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Doosan Bobcat Launches Earthforce by Bobcat in China

2017-06-20

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    - Earthforce developed with Chinese, emerging market customers in mind

Doosan Bobcat celebrated the official product launch of Earthforce, a newly branded series of skid-steer loaders designed to penetrate the Chinese and emerging markets. Doosan Bobcat now has 10 manufacturing facilities in 5 countries: U.S., France, the Czech Republic, India, and China

Earthforce is a sub-brand of Doosan Bobcat, developed to meet the needs of customers in China and emerging markets. The basic design and major components of the Earthforce products strictly conform to the standards of the Bobcat brand to ensure performance and durability. At the same time, components that do not influence the key performance of the products are manufactured or supplied locally in order to lower the production costs.

There are two Earthforce skid-steer loader models—S16 and S18—and they are manufactured at the Suzhou Plant in China. Skid-steer loaders are usually used for small-scale construction projects or for moving things around on farms and ranches, and Doosan Bobcat plans to increase its market share in the farming and construction equipment industry in China, Russia and other emerging markets.

In 2016, Doosan Bobcat recorded $186 million in sales in Asia and Latin America. The share of sales in emerging markets was 5 to 6 percent of its total sales. According to Off-highway Research, a management consultancy specializing in the research and analysis of international construction, the Chinese skid-steer loader market is expected to grow by more than 12 percent annually by 2021.

“At the beginning of mass production, we will focus on raising awareness of compact construction equipment in the Chinese market through product briefings and training," said an official of Doosan Bobcat. "Then we will launch Earthforce in other major emerging countries to gradually increase new demand."

Doosan Bobcat has also recently introduced a series of new products, the R-Series excavators and M2-Setries loaders, to North America and Europe in Q1 and Q2 2017 to further strengthen its leading position in developed markets.

Earthforce S18