MACHINERY DEALER
NEXT IS NOW 20
The new kid on the block for supplying and servicing Bobcat’s impressive range of farm-friendly machines and attachments is Versatile Equipment Ltd. Doosan Bobcat EMEA has given Versatile Equipment sole responsibility in London and the South East for sales and service of the company’s market-leading skid-steer and compact track loaders, miniexcavators, telehandlers, compact wheel loaders, light compaction machinery and attachments. Versatile Equipment, which has been trading since 2003, is now the authorised Bobcat dealer for Kent, Surrey, Essex and East and West Sussex as well as Greater London. Customers old and new are promised a warm welcome at the company’s expanded headquarters on the Hornet Business Estate in Borough Green, featuring a revamped customer reception and dedicated showroom, together with parts, service, warehouse, administration and sales departments. Lee Chater, Sales and Marketing Director, said that as well as expanding the headquarters, the company had recruited new sales and customer support staff. “We made similar improvements at our hydraulic repair company, HPS in East Grinstead, to provide an increased service for local customers in this part of our new territory,” he explained. “Eighteen months on from our appointment at the beginning of 2021 we are enjoying the relationship with Bobcat, helping to significantly increase the company’s share of the construction, rental, landscaping, agriculture, waste management and other markets in London and the South East.”
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As well as selling and servicing the entire Bobcat range of machines and attachments, Versatile Equipment offers a full selection of Bobcat accessories and parts to support both new and existing customers. The company also holds a stock of new and second-hand Bobcat machines.
NEXT IS NOW
Under its new Next is Now initiative, Bobcat has entered the European wheel loader market for compact wheel loaders and small articulated loaders, as well as launching new generation R-Series compact loaders and R2-Series five and six tonne mini-excavators. The company has also added a full range of new light compaction machinery, developed in collaboration with the Ammann Group. Also new is an expanded line of new generation agricultural specification telehandlers, all Stage V compliant and with lifting heights from six to eight metres and capacities of 2.6 to 4.3 tonnes. Bobcat began producing telehandlers in 2000, impressing the market with its fully hydrostatic drive systems and compact box frame chassis designs. Doosan took over the brand in 2007 and has since introduced agriculturespecific features in its telehandler range. All the smaller telescopic loaders are available in agricultural configurations, while four option levels offer increasing operator comfort and productivity. Lee Chater explained that while compact for their size, Bobcat models offered better lifting performances than equivalent competitor models. He added: “A huge focus for Bobcat has always been operator comfort. Cab designs have historically been spacious but now the comfort and feel of the workspace has been significantly improved.
