Swanston Equipment hosted its customer appreciation open house at its Fergus Falls, Minn., location at 712 Frontier Dr.

In addition to a special open house day only 10 percent off Bobcat parts, guests were treated to lunch which included Dairy Land sloppy Joes, chips and sundaes. Those in attendance also had the opportunity to sign up for a chance to win a Bobcat ZT2000 mower.

Joe Keller, son of Louis Keller and nephew of Cyril Keller, inventors of the original Bobcat loader was on hand with two historic machines that helped launch a revolution in compact equipment:

• Keller Loader #7 — the machine featured at the 1958 Minnesota State Fair. This event marked the first major public debut of the Keller loader and the pivotal moment when the Keller brothers and the Melroe family connected — ultimately leading to a manufacturing agreement that shaped the future of Bobcat.

• Melroe M60 loader (serial #1001) — the first-ever Melroe loader, designed and built by Louis and Cyril Keller after joining Melroe Manufacturing. With the help of three dedicated teammates — Jim Toyne, Nels Nelson and Don Lloyd — they built the first six M60s by hand. Cyril hit the road with the very first unit, dedicating his career to sales, dealer support and operator training, while Louis stayed behind, continuously improving designs based on real-world feedback.

Also in attendance was Darryl Schmidt, who brought a 1959 Melroe M200 restored with plexiglass side to see the inner workings of the machine in action. He also brought a 1962 Bobcat M440. These were only built for five months, significant because they were the first model called Bobcat and the first model to be white in color.

Nick Ott brought his 1960 Melroe M200, significant because it could be a 2-wheel drive with castor wheels or a 4-wheel drive by adding the rear axle and chains.

For more information, visit swanston.com. CEG

(All photographs in this article are Copyright 2025 Construction Equipment Guide. All Rights Reserved.)