Gehl Celebrate 40 Years

In 1973, Gehl Co. (today a part of Manitou Americas Inc.), a leading manufacturer of compact earthmoving and material handling equipment, began designing and manufacturing its own line of skid steers, which it calls “skid loaders.” Working side by side with its customers, the line has constantly evolved over the last 40 years. Today, a complete line of seven radial- and three vertical-lift models, including the V400, the world’s largest skid loader, are offered under the Gehl brand name. It’s one of the industry’s oldest and best lineups of tool carriers.

“The Gehl brand is dedicated to its roots of designing and producing durable, easy-to-use skid loaders,” said Dan Miller, CEO of Manitou Americas and president of the Manitou Group CE Compact Equipment Division. “Our task for the future is incorporating innovation and technology into our loaders, yet still maintaining the ease of use our customers have come to expect.”

Based on the company’s long history and heritage in the agricultural implements business (which goes back 150 years), the Gehl customer base in the early 1970s was primarily agricultural. The company recognized a demand for a compact loader among its implement customers and struck a deal with the Ericsson Co. in Minneapolis to manufacture the first Gehl branded skid loader. The rest is history.

To carry the success of the skid loader line into the future, parent company Manitou Americas Inc. aims to continue the tradition of developing equipment to match the demands of its core customers in agriculture, construction and rental applications. Just look at the investment in its state-of-the-art Research and Design facility in West Bend, Wis., in 2009, which has paved the way for future innovation and durability testing for skid steers and track loaders.

“Look for Gehl branded skid loaders to deliver new customer focused models without abandoning our heritage,” said Brian Rabe, manager of product development. “This measured approach has worked for Gehl skid loaders for 40 years and for the Gehl brand for over 150 years. You can’t argue with history.”

By leveraging its long history in the skid loader market with the addition of innovative features — like the original hands-only control system, the T-Bar, the Powerview lift arm and the adjustable, side-anchored operator restraint bar — Gehl and its parent company Manitou Americas hopes to entice new users while maintaining its core customer base in the ag markets of the Midwest.

With the rich heritage the Gehl brand enjoys in the agriculture and rental markets, Manitou Americas Inc. (which is a French-headquartered expert of telehandlers and aerial work equipment) can likely leverage some of its own unique products to grow the Gehl and Mustang product lines (the company owns both). For instance, compact telehandlers are huge on European farms; they could soon be popular on American farms with a core Gehl and Mustang dealer network.