Road Tour - St. Louis

Bobcat of St. Louis
Saturday, August 2, 2008 - 9am to 4pm

Road Tour Address:
Bobcat of St. Louis-Valley Park
401 W. Outer Rd.
Valley Park, MO 63088

Dealership Sales Contact: Dan Anich

Dealership Information

Dealer History:
2008 marks the 18th anniversary of Bobcat of St. Louis, and owner Dan Anich sums up the past 18 years with one word: "growth." With a strong focus on being the leader in compact equipment in St. Louis, their Bobcat dealership organization is committed to their customers' success. The St. Louis business was acquired in 1995 from longtime dealer Heberer Equipment Company. In 1997, the St. Louis business grew with the addition of the O'Fallon, MO location, and again grew when relocating the St. Louis store into a new 18,000 square foot building on 8 acres of land. Success allowed further growth in 2001 with the opening of the Herculaneum branch, and again in 2004 with the acquisition of the Columbia, MO branch, which was later relocated in 2007 to a new 25,000 square foot facility. Anich serves as Dealer Principal for the organization, owning and operating St. Louis's five locations with a crew of more than 100 employees and a strong partnership with Bobcat Company.

Recognizing 25 years of service and counting

As we celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Bobcat, it�s a good time to recognize some of the people that have dedicated many years of their life to the Bobcat brand. With 25 years of experience selling Bobcat equipment, Jerry Mueller is one such man.

Jerry started selling Bobcat equipment in 1983 at Heberer Equipment in Mascoutah, Illinois. He left in 1987 to work for Gateway Bobcat in St. Louis, Mo., which he said was a good move to a bigger territory with more opportunities.

In 1990, a new owner took over Gateway Bobcat and it became Bobcat of St. Louis. That owner was Dan Anich, who is still there today. Dan, along with Bob Heberer, the previous owner of Heberer Equipment, opened a number of stores throughout the years until Bob�s retirement a few years ago.

�Working for Dan has been a great experience,� notes Jerry. �He�s a very service and sales oriented person. Our market share when he first took over was 20% in St. Louis, so we had to be pro-active and aggressive in order to grow.�

Jerry said it was difficult to sell equipment at that time, just starting out, but as they�ve grown it�s gotten better. �Now we have over 50% market share and with so much exposure to the brand, it makes it a bit easier to sell. We have built up the business over the years and now we work hard to maintain it.�

In 1995, Jerry moved to the new store in Fairview Heights and became the branch manager there. He still sells equipment, manages the sales department and has served on what is now the Bobcat Performance Council a number of times.

�In August we will have an open house with the �50 Years Unleashed North American Road Tour,� notes Jerry. �We are excited to celebrate this milestone with Bobcat. It gives you a sense of accomplishment and pride in what you do to work with such a successful product. It always has been a great product and will be for many years to come.�

When asked what products made the biggest impact on him, Jerry first mentioned the 743 and 843 skid-steer loaders. �They were great machines back in their day and of course, as time went on, they needed to be upgraded, but when they first came out, they made a huge impact.�

The skid-steer loader has been revamped many times over the years with the 50 series and vertical lift machines, which Jerry said was also a momentous occasion. �The vertical lift path machines could lift more, they had a better reach, and they were a major breakthrough for us,� he notes. �We�ve been very successful selling those machines over the years.�

�The launch of Bobcat compact track loaders was another memorable event,� explains Jerry. �We sell more track loaders now than skid-steer loaders and we believe in that product whole-heartedly. With better flotation and traction, more stability, a smoother ride, lower ground pressure, and the ability to go up and down tough hills, it has been a great product for our customers.�

Another prominent Bobcat invention in Jerry�s opinion was the Bob-Tach� and Power Bob-Tach� system. �After the introduction of the Bob-Tach, our attachment business improved immensely,� he says. �Then Bobcat kept adding more and more attachment options, which made our products even more versatile. The Power Bob-Tach made it even better.�

As history repeats itself, Bobcat of St. Louis is again trying to rev up the attachments business. �Just in the last couple of years we have made a big push for attachment sales by creating some internal competitions and contests to increase our sales,� says Jerry.

�It�s very impressive what Bobcat has done over the years; how it�s grown and changed and developed into what it is today,� says Jerry. �With 50 years under their belt, Bobcat will only continue to innovate and impress.�

See their website at www.bobcatofstl.com for more details.

Current Dealer Locations:
-Valley Park, MO
-O�Fallon, MO
-Columbia, MO
-Herculaneum, MO
-Fairview Hts, IL