EQUIPMENT FOCUS
Why are so many manufacturers going small?
By Glenn Hansen
WHEN TORO PURCHASED THE DINGO LINE of mini skid-steer vehicles in 1997, it included the 222 model.“ Today, it’ s very unimpressive,” said Tom Werner, general manager of Toro Sitework Systems, the division that oversees the manufacturer’ s growing mini equipment line.“ At the time, though, that was a breakthrough technology; it lived in an age when skid loaders were prolific in the marketplace. And what would this small thing do?”
It would start a boom of mini machines. Today, Toro continues to produce model 323, which looks similar to that original 222. But, as Werner said during a press conference at Equip Expo,“ The world has changed and now the Dingo represents a full line of compact utility loaders and has ultimately created an entirely new category for the compact construction industry.”
Where else would I begin this article on the growing market of mini machines?
After the Toro Dingo, the mini market began to mature.“ It really started with four different companies: Toro, Bobcat, Ditch Witch and Vermeer,” said Brant Kukuk, Ditch Witch product manager for compact equipment.“ And it blew up from there. But those four companies really started this market. We were actually the second, right behind Toro to enter the space— funny now that we work together. And I feel like the competitors continued to chase either our gap or a head-on model.” Toro acquired Charles Machine Works, the maker of Ditch Witch brand, in 2019 in a $ 700 million all-cash deal.
The momentum continues in this product marketplace. Quantifying the market is difficult today, without publicly available sales or production numbers. I’ ve heard the total number of“ mini” machines sold in the U. S. ranges from 35,000 to as high as 90,000. For comparison, the zero-turn mower market in the U. S. is nearing 1 million units at retail. Our friends at Power System Research estimate that 841,500 zero-turn mowers are expected to be produced in the United States in 2025. So mini is still relatively mini, but it’ s moving up.
16 OPE + December 2025 www. OPE-Plus. com