the Deutz engine presented a real problem as the original was heavily corroded and it was not available as a spare part. But we managed to get it from Deutz, where it was also one of the last parts of its type in their stock.

“Sandblasting and powder coating services were outsourced and the leather seat was restored by a company which specializes in restoring old motor vehicles and rebuilding expensive modern cars. I also involved family members to get some unique spare parts – including a shaft, the air filter cap and authentic Melroe Bobcat and Clark stickers from the USA. In the period when our M-600D went into service, it would have carried stickers for Melroe Manufacturing Company, the forerunner to Bobcat Company, the Bobcat ‘animal’ logo as it was then and the logo for Clark Equipment, who bought the rights in 1968 to sell Bobcat loaders outside the USA.”

Jaroslav Fišer, Product Line Director for the Bobcat compact loader range in EMEA, added: “We are very proud of what Ivars and the team at Kono have achieved with the refurbished M-600D. It is yet another episode in our story, which began over 60 years ago in North Dakota in 1958 when Melroe introduced its first compact front-end loader, with a commitment to outstanding quality, workmanship and innovation that is even stronger today. It is another tribute to the longevity and durability of the Bobcat loader range, which has seen us pass the production milestone of one million Bobcat loaders in 2014 and to strengthen our market leadership, so that one in every two skid-steer loaders sold today is a Bobcat machine.

”With the fine work carried out by Kono, their M-600D is far more than a picture in our history books, it is a real working machine again, proudly displayed in the company’s showroom in Riga, where it will be enjoyed for many years to come by visiting customers, admirers and Kono staff alike.”

For more information about Bobcat and Bobcat products, visit the website www.bobcat.com

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

Get all of the big headlines, pictures, opinions and videos on stories that matter to you.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for fun, fresh and engaging content.

You can also find us on Facebook for more of your must-see news, features, videos and pictures from Turf Matters.

Bobcat Loader Scoops Award

/in , /by

Bobcat Loader Scoops Award: Kastrup-based Svenningsens Maskinforretning A/S, the Bobcat dealer for Denmark, has won an Agromek Stars award for the new Bobcat TL43.80HF telescopic loader from the organisers of the upcoming Agromek Fair in Denmark from 27-30 November 2018.

Taking place every two years at the MCH Messecenter in Herning, Agromek is Northern Europe’s largest agricultural fair, with well over 41,000 visitors in 2016. The fair is an important meeting place for the agricultural industry, its suppliers, customers and business partners. Chosen by a panel of judges that includes farmers and industry experts, Agromek Stars is an award system focusing attention on the exhibitors’ product news. Svenningsens’ award recognizes the TL43.80HF as a ‘newsworthy’ product at the show.

Bobcat Loader Scoops Award

According to Bobcat, the TL43.80HF combines several new features to take lift capacity, lifting height and breakout force to unprecedented levels in the farming market. The TL43.80HF is therefore ideal for the heavy-duty, high-productivity applications found on large crop, livestock and dairy farms; for use by agricultural contractors working with manure, straw, alfalfa and cereals and for use in agricultural cooperatives.

Appearing for the first time at Agromek, the new top-of-the-range TL43.80HF telescopic loader will be centrestage on the Svenningsens stand (No C2750). The TL43.80HF will be joined on the stand by the latest loaders, excavators and attachments from Bobcat’s market-leading compact equipment range.

This year Bobcat celebrates the 60th anniversary of the loader. What began 60 years ago on farms in North Dakota, USA, with the development of the world‘s first skid-steer loader has grown into a truly global business and iconic brand. As well as loaders, Bobcat now offers a full line of telehandlers, compact excavators and matching attachments for agriculture, all of which will feature on the Svenningsens stand at Agromek.

As a part of celebrations for the 60th loader anniversary, visitors to the Svenningsens stand can learn about new developments in the market-leading Bobcat compact loader range. The new developments provide an increased choice of features, providing many extra benefits for customers of Bobcat skid-steer, compact track and all-wheel steer loader ranges.

Best Loading Productivity for Agriculture

Thanks to a maximum lift capacity of 4.3 tonne and a maximum lift height of almost 8 m, combined with the fastest boom movement available in this market, the new TL43.80HF allows farmers to lift more, faster and to use higher capacity buckets for the highest loading productivity available.

