Bobcat System: A Proven Practice That Works

Ten years ago the Bobcat Company began promoting an innovative concept called the Bobcat System. It combined the speed and agility of a Bobcat® skid-steer loader with the versatility and flotation of a Bobcat compact excavator. Together they out-worked and out-earned larger, more expensive, specialized equipment.

The Bobcat System concept was designed to operate in spaces too tight for a
conventional 12- to 14-ft. tractor-loader-backhoe (TLB). The combination
of loader and excavator could access these tight spaces and do the work more efficiently and profitably than a TLB. The excavator did the digging and the skid-steer loader hauled away the dirt and did the backfilling.

Today, the Bobcat System is a proven, well-accepted practice, says Dan Klug, Bobcat global compact excavator product manager. “Many contractors have found it to be a very effective way of doing business.”

Over the years the concept has evolved as Bobcat Company introduced new lines of compact equipment. Depending on the job and type of business, one contractor’s Bobcat System might include an S300 skid-steer loader and a 442 excavator, while another might profit by working a 463 skid-steer loader with a 322 excavator. In some cases, it may make sense to combine a Bobcat excavator with a mini-track loader, a compact track loader, an allwheel steer loader, or a Toolcat 5600 utility work machine. Some contractors mix and match several different sizes of loaders as well as excavator models to tailor a Bobcat System to a specific job.

“Every model of Bobcat equipment offers its own unique abilities to save time and work,” says Klug. “By combining the various loaders with different excavators, the Bobcat System gives you a number of ways to team them up to increase productivity and profitability over alternative methods and machines.”