KC Bobcat 50th Anniversary
– Tim O’Bryan, President
“We can’t talk about our 50th anniversary without remembering where we started. The first KC Bobcat store opened in December of 1974. At that time, we had just six employees, but we grew quickly. By the time Berry Companies acquired us in 2000, we had three locations in Blue Springs, Olathe, and Grandview. It’s hard to believe that we now have seven locations in Kansas and Missouri!
I’m proud of where this company began, but I’m also looking forward to a bright future for KC Bobcat. This year, we’re focused on providing excellent customer service. We want to make sure that every customer who walks through our doors knows that they made the right choice. We want to help our customers as much as we can, and we want to continue to be an active part of this community. Together, we will keep working hard to operate our business with humility, grace, and honesty.”
M•CON’s Shop Manager Puts His Trust in Bobcat Parts, Service, & Sales
“As far as compact equipment goes, I don’t even think any further than Bobcat. People call me all the time and want to try to sell me something other than Bobcat. I don’t even have the conversation.”
Shane Nelson is the shop manager at M•CON Underground, LLC, a large underground utility company based in Wathena, Kansas. Shane wears many hats, but first and foremost, he runs the shop.
“Things that are warrantable, we outsource. Everything else we try to do in-house,” he said. “A lot of my job is figuring out ‘Okay, between our 300 pieces of equipment, we have 25 with some sort of issue. What does that order need to look like? What piece of machinery is broken down on a job that’s causing them to be at a standstill?’”
For Shane and his team, everything is about production. M•CON runs 20+ Bobcat mini track loaders, skid-steer loaders, and compact excavators, and Shane makes sure that they all keep putting utilities in the ground.
“With Bobcat, it’s always been the responsiveness,” Shane said. “A guy called me from a job site. He had a skid loader that broke down on him. I called the field service in Tracy, and I said, ‘Hey, here’s what we’ve got. I’m pretty certain it’s this problem. We’re shut down because of it. Any chance you have somebody close?’ A couple minutes later, Tylar Kelley called me, and he said, ‘Hey, you called at a great time. I’m going to take a left instead of a right and come to you. I’ve got the part on my truck.’ It wasn’t 20 minutes, and that machine was up and running again.”
As a shop manager, Shane works closely with Geoff Jackson, the parts manager at Bobcat of St Joe.
“When I find that person at a dealership that consistently does things well and right for me, I tend to call in and ask for that guy. Geoff turned into that for me. His batting average is exceptionally high. I’ve been on the Parts side, too, and it’s hard being the guy on the other end of the phone, trying to get you what you need. But Geoff’s great about figuring out what it is that we need, and he’s very consistently right.”
On top of that, he also works with Aaron Phares, a sales rep at our Tracy location.
“Aaron is the definition of a good old boy. We had a bucket stolen off a job, and I needed a way to identify it. I was able to call Phares and say, ‘Hey, I don’t have much time. This will make more sense later, but can you give me another way to identify a bucket?’ He told me what to do, I called my guys in the field, and we found it. Aaron is just invested in doing whatever is best for M•CON.”
KC Bobcat is easy, fair, and timely. They aren’t just our vendor. We have a relationship with Bobcat.
Shane Nelson
Shop Manager, M•CON Underground, LLC
If it were up to Shane, all his equipment would be Bobcat white because “if it’s not broke, don’t fix it.”
“As cliché as that is, we have zero issues with Bobcat being our compact equipment supplier,” Shane said, “It’s easier for me and for M•CON if we stick with what’s working. Our salesmen are great, our techs are great, and our parts guys are great. There’s no reason for me to even give it another thought.”
We’ve been backing businesses like M•CON Underground, LLC for 50 years—and we’re just getting started. Here’s to the next 50 and the stories still to come!
