Kubota has continued its commitment to grow its European operations with the opening of what will be its largest manufacturing hub in Europe.
The Japanese firm has committed over 40,000,000 Euro to develop a new upland-farming tractor manufacturing base in the Nord department, France, with mass production set to begin April 2015.
The move is in line with Kubota’s desire to accelerate the global growth of its agricultural machinery business by developing a locally produced (in Europe) upland farming tractor, which will launch Kubota’s full scale entry into the global upland farming market.
Kubota has earmarked the manufacture of 3,000 tractors in the first two years of production. Operations are set to commence at the end of this year (December 2014), and construction on the new facility is already underway.
This significant investment demonstrates Kubota’s long-term commitment to the European market, which has also had a positive knock-on effect for Kubota UK too, with the global head office solidifying its commitments to the UK arm of the business. Alongside construction works in France, an extension of Kubota’s UK HQ in Thame will get underway at the end of this year, which will usher in a wholesale increase in its current operations.
The expansion of the UK operation centres around Kubota’s warehousing facility, which, once developments are complete, will improve the company’s logistical efficiency. Kubota is also further expanding its training school, readying itself for the arrival of the new larger tractors. Additional investment has been earmarked to upgrade existing buildings.
The news has been enthusiastically welcomed by Dave Roberts, Kubota UK’s Managing Director, who commented on the announcement: “We’re delighted that Kubota has made such a significant long-term commitment to its European arm of the business. The new French factory will allow us [Kubota UK] to penetrate new markets and we predict this will have a big impact on the UK sales.
“Thame has been Kubota UK’s home for 35 years this year, so its fitting that the announcement should be made now, amid our on-going anniversary celebrations. Over a hundred workers are employed here in Thame and the UK operation is central to the European business, so it’s great that a willingness to continue investment has been shown.
“Kubota is already going from strength to strength across its tractor and groundcare business and with increased capacity to assemble and hold machines here in the UK, the potential to build on our excellent reputation in this country is huge.”
Kubota www.kubota.co.uk