BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - Ingersoll-Rand Co. Ltd. says it is looking into the possible sale or spin-off of North Dakota-based Bobcat Co., and construction-related businesses.

The businesses no longer fit the company's long-term strategy, Ingersoll-Rand said in a statement Tuesday.

"We are exploring our options right now," said Paul Dickard an Ingersoll-Rand spokesman. "We have made no secret of wanting to divest or move away from a capital-intense machinery profile."

Bobcat, known for its skid-steer loaders, employs more than 2,600 people in North Dakota. It is headquartered in West Fargo, with plants in Bismarck and Gwinner that make machinery for light construction.

Dickard said Bobcat also has operations in the Czech Republic and China but is "primarily a North Dakota company." Ingersoll-Rand expects to make a decision on Bobcat's future sometime this year, he said.

Ingersoll-Rand would spin-off Bobcat to its shareholders if it were for sale but did not fetch a favorable asking price, Dickard said.

"It's still an excellent business, but it has hit a rough patch recently," he said. "We still think very highly of the business."

Bobcat revenues dropped by about 5 percent last year compared to 2005, due to a decline in North American markets and a drop in shipments to distributors, Dickard said. Company revenues declined by more than 15 percent in the fourth quarter of 2006 compared with the same quarter in 2005, he said.

Union workers at the Bismarck plant agreed to a new four-year contract in October, after a two-week strike in a dispute over wages and health care costs. Union workers in Gwinner approved a new four-year contract in December without a strike.

Ingersoll-Rand, incorporated in Bermuda, has long been known as a construction and mining equipment manufacturer. It also builds such things as refrigeration equipment, locks, tools and golf carts.

In February, the company sold its road construction equipment division to Sweden's AB Volvo for $1.3 billion in cash.

"We're moving toward business that provide a more consistent growth stream for us," Dickard said.