Case said today it was also expecting to produce its 250,000th skid steer before the year is out. The company began producing skid steers under the Case name in 1969 after purchasing the rights to produce the multi-purpose Uni-Loader line from the materials handling equipment company Universal Industries. That first loader was called the Case 1530.The appearance of the first Case skid steer came seven years after the first Bobcat skid steer was launched in 1962. Bobcat’s roots go back even further to 1958, when the farm equipment company Melroe bought the rights to make a small loader that had been invented by a Minnesota turkey farmer. Still, Case has a strong heritage. The initial production of Case skid steers began in Burlington, Iowa, and in the 1980s moved to Wichita, Kansas. The Case company as a whole dates back to 1842, when Jerome Increase Case founded the company in Racine, Wisconsin, to build threshing machines.In 1912, the company moved into construction equipment, manufacturing road-building equipment such as steam rollers and road graders. Matt Hankin, Case’s brand marketing manager, said the productivity features on Case’s current model skid steers such as pilot controls, hydraulic couplers and high flow hydraulics were features that operators in 1969 could not have begun to imagine. He said Case 400 Series 3 skid steers featured radial and vertical-lift configurations for greater versatility, redesigned cabs offering more room and better visibility, and superior serviceability. Hankin also said there were currently more than 75 compatible attachments for Case skid steers. Among other features, Case 400 Series 3 skid steers are available with hydraulic quick couplers that can be used for the quick exchange of attachments, and a ride control feature for maximum load retention and more comfortable operation.See the latest in Case construction equipment at the 2009 ACE Expo in Melbourne from Thursday February 26 until Saturday February 28.
