The Bobcat 50 Years Unleashed North American Road Tour stopped at the American Royal Center May 20, and was hosted by local dealer K.C. Bobcat.

The event was part of the year-long 50th anniversary celebration of the Bobcat loader, a traveling historical exhibit visiting 23 Bobcat dealers in the United States and Canada.

Guests who visited the Bobcat 50 Years Unleashed North American Road Tour viewed an exhibit with an overview of Bobcat history, several early Bobcat loaders and a collection of Bobcat memorabilia from the last 50 years.

K.C. Bobcat hosted two operator contests during the event in which operators were timed performing tasks with the machines. Winners of the contests received gift certificates.

Ten attendees were selected as finalists for The Great Road Tour Giveaway. At the end of the Bobcat 50 Years Unleashed North American Road Tour, finalists from each dealership will be included in a national drawing.

The winner of The Great Road Tour Giveaway will receive one of two $50,000 contractor equipment packages. The finalists included Mike Carney, Christopher Lingard, Jeff Richardson, Steve Williams, Clark White, Jim Ryan, David Etterring, Jim Grisham, Bob Arnold and Peter Newhouse.

In 1958, a company from North Dakota forged a partnership with two blacksmith-inventor brothers and built a machine that changed the way people worked. Melroe Manufacturing Company purchased the rights to an innovative machine designed by Cyril and Louis Keller. The first Melroe Self-Propelled Loader was a three-wheeled, front-end loader that was the precursor to the skid-steer loader in 1960 and the Bobcat brand two years later.

Throughout 2008, Bobcat Company will commemorate the partnership between the Melroe brothers and the Keller brothers, and the little loader that started the compact equipment industry 50 years ago.

K.C. Bobcat has five locations in Kansas and Missouri:

• 801 Main, Platte City, Mo., 816/431-3001

• 1220 South Hamilton Circle, Olathe, Kan., 913/829-4600

• 5929 East 154th Terrace, Grandview, Mo., 816/318-9531

• 2209 West 40 Highway, Blue Springs, Mo., 816/229-4006

• 279 Northwest U.S. Highway 50, Warrensburg, Mo., 660/747-3359

Bobcat Company, headquartered in West Fargo, N.D., is part of Doosan Infracore International (DII), a U.S.-based subsidiary of Doosan Infracore, a global manufacturer of construction equipment.

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