Compact Equipment Mourns the Death of Louis Keller
In our estimation, the skid steer is the king of compact construction equipment. It’s an American invention that has become the equipment of choice for growing contractors to purchase — because of its low entry cost, its immense versatility (or ability to take hydraulic attachments) and its durable and tough nature.
The man who helped create the original skid steer, Louis Keller, passed away in Fargo, N.D., yesterday. Keller, along with his brother, Cyril, built the original three-wheeled machine that Bobcat would eventually buy and reengineer into the first category of truly compact loaders. Today is a day to remember his achievements.
“We were saddened to learn about the passing of Louis Keller, one of the inventors of the compact, three-wheeled machine that led to the first Bobcat-branded skid steer loader,” said Rich Goldsbury, president of Bobcat Americas and Oceania, in a statement. “Louis was among those honored in 2004 as Bobcat received the ASAE Historic Landmark award — a recognition reserved only for the most important agricultural innovations in American history. And two years ago, during our 50th anniversary, we celebrated Louis and his brother, Cyril, and everyone else who helped make Bobcat a success over the last five decades.”
It all started in the summer of 1956, when a farmer came to Louis and Cyril Keller with a problem. A guy named Eddie Velo approached the brothers about a practical solution to the unpleasant task of cleaning the manure out of his turkey barns. At the time, the brothers ran Keller Mfg. in Rothsay, Minn., fabricating some of the original models of snow blowers. Intrigued, the brothers began searching through local junkyards for materials and ideas. Within a year, they came up with a design for a three-wheeled, self-propelled loader. The machine, not yet a skid steer, moved on two drive wheels in the front and a small caster wheel in the back. It was powered by a 6.6-hp Kohler engine with a rope starter and was steered by independent right and left control levers.
In an interesting note, the Keller brothers used a few steel bars from the local Rothsay jail to make the fork tines and the front scoop.
The brothers manufactured seven Keller Loaders for sale. Each could be purchased with a small array of attachments (a utility scoop, manure fork, snow blower and sweeper). Because of cash problems, production on a large scale became an obstacle. That is, until the brothers met up with Les Melroe, one of the four brothers who operated Melroe Mfg. Co. in Gwinner, N.D., which would one day become known as Bobcat.
The Melroe brothers invited the Kellers to display their machine at the Melroe booth in the 1958 Minnesota State Fair. At the fair, everyone ended up talking about the Keller Loader instead of the Melroe products, so the company decided to buy the rights to the unit, reengineer it with the help of the Keller brothers and release it as the M-60 three-wheeled Melroe Loader. In 1960, the M-400 Melroe Self-Propelled Loader hit the market as the first skid steer, built on the Keller brothers’ original platform.
The Keller brothers drive to help make common jobs easier for farmers helped launch the compact equipment industry and their contributions will not be forgotten. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Keller family, and we join them in honoring Louis’ legacy.
