Tri-State Bobcat 40th Anniversary

Tri-State Bobcat Still ‘Doing It Right’ After 40 Years

Tri-State Bobcat, a family-owned and operated company, has been in business for 40 years and is still growing. A fourth full-service TriState Bobcat location will be added in late 2023. Since 1983, it has been one of the premier Bobcat dealers in the United States. In addition to Bobcat, the dealership features Toro, Stihl, Bandit, Avant, Fecon, Wacker Neuson, Kage, Green Climber, Virnig, BOMAG and RedMax lines of equipment.

The company serves a wide range of markets including construction, landscaping, grounds and property maintenance, agriculture, tree care, land clearing and erosion control.

Tri-State Bobcat’s owner, Bill Quirk, has worked in the construction equipment business for a half-century, starting with a Case equipment dealership in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area for 10 years. In March 1983, he purchased the Bobcat territory and assets from an existing dealership and relaunched as Tri-State Bobcat. Fifteen years later, his son, Jon, joined him as a partner at Tri-State Bobcat. The company, now a two-generation family-owned business, has evolved over time.

Choosing Bobcat as the foundational brand proved to be the right decision. Tri-State Bobcat has since added a dozen other

market-leading pieces of compact and hand-held equipment brands to their offerings, demonstrating their commitment to diversifying and catering to a wide spectrum of audiences in the compact equipment industry.

“In 2008, the company expanded on its industry-leading top brands to create the Tri-State Bobcat Bundle, aiming to enhance offerings for all customers,” said Quirk. “The goal was to avoid dependence on any single industry, by expanding the base to

(L-R): Jon, Anne and Bill Quirk

“Do it right the first time.”

include consumers, construction and rental customers.”

Tri-State Bobcat’s showroom features all product lines in the Tri-State Bobcat bundle, carefully intertwined to create a seamless experience for customers who often find themselves making purchases across all brands. One relatively new addition to the Tri-State Bobcat lineup is BOMAG, which manufactures rollers, tampers and other compaction machinery. Tri-State Bobcat was impressed with the compact equipment BOMAG offered, and fortunately, it aligned perfectly with the rest of the brands they carry. This decision has turned out to be immensely successful for all their stores.

When Tri-State Bobcat opened 40 years ago, selling equipment was the primary goal. However, the company has evolved over time to include a rental strategy, with the rent-to-rent model becoming its principal objective. TriState Bobcat rents all of their brands. Building a substantial rental fleet didn’t occur overnight, as this took over a decade to build, and they continue to add to it regularly.

“Equipment rental continues to grow every year,” he said. “Every year the growth is in the low double digits. It’s easy to see why. With the cost of acquiring a piece of equipment continuing to rise, renting the piece instead makes sense. When you want to undertake a project that

requires a specialty machine, you don’t want to go out and buy it. If you have someone you can call that has a late-model, good-running machine for rent, you don’t have to own it.”

The large rental fleet also helped Tri-State Bobcat overcome challenges during the COVID economy, as manufacturers fell behind on delivering parts and equipment. Customers were well-served by being able to rent a machine.

Since 1983, Tri-State Bobcat has been one of the premier Bobcat dealers in the United States.

In 2008, the company expanded on its industry-leading top brands to create the Tri-State Bobcat Bundle, aiming to enhance offerings for all customers.

Jon Quirk, vice president Bill Quirk, president

Anne Quirk, controller

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The company’s willingness to adapt and flex as necessary to maintain its momentum in the marketplace is demonstrated by its decision to get out of the trucking business.

“After sparking so much growth, we couldn’t adequately cover our marketplace using inside trucking,” said Quirk. “We aligned ourselves with a great trucking company, Dick’s Valley Service out of Apple Valley. They provide prompt and excellent service whether we need one truck that day or 10.”

The company has focused on offering state-of-the-art facilities

and expanding its product line to become the place to go for their customers’ compact equipment needs, including:

•Five convenient locations;

•Huge showrooms;

•Expanded parts departments;

•More service bays;

•Large yards full of new, used and rental equipment.

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The Burnsville sales team includes (L-R) Mark LaVigne, Tri-State sales specialist; Dave Aas, Toro sales; and Brian Bjonfald, Tri-State sales specialist.

The Burnsville parts department includes (L-R) Michael Buckman, Andy Hirt, Brett Kochendorfer and Wade Austin, trainer.

Burnsville’s administration team includes (L-R) Christina Sunde, receptionist; Cathy Rein, payroll; Mark Larson, corporate service; Gail Hubertus, accounts payable; Kevin Nieman, internet sales; Erin Jagow, sales coordinator; and Sarah Latham, accounts receivable.

