August 2009 Vol. 64 No. 8
Newsline
Bobcat historical records sent to Smithsonian
Bobcat Co, West Fargo, ND, which is known for its skid-steer loaders, announced the donation of company records to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.
Leroy Anderson, a marketing manager and Bobcat historian, said he contacted the museum about three years ago, asking if it was interested in archiving company records. Two pallets with 56 cubic feet of paperwork, including corporate records relating to American manufacturing and marketing as well as business development, were sent to the museum last fall
A special exhibit of Bobcat records will run from Nov. 30 to Jan. 17. Bobcat, which has plants in Bismarck and Gwinner, was founded in 1947. The archives will be part of the Smithsonian’s collection of agriculture, business and industrial papers. They span a period from the 1940s to the present and illustrate the progression of a once-small, family-owned company that emerged as an industry leader.
Bobcat’s trademarked name often is used generically to describe all skid-steer loaders.
“Over the years, many companies have looked at us as a national treasure and a brand that is known throughout the world,” Anderson said. “This collection is a story of how that brand was built.”
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