At the annual dealers meeting Sept. 15 to 17 in San Antonio, Texas, Bobcat announced that Cook Equipment Company of Los Angeles is now the oldest continually operated Bobcat dealer in the United States.

The dealer meeting was attended by Bob Cook, CEO and president of the Cook Equipment Companies and Stephen Sparhawk, store manager of Cook Equipment Company of Los Angeles.

At the meeting, Syl Melroe told the story of how Cook Equipment became a Bobcat dealer by ordering the first truckload of Bobcat skid steers ever sold. It was 1963 and Melroe, the first Bobcat advertising manager, and Cy Keller, one of the inventors of the Bobcat skid steer, were on a sales trip to the West Coast. They stopped in to see Charlie Cook of Cook Tractors.

Charlie Cook always had his eye out for a bargain, and liking the new machine, he asked how much he could save if he ordered an entire truckload. That was the first truckload Bobcat ever sold, and Melroe talked about getting them back to the Gwinner North Dakota factory without their feet ever touching the ground.

Bob Cook started out his career in the construction industry as a Bobcat salesperson and he helped develop the Southern California market for this new machine. In 1975 he won the national Bobcat sales award. Now he is CEO and president of the Cook Equipment Companies.

Stephen Sparhawk has been with Cook Equipment for the past 23 years and is now the store manager of the Los Angeles location and is in charge of the Bobcat product line.

This year Cook Equipment Company of Los Angeles became one of the few dealers selected to introduce the new line of Bobcat compact tractors.

For the past 51 years, Cook Equipment Company has provided construction and utility equipment to the Southern California market.

Cook Equipment Company is a full service dealer for Bobcat, JCB and New Holland. It offers complete parts and service departments in three convenient locations: Los Angeles, Fullerton, and Riverside. It also is a complete rental company. Cook Equipment Company has been family owned and operated for the past 51 years.

Cook Equipment Company of Los Angeles is located at 13728 East Alondra Blvd., Cerritos, Calif.

For more information, call 562/926-2342 or visit www.cookequipmentbobcat.com

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