Mahli Wold (L), marketing manager and Linda Horejsi, shipping and receiving.

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The decision was made in 2013 to upgrade all the facilities.

“We changed our business model,” he explained. “We wanted larger properties with larger black-top parking lots, brightly-lit, remodeled showrooms and clean bathrooms.”

“Our buildings now really are top-notch,” said Quirk. “We have two dedicated employees who work full time just maintaining the buildings. The facilities are something that we pride ourselves on.”

Tri-State Bobcat values the longevity and dedication of its staff. Their knowledgeable, experienced and friendly team is committed to providing the best customer service and product support in

the industry; they embody exceptional service.

In addition to its four stores, Tri-State Bobcat acquired Manke’s Outdoor Equipment in Owatonna, Minn. This was a family-owned Toro dealership.

“We were looking to expand geographically. Like us, it was a family-owned company and the family wanted to retire,” said Quirk.

Forty years and counting. The company’s dedicated founders are not only devoted to the business’ long-term success but also to ensuring that Tri-State Bobcat continues to thrive in the future.

CEG

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Burnsville’s service department includes (L-R) Ed Veits, Henry Pena, James Kays, Matt Lemm, Jacob Lemm, Andrew Eichers, Kevin Holt, rental; and Evan Maltzen, service manager.

Tri-State Bobcat values the longevity and dedication of its staff. Its knowledgeable, experienced and friendly team is committed to providing the best customer service and product support in the industry.

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The Little Canada service team (L-R) are Jon Sherlock, Pat Conlan, Andy Svoboda, Tucker Doroff, Rob Kendle, Mark DeRoo, Kaleb Seeger, Louis Lundgren and Devin Murphy.

Ron Hogan (L) and Gordy Peterson, both Tri-State sales specialists of the Little Canada sales department.

(L-R) are Tyler Nordgren, parts specialist; Jennifer Schneider, warranty specialist; Alli Fruci, special projects; and Colten Curley, parts specialist, all of Little Canada.

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(L-R) are Zach Schmitz, Liz Gifford and Lizzie Ammann of the Hudson location.

Hudson sales department’s Adam Dittmer (L) and Adam Delander, Tri-State sales specialist.

Victor Mass, Tri-State Bobcat store support

Hudson’s service department includes (L-R) Ryan Lundquist, service manager; Bill Bretl, Billy Lueck, Jason Mork and Greg Einberger.

Tri-State Bobcat, a family-owned and operated company, has been in business for 40 years and is still growing.

Congratulations Tri-State Bobcat on your 40 year anniversary! We look forward to working with you for another 40.

LOWE® Trenchers

Berlon’s Skeleton Rock Grapple has dual independent claws for complete clamping down on awkward loads. This bucket is ideal for rock picking, clearing fence lines, construction, scrap metal and other clean-up applications.

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The LOWE® trenching attachments have proven to be one of the most useful tools in the attachment market. Primarily used on skid steer loaders, trenching attachments also excel on compact track loaders and a wide range of mini-loaders. With a large selection of boom lengths and digging chains available, the LOWE® trenching attachment can make your machinery investment more useful.

LOWE® Augers

The BP-Series planetary reduction auger drives bring elements of performance and dependability to the attachment marketplace.

-Features include: increased gear strength, stronger shaft support and through hardened alloy drive shaft.

Berlon’s Heavy Duty Extended Lip bucket provides greater cutting edge visibility while standard heavy duty package makes it ideal for machines 75HP and greater. Features include: ¼” body, Reinforcement tube across back of bucket for added strength, Bucket bottom includes a heavy-duty dimple plate *A Berlon Exclusive*, 3/4”x6” weld-on cutting edge w/holes.

Berlon’s Compact Articulating Loader bucket is ideal for loading feed mixers and other heavy duty material handling equipment. Features include: ¼” body, Reinforcement tube across back of bucket for added strength, Bucket bottom includes 5 wear bars for durability, 3/4”x6” weld-on cutting edge with holes.

Manke’s Outdoor Service’s Chris Hutchinson (L) and Nate Wagner, parts department.

Dave Moline of Manke’s Outdoor Service team.

Nicole Manke, sales specialist

Skid Steer Grapples

Skid Steer Buckets

Tri-State Bobcat’s very first open house was in Lino Lakes in 2001.

The new equipment display set up for the open house at Lino Lakes included these Bobcat G Series (S751, S763 and S773) skid steers.

Manufacturer representatives talk with a customer at the first Lino Lakes open house.

The display area and location for the Bobcat Rodeo.

The indoor equipment display at Lino Lakes included these Bobcat compact track loaders.