Bobcat skid steer inventors honoured
25 January 2023
Cyril and Louis Keller, the brothers who invented the world’s first compact loader which was later named the Bobcat skid steer loader have been selected as 2023 inductees for the National Inventors Hall of Fame (NIHF) in the USA.
In the 1950s, the two brothers operated a small machinist-blacksmith shop in Minnesota, building and repairing machinery. A farmer approached them with a need for a self-propelled loader light enough to be lifted to the second floor of a turkey barn and small enough to clean around the upright poles in the building. In response, in 1957, the Kellers built a three-wheeled loader with two drive wheels in front and a caster wheel in the rear, creating the predecessor to the skid steer loader whosesteering system enabled the machine to turn within its own length.
The machine came to the attention of Melroe Manufacturing Company (now Bobcat), which invited Cyril (in the striped sweater below) and Louis to demonstrate their invention at the Minnesota State Fair in 1958. It proved successful and Melroe was awarded exclusive manufacturing rights to the machine on a royalty basis, hiring the Keller brothers to refine the design and put it into production.
To improve on the design of the loader, a second set of drive wheels was added to the back of the loader in 1960. With this four-wheel drive, the M400 (above) became the world’s first true skid steer loader.
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