Case launches new compact dozer loader

Case Construction Equipment has introduced Project Minotaur, a machine that is said to be a combination of a small dozer and a compact track loader.

The company says that the Minotaur DL550 compact dozer loader is the first machine of its kind on the market. It will initially be available in North America. 

“We showed the concept machine, Project Minotaur, at CONEXPO-CON/AGG in 2017, and it started as just that, a concept machine,” says Brad Stemper, North American product management lead at Case CE.

“It was an immediate hit with customers, which proved the desire and need for this machine in the market, which is a whole new product category and different from anything else in the industry.”

Stemper continues, “We have 29 patents on this machine and over 10,000 field test hours to ensure these machines are ready to go to market.”

Weighing in at more than 18,000 lbs and working with 114 horsepower, Case says the DL550 delivers true dozing and grading performance, as well as powerful site loading capabilities and compatibility with hundreds of attachments.

The hallmark advancement of the Minotaur DL550 is the chassis-integrated C-frame with six-way dozer blade. The C-frame hydraulically couples into both the chassis of the machine, as well as the attachment coupler.

Case Product Manager Jeff Jacobsmeyer is shown explaining the procedure for using the chassis-integrated C-frame with six-way dozer blade

This design provides the stability and smooth operating plane of a small dozer while ensuring that all operating power is channelled through the whole body of the machine. This establishes greater performance and long-term reliability than the simple combination of a dozer blade attachment to a traditional compact track loader, the company says.

Terry Dolan, vice president,  North America, Case CE, says that the Minotaur might look like a compact track loader, but its DNA leans more heavily on its dozer heritage.

“It basically shares the skin of a CTL, but inside it’s very different,” says Dolan. “The integrated C frame is different than putting a small dozer blade on a compact track loader or skid steer. This is truly a dozer first.”

The DL550 comes standard with Case Universal Machine Control, which makes the machine ready for Leica, Trimble or Topcon machine control technology, which are sold separately. It’s also available with an optional, industry-exclusive fully integrated ripper for tearing up tough terrain to simplify dozing and earthmoving operations.

The C-frame is detached to allow the operator to use it as a loader with a heavy-duty 1.25-cubic-yard bucket, or with hundreds of common loader attachments many equipment owners already have in their fleet.