Bobcat gives special edition loader to contest winner

September 9, 2014 - By LM Staff

From left: Steve Klumker and Jim Duke, owner of Bobcat of Durango. Photo: Bobcat

The Bobcat Co. gave away a special edition 1-millionth T650 compact track loader to a customer as the result of its “Unstoppable” campaign and Million Loaders Celebration contest.

Steven Klumker, of Mancos, Colo., visited the Bobcat of Durango equipment dealership, located in Durango, Colo., thinking he was being interviewed as a finalist for the contest. Instead, he was given the grand prize.

“This is a dream come true for me; Bobcat machines have been our family’s livelihood and our lifestyle my entire life,” said Klumker, a second-generation Bobcat compact equipment owner. “I cannot wait to show this loader off.”

The “Unstoppable” campaign started in January, marking Bobcat’s yearlong celebration of the production of its 1-millionth loader. Contest entrants, 12,000 of them, were judged on individual completeness and creativity of their answers to the question, “How does Bobcat make you unstoppable?”

“Steve’s was exactly the type of entry we were looking for,” said Gary Hornbacher, Bobcat VP of sales and marketing. “He described how Bobcat equipment has helped his entire family—first- and second-generation Bobcat equipment owners—build a successful business that spans more than 40 years and has covered six states. He and his family were early believers in Bobcat machines, and Steve is a great example of how a customer can be unstoppable with the right equipment and a solid relationship with his local dealer.”

Klumker has used a variety of Bobcat skid-steer loaders, compact track loaders, compact excavators and attachments in countless applications, from a $300 million desert resort and golf club to a 36-year-long, five-phase housing development project. His work has included building lagoons and swimming pools, backfilling utility trenches and landscaping and tree planting across California, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, Utah and New Mexico. For more than 40 years, the Klumkers have been customers of Bobcat of Durango and Bingham Equipment in Phoenix.

The contest’s second prize went to Troy Hieb of Newcastle, Wyo., who received $1,000 in merchandise credit to spend at any authorized Bobcat dealer location.

Hieb, a lieutenant with the Newcastle Volunteer Fire Department, currently owns a Bobcat T180 compact track loader, which he’s used to help move debris during a home fire.

“The use of my Bobcat T180 allowed the Newcastle Volunteer Fire Department to safely, quickly and fully extinguish a fire that could have caused far more damage to the home if not completely extinguished,” Hieb wrote in his entry. “Bobcat has built a tool that has made me unstoppable.”

Fifteen third-place winners will receive Bobcat jackets for telling their stories. They include: