2017 marks the 25th birthday of Tigercat
Tigercat was established as a Canadian corporation in 1992. They started out as a small company with a single prototype and no distribution. The design of the first prototype machine, the 726 drive-to-tree feller buncher, started in 1991. The goal was to have it completed and ready to exhibit at a live, in-woods show in Quitman, Georgia in April 1992. Although lacking some finishing touches, such as finding a location for the batteries, which they had temporarily secured with bungee cords under the engine, it was loaded onto a truck and sent to the show. Don Snively, now district manager for Georgia and Florida, toured the prototype machine around the US for forty days until it found a home at Williston Timber in north Florida.
To commemorate the silver anniversary, Tigercat acquired the prototype machine from Williston Timber, brought it home and restored it so that it can live on for decades to come. The unveiling of the rebuilt prototype 726 drive-to-tree feller buncher took place at Tigercat’s 25-year party in Ontario, where over 1,500 people attended. Tigercat employees and dealers from all over of the world were in attendance including guests from Australia, New Zealand, Russia, South Africa, Brazil, Chile, the United States and Canada. The evening started out with guests taking group photos in front of the rebuilt prototype and with Eddie Hodge of Williston Timber giving the machine keys over to CEO Ken MacDonald and president Tony Iarocci. Tigercat have also introduced a film to commemorate the silver anniversary milestone, aptly titled, 25. The film explores the importance of the prototype 726 feller buncher. Subtitled releases in French, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian and Swedish will follow later in 2017.
Tigercat now has over 50 different machine models, having produced more than 19,000 machines and has become a global success story. Tigercat has also grown to have an employee count of 1,400 people and over 150 independent dealer locations worldwide. Source