Company Announcement - A Bobcat S300 has reached 10 000 hours of problem-free operation working in a harsh application on the meat producing cattle farm, Braams Voerkrale, located outside Durbanville in the Western Cape. For the past 35 years, Braams Voerkrale has been using Bobcat machines to clean cattle pens and to take care of various odd jobs around the farm which is home to approximately 6000 head of cattle. The Bobcat S300 started its working ‘life’ on the farm in 2011 and reached the 10 000 hour milestone during the second week of July 2014.

Pieter Eksteen, who started with Braams Voerkrale in the late 1980’s when he was still a student and took farm ownership in the 90s, says that he specifically ordered the Bobcat S300 to lay bedding in the cattle pens and to load manure. “Because my existing Bobcats have proven time and again to be the best machines for these applications, it made perfect sense to continue sticking with the best. And the S300 certainly delivered. Without missing a beat, the machine works between 8 to 10 hours a day which adds up to approximately 208 hours per month, requiring only the standard regular service intervals.” Erik Joosten, who is responsible for Bobcat Equipment SA (Pty) Ltd’s Aftermarket Sales Western Cape, explains that the S300’s 250 hour services are taken care of by Pieter’s farm mechanic, Jiaan. “The bigger 500 and 1000 hour service intervals are done by Bobcat’s Cape Town branch. The machine’s tilt cylinders have been done, the radiator has been done twice and the starter and alternator have been replaced. We also overhauled the machine with new ‘bobtach’ pins and bushes.”

Bobcat is responsible for training the machine operators, who, having worked on the farm for the past 20 years, have become experts in handling the Bobcats.

Bobcat has earned the coveted position of world leader in compact equipment by delivering a quality product range backed by dedicated after-sales service from a team of highly skilled technicians based at the company’s well-stocked branch network. “We build long-term relationships with our customers and are with them for the long haul,” says Joosten. “We look at the customer’s individual application requirements so that we can provide the best product solution that will deliver maximum productivity and a quick return on investment.”