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50 Years of Kubota

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For 50 years, Kubota has worked together with our customers to  power the American dream. At home. In the fields. On jobsites.  And in communities throughout the country. 

From the Beginning Kubota Today

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KUBOTA FROM THE BEGINNING

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KUBOTA CELEBRATES 50 YEARS OF POWERING AND EMPOWERING THE AMERICAN DREAM.

Kubota’s small but mighty tractors quickly filled an unmet need with the ‘do-it-yourselfers’ by delivering compact, capable, and easy-to-use tractors for residential customers.

The versatility, reliability and durability of Kubota’s affordable, compact tractors resonated with American customers who took pride in working on their properties and land and quickly became the number 1 selling residential tractor in the United States. Following the popularity of the residential tractor was the introduction of the compact excavator in 1979 – another industry first for empowering customers with construction projects that demand compact yet capable machines. These customers fueled the innovation of an expanded compact construction equipment line up and made Kubota the number 1 selling compact excavator brand in the United States. 

Whatever your dream, our goal has been to help you build, shape and grow it, on your land, for your business or in your community – at your side, for 50 years. Staying close to our dealers and listening to customers’ feedback has always helped to identify future needs, making us and our equipment better.

Kubota Today

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Today, Kubota’s iconic orange equipment can be found in every rural landscape, suburban neighborhood, and urban cityscape in America.

We are grateful for the part our equipment plays in farming and food production, in building and maintaining our communities, and in enhancing our overall way of life:

  • We plan our product growth on how we can help you grow – what began as one tractor model is now more than 200+ machines to help you accomplish more.
  • Today, our 1,100 dealers are committed to the needs of the communities they are in and the customers they serve.

Together, we strive to give back and support the communities where we live and work; that’s why we are significantly increasing our investment in the Kubota Hometown Proud Grant program in 2022. We're expanding five-fold to award $600,000 to cities, counties, or nonprofits to revitalize five local projects and bridging relationships with local Kubota dealers to connect resources to community projects and organizations in need.

That’s why we support current and past U.S. military service members who are serving their country a second time by feeding it through their pursuit of a career in agriculture. In partnership with the Farmer Veteran Coalition (FVC), Kubota’s flagship philanthropic program, “Geared to Give” gifts Kubota equipment to help service members pursuing a career in agriculture achieve self-sufficiency and take their farming operation to the next level.

Building for Tomorrow Together

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Constant evolution and innovation keep Kubota forward-looking and focused on working together to build a better future for us all.

Your needs spark our innovative product development and the advancements that continue to set Kubota apart. In fact, we lead the way for becoming the first to meet CARB Tier 4 Interim Emissions regulations for diesel engines in 2012. We have made significant investments in sustainable and LEED Gold-certified facilities, including our headquarters office, and we continue to invest. We have invested over $200 million in facilities in the U.S. to manufacture Kubota products and then efficiently distribute them to American customers across the country. Kubota employs nearly 6,000 people at over 15 facilities in the United States. Recent investments in U.S.-based R&D facilities deliver new technology and models to advance the ways you use our equipment today and in the future. 

Our goal is to help our dealers, our customers, and our communities navigate challenges and achieve more…for today, for the next 50 years, and well beyond. We will grow together, because “Together, we do more”.

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The Story 1890s - 2020s

1972
A few years later, Kubota Tractor Company was established in Compton City, California. With the introduction of the L225 and the L175 compact tractors, we were able to carve out a unique market niche — putting down roots in North America and setting the stage to reach success on new shores. And to this day, the creation of the compact L Series has established Kubota as a category leader with the L Series as our flagship product.

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1974
Kubota launched the B6000 — the first compact tractor to feature 4-wheel drive. That same year, Kubota won the Deming Prize for manufacturing excellence. Never before had this prestigious manufacturing award been won by an entry in the farm machinery category, but the manufacturing quality of Kubota couldn’t be denied.

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1979

Kubota expanded into construction machinery with the introduction of the KH Series line of fully rotating compact excavators and took our first steps into more traditional farm markets by launching the M Series tractor line — which introduced up to 72 PTO horsepower.  

1980
The Division Dealer Advisory Boards and the National Dealer Advisory Board were formed and held their first meetings. These meetings allowed dealers to work closely with Kubota’s senior leadership team to facilitate a thorough understanding of dealer and customer needs. Late that year, Kubota launched the B7100 tractor with an innovative hydrostatic transmission (HST) that enabled it to quickly become our biggest seller.

1982
Kubota Credit Corporation, or KCC, was introduced, making it easy for Kubota dealers to provide a wide variety of finance and lease programs to suit the needs of individual customers. That same year, the U.S. Engine Division was established within Kubota Tractor Corporation.

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1983
Kubota introduced the G5200H and G4200H diesel-powered lawn and garden tractor models and successfully broke into a new product category: turf.

1986

Kubota moved to grow our Turf Division with the introduction of the first T Series lawn tractor, the T1400, which offered 14 horsepower and a Kubota-built, air-cooled engine. At the same time, Kubota also launched the F Series tractor line with the F2000 — this was the first mower to feature 4-wheel drive.

1987
Just to prove our design expertise, Kubota introduced the first radio-controlled mower, the PX2100, with all-wheel and four-wheel drive.

