Doosan keeps Bobcat brand

Doosan is likely to retain the Bobcat name for its compact equipment range, according to Bobcat president and chief executive Richard Pedtke. "It knows the value of the Bobcat name, it's one of the reasons it paid £2.4bn for the company."

Speaking at the opening of Bobcat's new £16m manufacturing plant and training centre in Dobris, near Prague in the Czech Republic, Pedtke said the synergies between the two companies in terms of machines and dealership profiles are extremely good.

However, while he did not disagree with CJ's assertion that it did not make sense to have two ranges of mini excavators, he said no decisions have been made.

Both mini excavators and skidsteer loaders are manufactured in the new 20,000m2 plant, which has a production capacity of 900 machines a month and has room to expand by 50%. With a research and development facility nearby, the company can now design and build machines for the European market in Europe. The manufacturing of US-built models destined for Europe is being transferred to Dobris.

Bobcat predicted that the move to local design and production, planned long before the Doosan takeover, would double its European revenues in five years and help it to achieve its ambition of being Europe's leading compact equipment supplier. When asked if Doosan models would be built at the new plant, Pedtke said capacity is allocated to the production of Bobcat models, although there is the opportunity to expand the plant.

Buying Bobcat will lift Doosan from 19th place in the league table of plant manufacturers to seventh, with a combined turnover of £3.7bn.