BROTHERS Cyril and Louis Keller, who invented the world’s first compact loader (later named the Bobcat skid-steer loader), have been selected as inductees for the National Inventors Hall of Fame (NIHF) in the USA.
In the 1950s, Cyril and Louis operated a small machinist-blacksmith shop in Minnesota, building and repairing machines for farmers. 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 barn’s upright poles. In response, in 1957, the Kellers built a three-wheeled loader with two drive wheels in front and a caster wheel in the rear – the predecessor to the modern skid-steer loader.
The loader came to the attention of Melroe Manufacturing Company (now Bobcat), which was awarded exclusive manufacturing rights on a royalty basis and hired the Keller brothers to refine the design and put the machine into production.
A second set of drive wheels was added to the back of the loader in 1960 and the M400 became what Bobcat describe as the world’s ‘first true skid-steer loader’.
Joe Keller, son of Louis, said, “The Bobcat loader has positively impacted the lives of thousands of employees who have worked for the company, dealers who sell the machines, and customers who use the equipment every day to build their livelihood. While we may not always realise its impact, it is an integral part of our everyday life — from supporting farm operations that result in food on our tables to hauling materials around a jobsite building our homes and offices.”