1988
Kubota Manufacturing of America began in Gainesville, Georgia. At that time, production included front loaders and backhoes.

1993
Kubota built our 78,722-square-foot headquarters in Torrance, California to accommodate the company's continuing growth.

1994
The Grand L Series of mid-sized tractors with enhanced features was launched.  

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1995
The California Air Resources Board adopted stringent exhaust emission regulations for general use diesel engines below 2,500 horsepower. Kubota, however, had already been working to develop a clean diesel engine and became the first to clear these regulations with the ETV CS combustion chamber, which significantly reduced emissions. That same year, Kubota manufactured our first tractor in the U.S.  since 1979 — the T1460 luxury model lawn tractor.

1996

Kubota became an official equipment supplier for the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta — signifying our place as an industry leader to a global audience.

1997
Kubota reached the landmark achievement of having sold our 300,000th unit in the U.S.

1998
Kubota added the hydrostatic transmission to our popular Grand L Series tractors, which allowed for simpler and more efficient driver control.

1999
Kubota Engine of America, or KEA, was established to distribute and market Kubota-tough engines to other top-name manufacturers in various industrial equipment sectors.

2000
Kubota entered the 21st century with a 30% share of the market for tractors under 100 horsepower and kicked off another decade of innovation by bringing out not only the first zero-turn mowers for home use — the ZD18 and ZD21 — but also the first subcompact tractors, the BX Series. The BX2200 and the BX1800 were the first to provide tractor, loader and backhoe capabilities in an all-in-one subcompact system.

2003
Kubota reached 1.2 billion in sales.

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2004
Kubota entered the RTV market and exceeded sales expectations by an astounding 60% as a result of the decision to utilize technology from Kubota’s strongest area of expertise — tractors — to create a strong and easily controllable product that dominated the competition.

2005
Kubota Tractor Corporation manufactured our 1,000,000th tractor and Kubota Industrial Equipment, or KIE, was established in Jefferson, Georgia to manufacture tractor implements, promising continuing growth for Kubota tractor sales in North America.

2007
The real estate market suddenly plummeted and the U.S. economy entered the Great Recession — putting many home builders out of business. This was devastating to dealers, but Kubota worked hard to ensure they could ride the crisis out together. Kubota Tractor Acceptance Corporation, a Kubota-endorsed property damage insurance agency, was created to help boost dealers' sales by giving customers greater confidence despite the volatile time.

2009

Kubota continued to innovate despite the Great Recession and updated the KX121-3 super series compact excavator with new 6-in-1 blade technology.  

2010
Kubota entered the compact track loader market with two models: the 75-horsepower SVL75 and the 90-horsepower SVL90.

2012
Seeing the rising need to conserve the environment, Kubota led the way forward for all by becoming the first to meet Carb Tier 4 Interim Emission regulations for diesel engines with capacities up to 4 liters. That same year, Kubota expanded into the hay tools market by purchasing Kverneland Group, an agricultural manufacturer.

2013
Kubota-branded hay tools — like 5-disc mowers, rotary rakes, and spreaders — were released for the first time.

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2015
Kubota entered the skid steer market with the introduction of the SSV65 and SSV75, adding to our growing Construction Division. 

2016
The largest Kubota tractor yet, the M7, was released. We also expanded our partnership with Land Pride by agreeing to purchase Great Plains Manufacturing, Inc. and formed the Product Support Advisory Board to facilitate communication with dealers as Kubota grew.

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2017
The headquarters of Kubota Tractor Corporation moved to Grapevine, Texas — a more central location for the company’s continuing growth in the U.S.

2018
Kubota fueled our expansion into the Midwest by establishing the North American Distribution Center in Kansas and creating the Midwest Division. We also expanded our footprint in Texas with the addition of Kubota Ranch, which gave us a way to evaluate and test Kubota equipment in our own backyard. The same year saw the introduction of the Sidekick RTV — our fastest, strongest and most agile utility vehicle. 

2019
Kubota unveiled our largest tractor to date, the M8 Series. This breakthrough tractor line boasted over 200 horsepower.

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2020
The MX5400 cab tractor, a larger compact tractor that had been requested by dealers, was launched by Kubota and saw immediate popularity. When Kubota revealed another highly anticipated innovation at CONEXPO with the SCL1000 stand-on track loader, our leadership in the compact equipment and construction market couldn’t be questioned. Then the unexpected happened — a global pandemic caused an unprecedented health crisis in the U.S. and led to lockdowns across the country as the world raced to get the novel coronavirus under control. As the nation grappled with uncertainty and change, many found solace by reconnecting with the land. They found a warm welcome in our Kubota community, which expanded and grew to accommodate these new customers and the rapidly increasing demand for Kubota products.

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2021
Just six years after reaching 2 million units sold in 2015, Kubota reached the milestone of 3 million units sold and over 5 billion in sales in the U.S. — demonstrating Kubota’s continued commitment to investing and growing in North America.

2022
Kubota Research and Development of North American built two new facilities: one in Kansas focused on construction and one in Georgia focused on RTVs and mowers. With engineering offices, workshops and testing buildings, these facilities underscored Kubota’s commitment to manufacturing and innovating new products in North America for our dealers and customers.

 

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