At the recent GIE + Expo, Kioti Tractor took the wraps off its new skid steer loader, which it expects to have in dealers' hands by the second half of next year.
Along with a coming compact track loader that it also announced at its dealer meeting late last year, the skid steer represents Kioti's coming foray into compact equipment. The two machines will expand its equipment offering beyond the utility tractors, UTVs and lawn mowers now on the Daedong-USA subsidiary's product list.
Kioti also indicates that a compact excavator may be forthcoming. "We have a roadmap and mini excavators are something we're looking at as well as other platforms that are hot right now," says Greg Bibee, Kioti director of strategic sales and marketing, in an interview with Equipment World.
Kioti has hired Jason Boerger, formerly Bobcat's excavator marketing manager, as its compact construction product manager.
"Having Jason on board is part of our journey into more compact construction equipment and building the team around it," Bibee says. "This goes beyond just the equipment we are going to launch initially."
Kioti says it's still finalizing the base and optional features of the SL750 skid steer and TL750 CTL, which will be launched in "a couple of different versions," says Bibee.
As indicated in last year's release, the SL750 and TL750 (both model names are still preliminary, by the way) will be powered by a 74-horsepower Kioti engine, which comes from the firm's South Korean parent Daedong.
