Bobcat Company has pledged its continued support of research and development activities conducted in tandem at NDSU’s Technology Incubator, where Bobcat is an anchor tenant.
Bobcat will match $2 for every $1 provided by a grant through North Dakota’s Centers of Excellence program, an initiative that pairs research and development hubs across the state’s university and college campuses with private companies in an effort to stimulate greater economic growth. Bobcat Company is contributing more than $400,000 toward the program, which will result in more than $200,000 in additional grants for NDSU.
The new research and development partnership between Bobcat and NDSU comes through the university’s State of North Dakota-funded Center of Excellence in Sensors, Communications and Control. The center provides expertise in sensor integration, systems engineering and software applications. Overall, with 25 approved Centers of Excellence and supporters like Bobcat Company, the Centers of Excellence program has contributed $635 million in estimated economic impact to North Dakota’s economy, according to the state Department of Commerce.
Bobcat engineers, NDSU engineering students and researchers at NDSU’s Center for Nanoscale Science and Engineering will continue to collaborate on a variety of projects — exploring new product development, component testing and material characterization — while working to improve current manufacturing processes in place across the company’s global manufacturing plants. Bobcat engineering and product testing facilities at NDSU’s Research and Technology Park include 15,000 square feet of floor space for up to 50 Bobcat employees, a working technology lab and indoor testing area. Bobcat Company began its research partnership with NDSU in 2005.
“We’re pleased to expand our partnership with NDSU,” said Rich Goldsbury, Bobcat Company president. “We feel this collaboration will result in great things for both the university and Bobcat Company. Having access to the university’s research expertise will help us cost-effectively develop cutting-edge technologies for our products, and we’re very excited about the opportunities this presents for our organization.”
Bobcat’s research partnership with NDSU has particularly thrived in the areas of engineering and microelectronics.
“This extended research and development partnership, funded in part by North Dakota’s Centers of Excellence program, in conjunction with cash and in-kind match generously provided by Bobcat, is an important extension of the ongoing relationship between Bobcat and NDSU,” said Philip Boudjouk, vice president for research at NDSU. “This enhanced partnership builds upon the many research and development projects that Bobcat and various units and departments within NDSU have completed over the years.”
Bobcat Company, headquartered in West Fargo, is a worldwide leader in the manufacturing and distribution of compact equipment, including skid-steer, all-wheel steer and compact track loaders; compact excavators; mini-track loaders; VersaHandler telescopic tool carriers; utility vehicles; and Toolcat utility work machines.
NDSU is recognized as one of the top 108 public and private universities by the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education.
