The notion of making products close to where you sell them may be coming back into vogue among manufacturers worldwide, but it’s nothing new to Japanese tractor manufacturer Kubota. The company started manufacturing here in 1988, and it has continued to invest heavily in its U.S. presence ever since.
Today, the company has operations in Lincolnshire, IL, to make diesel and gasoline engines; Gainesville, GA, to make subcompact tractors, mowers and utility vehicles; and Jefferson, GA, to make backhoes, loaders and tractor implements. Last April, the company unveiled a new, $50 million headquarters facility in Grapevine, TX. That same month, the Gainesville operation, Kubota Manufacturing of America Corp. (KMA), opened a new assembly facility—its third—just three miles from its original campus. The 502,000-square-foot facility will produce Kubota’s RTV line of utility vehicles. The facility will be able to produce 75,000 vehicles annually.