 Built for intensive loading work, the TL43.80HF is in fact the only machine in this area of the market that can use a 3500 l light material bucket, combining this with a Z-bar tilt angle of 152° and a higher breakout force of 7000 kg.  When compared to other machines in this segment, the TL43.80HF provides greatly superior performance offering an increase of up to 40% in loading productivity.  Cereal truck loading, for example, has never been so fast as it is with the new TL43.80HF telescopic loader.

 HF – High Flow technology is a key feature of the TL43.80HF, offering outstanding hydraulic capabilities and performance with a class-leading 190 l/min load sensing pump and flow sharing distributor to combine all movements together. This hydraulic flow makes it possible to maintain a high work rate with an increasing number of advanced hydraulic attachments including mixer feeder buckets, bale unrollers and straw blowers.

This allows the operator to work at significantly lower speeds, consume less fuel and benefit from much shorter working cycles.  To prevent unnecessary oil heating and power loss, the load sensing pump supplies oil only when hydraulic power is required.

Bobcat Loader Scoops Award

An Unbeatable Package for Farming

The TL43.80HF offers an unbeatable package for this segment of the farming market, bringing together robustness, relatively compact dimensions, rough terrain ability and ease of use for the operator in the same machine.

With the new TL43.80HF, Bobcat now offers a range of seven different telescopic loader models for the farming market, covering maximum lifting capacities between 2.6 and 4.3 tonne and lifting heights from 6 to 8 m.

Unlike any other manufacturer on the market, all Bobcat telescopic loaders are covered by a three year/3000 hour warranty as standard.  There is also the option of extending the warranty to five years/5000 hours. All Bobcat telescopic loaders are designed and produced in Europe to meet the demand for high comfort required by customers.

 The new TL43.80HF is also available with a choice of three different AGRI packs for the farming market meeting different levels of expectation in terms of ease of use and level of comfort.

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

Get all of the big headlines, pictures, opinions and videos on stories that matter to you.

Follow us on Twitter for fun, fresh and engaging content.

You can also find us on Facebook for more of your must-see news, features, videos and pictures from Turf Matters.

New Bobcat Loader Developments

/in , /by

New Bobcat Loader Developments: Auto Ride Control, Heated Cloth Air Ride Seats are just some of the new developments announced by Bobcat regarding the company’s compact loader range for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). The new developments provide an increased choice of features for the Bobcat skid-steer, compact track and all-wheel steer loader ranges.

Complementing this, Bobcat has also launched the S100E model for EMEA, an updated version of the company’s popular S100 skid-steer loader that meets Stage V emissions regulations. Like the S100, the new S100E skid-steer loader meets customer requirements for manoeuvrability, size, weight, uptime protection, lift capacity and push force for this loader class. In addition, customers benefit from improvements Bobcat has made in operator comfort, ease of operation, noise levels, running costs and asset management.

New Bobcat Loader Developments

These new advances come in the year that Bobcat celebrates the 60th Anniversary of the loader, forming part of a 60 year legacy in compact loaders that is second to none in the worldwide construction equipment market. Over the last 60 years, the same outstanding quality, workmanship and innovation have helped to maintain Bobcat’s market leadership, so that one in every two skid-steer loaders sold today is a Bobcat machine.

New Developments in Bobcat Loader Range 

The improvements in Bobcat compact loaders include:

  • Auto Ride Control (Factory Option and Kit)
  • Heated Cloth Air Ride Seat (Factory Option and Kit)
  • Cloth Suspension Seat (Factory Option and Kit)
  • Cushioned Cylinders (Standard)
  • Auto Reversing Fan (Factory Option and Kit)
  • LED Side Lights (Kit)
  • Rear Camera (Kit)
  • Deluxe interior foot-pad (Standard)

 Available as a Factory Option or as an Aftermarket Kit, the new Auto Ride Control system improves operator comfort when driving with a load in the bucket especially on rough terrain. This feature lets the operator lock in travel at a speed of their choice, so that they only have to think about where they are going without feeling the need to avoid bumps or any other surface level obstacles.

