Customer Feedback Leads to Bobcat's New E165 Excavator

Wed September 02, 2020
Katherine Devlin – CEG Editorial Assistant

Bobcat Company is constantly evaluating new and current products.

"The process to gather the voice of customers is continuous and has always been at the forefront of our product development," said Jason Boerger, marketing manager, excavators, of Bobcat Company.

The company's research showed it had a number of existing customers with large-frame loaders who were also in need of an excavator in the 14 to 19-ton size class to help with foundation work, road work and other more heavy-duty construction tasks.

"Customer feedback was clear and consistent that we needed to offer a larger excavator. The bottom line is, our customers asked for it and we're delivering," said Boerger. "Our dealers were also hearing some of the same feedback. They had a number of customers who wanted a larger excavator than what we were offering at the time, but they wanted to stay with the Bobcat brand and continue the relationship they had developed with their dealer."

The new E165 is practical for heavier, larger-scale digging and lifting operations on commercial and residential building sites; underground utility applications; and road and bridge projects. Similar to the E145, the E165 complements the performance of 700 and 800 frame size Bobcat compact track and skid-steer loaders.

"By pairing these machines together, operators can take on both larger-scale job sites and add more projects to their workload with the higher level of productivity the machines provide by working together," said Boerger.

Both the E145 and E165 offer impressive performance, according to Boerger. The E165 is equipped with a 131 hp engine and conventional tail swing design. It delivers class-leading hydraulics to provide reliable, steady power, saving operators valuable time with every digging cycle. Its lift capacity enables operators to move items with ease, as well as more slew torque for slewing uphill, backfilling and all-around productivity.

The E165 also has four selectable power modes: power+ mode, power mode, standard power mode and economy mode. This gives operators the opportunity to adapt performance to any job at hand. Whether the priority is efficient fuel consumption or all-out power for tough applications, operators can set their performance to the demands of the job, all from the comfort of the cab.

The power boost button is a unique feature of Bobcat large excavators. Operators can take advantage of this feature on both the E145 and E165 excavator. On top of the aforementioned four power modes, the E145 and E165 also offer four work modes to tailor the excavator's power to the application.

• Digging delivers the power and response needed for general operation, from excavation to loading and lifting. Digging performance can be further optimized with the four power modes.
• Lifting mode increases pump torque, lowers engine rpm and provides an automatic power boost for lifting materials and objects — like pipe or concrete barriers.
• Breaker, or one-way auxiliary hydraulic flow, works for attachments that only require hydraulic power from one direction, such as breakers or plate compactors.
• Shear, or two-way auxiliary hydraulic flow, is best for attachments that need bi-directional hydraulic flow, such as a hydraulic clamp, tilting bucket or shear.

"We are happy we could bring this product to market to help our dealers better serve their customers and, in turn, help our customers tackle the demanding jobs they face every day," said Boerger.

For more information, visit bobcat.com/excavators. CEG

This story also appears on Construction Equipment Guide.