Melroe Makes It Big (1970)

16 mm composite optical track print, 800 feet, 22 minutes This Bill Snyder film introduces the larger model Bobcat, the Melroe 970. It highlights its handling and controls and shows the "Bobtach" attachment system. There is footage of the M970, or "Big Bob" performing the following actions: moving dirt, gravel and sand, lifting concrete, loading trucks, leveling, grating, cleaning debris, handling bulk materials, moving iron ore, piling coal to help other machines, excavating, shoveling and plowing snow, cleaning manure, moving cattle feed, and lifting hay over fences. The M970 is shown in industrial and agricultural environments including a steel mill, metal foundry, scrap yard, stock yard farm, and on a barge. There are also several images of the factory, including machines on the assembly line and in the shipping process.