Benefits include reduced spillage caused by vibrations due to an uneven operating speed and/or irregular surfaces; more stability when moving up and down with a load/weight and the ability to drive faster on rough terrain. It is also an intelligent system, providing increased efficiency, performance gains and a more comfortable ride with fewer bumps, simply through the flick of a switch.

The new Heated Cloth Air Ride Seat is available on the Bobcat 600, 700 and 800 Series compact loader models. This is an alternative to the previous Air Ride Seat with a vinyl surface and further enhances operator comfort with the move to the cloth surface. It is designed to enhance comfort and productivity, particularly for customers operating loaders in cold weather.

On the 400 and 500 Series models, Bobcat has also introduced the Cloth Suspension Seat, again replacing the Air Ride Seat with a vinyl surface. The cloth surface improves the operator’s comfort all year round − in both cold and hot weather − and provides more comfortable seating on slopes and inclines.

The Air Ride Seat with vinyl surface remains available for Bobcat loader customers through the company’s Aftermarket service.

Cushioned Cylinders as Standard

 The incorporation of Cushioned Lift and Tilt Cylinders as standard offers advantages when the loader’s lift arms are lowered and/or the Bob-Tach system tilted, and the cylinders move towards the end of a stroke, by restricting the hydraulic fluid from flowing out so that the cylinder is slowed down before it fully retracts.

This slowing − or cushioning − effect increases overall performance and improves comfort, because the operator does not need to slow down the motion themselves when approaching the end of the stroke. In addition, cushioned cylinders soften the impact when the lift arms contact the mainframe − reducing noise in the workplace.

As well as being a standard, free of charge feature for the customer, this system allows the operator to work faster, with softer impacts, reducing spillage while tilting and ensures that the machine feels more stable when in use.

 The Auto Reversing Fan helps to keep the grill clean and to clear out dust that can clog the cooler. This helps improve machine uptime, reducing the need to clean so frequently and it is an automatic feature, ensuring the operator does not have to leave the cab as often.

Available in Kit form, the LED Side Lights improve the operator’s all-round visibility from inside the cab. The lights − solidly incorporated in the cab structure to ensure high reliability − help the operator work more safely and efficiently, in all environments, in minimal visibility conditions. In extremely dark conditions, and especially in tight spaces, the LED Side Lights enable the operator to see how close they are to an obstacle.

To further enhance visibility to the rear, Bobcat has introduced the new Rear Camera Kit, with the basic system combining a 4.3 inch display and a 118° tail-gate mounted camera.

The Deluxe Interior Foot-pad provides an improved foot area in deluxe interior versions of Bobcat loaders. This offers a fit and finish improvement, enhances cleaning ability and offers increased operator sound insulation.

New S100E Skid-Steer Loader

Compact dimensions – a height of 1878 mm, length without attachment of 2262 mm and width over the tyres of 1182 mm – allow the S100E to manoeuvre efficiently in confined spaces even in bad weather. Despite its smaller dimensions, state-of-the-art engineering has ensured that the S100E loader offers the power and performance expected of a bigger machine.

This is combined with the durability of a strong frame design, increased operator comfort and easy serviceability thanks to a transverse-mounted Stage V compliant Kubota V1505-T4FST5 diesel engine providing 18.2 kW of power at 2300 RPM. The S100E offers a rated operating capacity of 457 kg and a tipping load of 915 kg.

The low operating weight with bucket of just 1860 kg allows for easy transportation of the S100E on a trailer.  The engine power and hydraulic flow on the S100E are suitable for operating over 30 different Bobcat attachments.

As well as the full-comfort cab, designed to enable operators to work all day long for optimal productivity, the S100E has the most advanced electronic controls and instrumentation for this size of machine on the market, providing a new level of diagnostic capability and control.  The instrument panels and gauges are placed in convenient locations in the top left hand and top right hand corners at the front of the cab.

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

Get all of the big headlines, pictures, opinions and videos on stories that matter to you.

Follow us on Twitter for fun, fresh and engaging content.

You can also find us on Facebook for more of your must-see news, features, videos and pictures from Turf Matters.