KC Bobcat 50th Anniversary
– Tim O’Bryan, President
“We can’t talk about our 50th anniversary without remembering where we started. The first KC Bobcat store opened in December of 1974. At that time, we had just six employees, but we grew quickly. By the time Berry Companies acquired us in 2000, we had three locations in Blue Springs, Olathe, and Grandview. It’s hard to believe that we now have seven locations in Kansas and Missouri!
I’m proud of where this company began, but I’m also looking forward to a bright future for KC Bobcat. This year, we’re focused on providing excellent customer service. We want to make sure that every customer who walks through our doors knows that they made the right choice. We want to help our customers as much as we can, and we want to continue to be an active part of this community. Together, we will keep working hard to operate our business with humility, grace, and honesty.”
Bobcat Equipment Transformed Merle Hoover’s Demolition & Excavating Business
“If you find a good salesman and a good dealership, whichever brand that you end up going with, they will always stand behind their warranty. They will stand behind their service. And that is something money can’t buy.”
Merle Hoover is a loyal Bobcat of Sedalia customer. Based in Versailles, Missouri, he has purchased multiple Bobcat loaders and excavators for his company, Hoover’s Bobcat Service.
“We specialize in building pads, you know, smaller jobs,” Merle said. “You need a new driveway put in, you need a basement dug out…stuff like that. We’re going on three years now, and we plan to keep getting into bigger equipment and bigger jobs as time goes on.”
Merle started Hoover’s Bobcat Service because he was tired of working for someone else and wanted to make more money. He bought a used, non-Bobcat skid-steer loader. “That was the biggest mistake I ever made. It was a piece of junk.”
After a few bad equipment experiences, he finally got hooked up with David Bruce, a sales rep at Bobcat of Sedalia.
“From what I see of David, the people that are not true businessmen steer away from him,” Merle said. “But the ones that are here for the long term and want to do business the way business should be done, they’re his best friend. He takes care of them, and that’s what they’re looking for. I could call David and cuss him out right now. I would never do that, but if I called him and did that tomorrow, I feel like David would give me the same service tomorrow as he did yesterday.”
I’d say to go Bobcat because of the service. Find a good salesman off referrals from other people. Then buy brand new.
Merle Hoover
Owner, Hoover’s Bobcat Services
Merle says he will always buy new machines from a dealership because of the quality of the service he’s received.
“One time, I had a T770 break down on the airport down in Camdenton. We were doing a job that had to get done, and I had a lot of stuff going on. It blew a hose in the middle of the day with fairly low hours, and I called for a service truck. Well, they couldn’t get to me right away. I called David. I said, ‘Look, dude. Here’s where I’m at. Here’s what I’m dealing with.’ David said, ‘I’ll call you right back.’ Within two hours, we had that machine running, and they had to drive about an hour and a half to get there. To this day, I didn’t get a bill for that.”
Just a couple weeks ago, Merle came over to Bobcat of Sedalia and added a new E88 compact excavator to his fleet.
“I like the E88 because it’s still compact, and I can move it around with a gooseneck trailer,” he said. “But here’s how much I like David. I never sat in that machine before I bought it. I never popped any hood on that machine before I bought it. Until that thing got delivered to the job site this morning, I had never climbed in it. And why would I? I know he’s going to take care of me.”
We’ve been backing businesses like Hoover’s Bobcat Services for 50 years—and we’re just getting started. Here’s to the next 50 and the stories still to come!
