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Bobcat may have been the first, but today there is a healthy competition among skid steer manufacturers. And the markethas grown not only in the number of players, but also in the variety of sizes, shapes and creature comforts that are available.Gehl, which started in the agricultural business, firstbranched off into construction in the early 1980s. Lastyear, the company phased out its agricultural implementsto focus fully on its line of compact equipment. The movecame on the tails of the revamping of its skid steer offeringearlier in the year, with the introduction of six new E-Series skid loaders.“Today, we have seven models total in our E-Series,”says Moore. “The two smallest machines are 35 and 46hp, which are lightweight and as narrow as 4 to 5 ft wide.They’re good for doing a variety of jobs on a smaller scaleand provide very economical options. Our mid-rangemachines go from 60- to 82-hp turbo diesel engines and1,650 to 2,900 lbs in rated capacity. Our largest modelis the 7810E, which is used for large-scale, highproductivityjobs.”A New MarketJust in the last five to 10 years, the bulk of the heavyhitters in the equipment business have followed suit.John Deere got the ball rolling in 1999 with four newloaders dubbed the 200 Series, then upped the ante witha new and improved 300 Series late last year. Komatsufirst entered the North American skid steer market in2000 and now offers four wheeled models (SK815-5,SK820-5, SK1020-5 and SK1026-5), in addition to twocompact track loaders (CK30 and CK35). In addition,Bobcat introduced its latest line of skid steer loaders withthe K-Series (S130 to S330), now with 12 different modelsranging from 700 to 3,300 lbs.Caterpillar introduced its first four skid loaders into thefray in 1999 and now offers a total of 10 loaders ranging18 Utility Contractor | August 2007from 50 to 90 hp and operating loads from 1,400 to 3,250lbs. The company upgraded the line again this May withthe introduction of the C-Series loaders, which consist offour new skid steers (246C, 256C, 262C and 272C) andthree tracked units, or “multi-terrain loaders” (the 277C,287C and 297C).With a rated operating capacity of 3,250 lbs, the 272C isthe largest capacity skid steer Caterpillar has produced todate. The vertical lift 272C is joined by the smaller 262C,which has an operating capacity of 2,700 lbs and also featuresvertical lift for enhanced truck loading capabilities.The 246C and 256C are radial lift machines with ratedoperating capacities of 2,150 and 2,350 lbs, respectively.“Over the years, we added several new units to ourproduct line, including high-flow and vertical lift units,”notes Kent Pellegrini, skid steer and multi-terrain loaderindustry manager for Caterpillar. “Skid steers serve as avery useful aid for any type of construction for the utilitywork, most of the jobs need prep and cleanup work to bedone. That can include things like backfilling gravel for anew drainage ditch to finish grading. It comes down toavoiding overkill, where the machine you bring with youdoesn’t fit the job.”Over the years, the market has also expanded into variationson the original theme. In the last five years, manyskid steer manufacturers have incorporated dedicatedtrack machines called compact track loaders. Track loadershave taken the idea of over-the-tire tracks to the nextlevel with a fully dedicated undercarriage, which was firstinvented in the 1980s by ASV and Takeuchi.Outside of the undercarriage, manufacturers build theirtrack loaders to the same specifications as their skid