By Maddie Rehl
KUBOTA TRACTOR CORPORATION: A Golden Anniversary In 2004, Kubota introduced their RTV900 utility Kubota Tractor Corporation is celebrating 50 years •vehicle to the US market. They expected to sell 5,000 in the US. Since arriving in 1972, Kubota Tractor Corporation has expanded its innovative product lines throughout US markets. Kubota now offers extensive lines of lawn mowers, utility vehicles, construction, agriculture, and hay equipment. The first Kubota tractor available in the United States was the 21 horsepower, L200. This sub-compact tractor filled a product void in the US and quickly became a success. Kubota's evolution from that first L200 to the wide range of durable equipment we know today demands appreciation. In honor of their 50th anniversary, here is a quick look at Kubota Tractor Corporation over the years. • Kubota began with the aim of helping solve the world’s problems in food, water, and the environment. To this day, this remains Kubota’s vision. • Kubota’s research and development headquarters opened in 1984. They have focused on innovating and improving their products to better meet customer needs ever since. With their research and development, Kubota has maintained their focus of being a technology oriented company. • To better tailor products for the US, Kubota began manufacturing in Georgia, establishing Kubota Manufacturing of America in 1989. • In 1993, Kubota became the first in the world to meet the CARB ULG exhaust emission regulations of the US. Even before this, Kubota worked towards designing and manufacturing clean diesel engines, and they continue to do so today.
vehicles in the first year, but ended selling three times that amount. This utility vehicle became so popular because of Kubota’s innovation to convert technologies from its tractors to a strong and easily controllable side by side. • Kubota reached total tractor production of 3 million units in 2005. • Kubota Tractor Corporation relocated its headquarters from Torrance, California to Grapevine, Texas in 2017. This move was important for Kubota because they now are closely located to their major markets, manufacturing, assembly, and distribution facilities. They are now more apt to quickly respond to changes in the market and industry, thus streamlining operations and benefiting customers. In a sense, Great Plains Kubota has grown right alongside Kubota. Quickly approaching our 20th anniversary as a Kubota dealership, we began serving customers in Duncan, Shawnee, and Ada. Flashforward 20 years, and we are nearing the opening of our tenth Great Plains location in Okla. For the last 50 years Kubota Tractor Corporation has strived to innovate and create reliable and hard-working equipment to meet consumer needs. We at Great Plains have spent the last 20 years searching to find new and better ways to serve the equipment needs in communities across Oklahoma.
The Heart Of Kubota USA: An artistic rendering displays the Kubota USA headquarters in Grapevine, TX. Photo Courtesy Of: Kubota Tractor Corporation GPL Spring 2022
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