The name Bobcat represents a construction and maintenance equipment brand, but it’s so popular that the name is also synonymous with the machines themselves.
Titled after the strong, silent, and skilled forest hunter, Bobcat equipment lives up to that namesake. Because of that, they’re widely popular and have a cult-like following among farmers, land owners, and builders.
So, who makes Bobcat tractors and other machinery? It all started in 1947 with the innovation of downsizing those huge construction machines by crafting compact versions. Two brothers, Louis and Cyril Keller, got started constructing prototypes. It began with farm equipment like plows and snow blowers. From there, these mighty micromachines grew considerably. Not in size, of course, but in popularity and demand.
Much of their early evolution came from the custom requests of farmers and workers. Like when a turkey farmer requested a small machine that could efficiently move animal manure. That DIY essence remains; you can build your own construction machine and receive a custom quote from the website.
The American regional headquarters is located in West Fargo, North Dakota, at a sprawling and modern facility with sky-high windows and plenty of machines on display out front. With that information, we can now approach our question at hand: where is Bobcat equipment made?
Verdict: Is Bobcat Equipment Made in the USA?
Bobcat manufactures their equipment worldwide, including in US and North American facilities. Most Bobcat machines are assembled in the US, but use both domestic and global materials.
Bobcat is also owned by a Korean company (Doosan Infracore) and has their corporate headquarters in Korea. Doosan bought Bobcat for $4.9 billion in 2007. Before that sale, Ingersoll Rand (headquartered in Davidson, NC) owned the brand since 1995. So, Bobcat is no longer an American-owned company, which turns a lot of people off immediately.
However, the company offers a respectable amount of information on its many locations. You can even find a pin-point map easily on their website.
Beyond that, Bobcat offers even more detail about their eleven North American locations, down to the city and the type of facility located within it. For example, there is a Global Collaboration Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and an Assembly Facility in Rogers, Minnesota. There is a manufacturing facility in Gwinner, North Dakota.
Eleven, the number of Bobcat’s US facilities, might seem like a lot, but it pales in comparison to their sites across the world in Korea, Germany, China, France, Ireland, India, Japan, Mexico, South Africa, and the UK. Bobcat is indeed a global brand, and they pride themselves on this fact.
Quite often, brands will host manufacturing sites domestically and abroad. Specific products can be made at distinctive sites. So, there is a possibility that Bobcat offers a product or line that is exclusively US made.
To find out for sure, we reached out to customer service with this question. After hearing nothing from our online inquiry for days, we rang them up. Here’s that conversation:
All American: Hello, I have a question about manufacturing. I see you have some facilities in the US. Is it possible to know what machines are specifically made in the US?
Bobcat: Most of our machines are made in the US. It would depend on the sticker saying it was made abroad. But most are made in Bismarck or North Dakota or Minnesota.
AA: Ok, that’s great. Is there any way to know for sure?
Bobcat: Not really because we change up manufacturing sometimes. But most are made in the US. For parts, some parts are made abroad. Some parts are made in the US, deported, then imported again.
If you have a specific model in mind, we can usually look it up and tell you where it was made. And if you’re looking at purchasing used equipment, we can look up the serial number.
AA: Ok that’s helpful. Is there a way to know what equipment is definitely not made in the US?
Bobcat: if it is a Bobcat branded item, it was made in the US.
Thanks to the knowledgeable and helpful representative we spoke to, we found that a lot of Bobcat-branded equipment is indeed domestically made. Albeit with some global components. To be certain, though, you should inquire about a specific serial number with a dealer.
Popular American Made Bobcat Equipment
- M-2 Series Skid-Steer Loader*
- CT1021 HST Sub-Compact Tractor*
- UV34 Gas UTV*
*With global components
Popular Bobcat Equipment Not Made in the USA
- Individual parts, like seals, fluids, and components, may be produced globally
- Some select diggers
