Vermeer ML180 Mini Track Loader Concept Minimizes User Fatigue With Ultra-Smooth Ride, Advanced Controls

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The Vermeer ML180 mini loader tech demo at The Utility Expo showcased advancements in fine control, speed, lifting power, and especially ride quality. (Photo courtesy of Vermeer.)

As seen at Utility Expo 2025, Vermeer's new ML180 is a technology demonstration of a ride-on mini skid-steer loader specifically designed to address operator fatigue, which is a key killer of productivity. Not yet a production-ready unit, the tracked concept previews features the manufacturer says it may build into future models for tree care and landscape work.

"Our commitment to our customers runs deep," says Trevor Koolmees, product group sales manager at Vermeer. “Every challenge they face fuels our drive to engineer smarter, tougher, and more intuitive solutions.”

The ML180’s Air-Ride Comfort

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The ML180’s advanced suspension and air ride platform are Vermeer’s response to operator feedback about the rough ride of traditional mini skid-steer loaders. (Photo courtesy of Vermeer.)

Vermeer sought to push the envelope of stand-on loader comfort with the ML180. “One of the things we’d hear from our customers, if they’re running these four or five, eight hours a day, they’d say, ‘I’m tired at the end of the day. Man, I’m hitting bumps all day. It’s rough terrain,’” says Vermeer VP of Environmental Solutions Bob Shuman. In response, the manufacturer engineered the ML180 concept with an air-ride chariot platform and a suspended undercarriage to radically smooth out its ride quality.

The ML180’s floating suspension track system also contributes to a much quieter ride. Vermeer noise and vibration engineer Mason Prieksat says, “A traditional machine at low idle, not moving, was about four times as loud as our new machine at high idle, tracking at full speed.” The company notes that lower levels of equipment noise make on-site communication between workers far easier.

Advanced ML180 Controls

Vermeer also equipped the ML180 with advanced, electric-over-hydraulic controls that give the operator the power, speed, and control for greater productivity. The new controls give the loader fast travel capability and allow the user to adjust speed on the fly dynamically.

Electric-over-hydraulic controls also increase the ML180’s lift capacity and fine motor control. Vermeer says it intends to gather feedback on the loader concept from professionals at select trade shows in the future.

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