Kubota Corp.

History

Year	Detail
1890	Kubota Corp. was founded in 1890 in Osaka, Japan, by Gonshiro Kubota. Initially, the company specialized in producing cast iron pipes for waterworks before expanding into various types of machinery, including agricultural and construction.
1897	Toshiro Kubota, the owner of “Kubota Match Machine Manufacturers," adopted Gonshiro Ohde as his son. Therefore, he changed his surname to Kubota, and the Ohde Casting Iron Works was renamed the “Kubota Iron Works.”
1917	The company established the Okajima plant (Currently Okajima Business Center) in Taisho-ku, Osaka City, Japan, to manufacture castings, iron pipes, and machinery.
1920	The company established “Jitsuyo Jidosha Co., Ltd” to manufacture practical vehicles suitable for Japan. Later, Kubota purchased a patent from an American visiting Japan and started production of the “Gorham three-wheeled car.”
1922	The company started manufacturing kerosene engines inside the Funade-cho plant for agro-industrial use.
1924	The company acquired a limited partnership company, Sagawa Seikojo, and opened the Ichioka plant at Minato-ku, Osaka City.
1927	The company acquired Sumidagawa Iron Works Co., Ltd. to expand the iron pipe department.
1937	As the company acquired Tobata Engines in 1933, the demand for engine production also increased. So, the company opened the Sakai Plant (currently: Sakai production plant) exclusively for engine production in Ishizu-cho, Sakai City.
1953	The company entered the construction machinery industry with the establishment of “Kubota Construction Machinery Co., Ltd.”
1957	Kubota established Brazil Kubota Limited Company, the company's first overseas expansion after the Brazil war.
1962	The company opened the Hirakata Machinery plant and Steel Casting plant (currently: Hirakata plant) in Hirakata City, Osaka Prefecture, and entered the environmental improvement business for water supply, sewerage systems, etc.
1972	The company created the Kubota Tractor Corporation (KTC) in Compton City, California, as a joint operation with the Marubeni Corporation, an export partner.
1974	The “Kubota Tractor Sales Europe” limited company was established in France as a joint venture with the Marubeni Corporation.
1990	The company was renamed the Kubota Corporation as its business had spread to iron pipes, various types of machinery, and many other new fields, and the “Kubota Casting Works” name no longer reflected its nature.
2001	With the establishment of “Kubota Membrane Europe Ltd.” (KME) in London, the company actively expanded the overseas business for submerged membranes.
2003	The company established a Special Subsidiary, “Kubota Works.” A Special subsidiary is recognized as giving special consideration to the employment of persons with disabilities.
2003	Kubota integrated its roofing and siding business with Matsushita Electric (currently Panasonic Electric) and established a new company called Kubota Matsushitadenko Exterior Works Ltd. This enabled the company to achieve the top share in roofing materials in Japan.
2005	Kubota’s composite pipe division and C.I. Kasei Co., Ltd.’s synthetic resin department were integrated to create “Kubota C.I. Co., Ltd.”
2007	Siam Cement Group joint ventured with the company to establish the main plant of the “Siam Kubota Tractor Co., Ltd.” in Chonburi Province, Thailand. It mass-produced 30-horsepower and 36-horsepower tractors for the Thai domestic market.
2007	“Tata Metaliks Kubota Pipes Limited” (TMKPL) was established as a joint venture between Kubota, Tata Metaliks Limited from India, and the Metal One Corporation from Japan to produce ductile iron pipes for the Indian market.
2011	The company established two water treatment companies, Kubota Guozhen Environmental Engineering (ANHUI) Co., Ltd. and Kubota Environmental Engineering (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., to achieve strategic business expansion in the rapidly growing Chinese market.
2011	The company established the Kubota Rice Industry (H.K.) Co., Ltd., to import, mill, and distribute Japanese rice in Hong Kong.
2012	The company acquired Kverneland AS, a Norwegian manufacturer of tractor implements, and made it a subsidiary.
2012	The company acquired Fujikasui Engineering Co., Ltd., a water treatment engineering company, and made it the wholly-owned subsidiary of Kubota Kasui Corporation.
2013	Kubota Procurement and Trading (Thailand) Co., Ltd. was established in Thailand to produce tractors, combine harvesters, and engines.
2013	SIAM KUBOTA Corporation Co., Ltd. (SKC), a joint-venture subsidiary of KUBOTA and a Thai corporation, established Kubota (Cambodia) Co., Ltd. in Cambodia and Kubota Laos Sole Co., Ltd. in Laos with 100% investments in each.
2014	The company established Kubota Farm Machinery Europe S.A.S. in the Dunkerque region of France and entered the dry field grain market.
2015	The company established the first research and development base for water and environment outside of Japan in the City of Canton, Ohio, USA, to strengthen Kubota's water treatment technology.
2016	Kubota U.S.A., Inc., the subsidiary of Kubota Corp., acquired Great Plains Manufacturing, Inc., a U.S. farm implement manufacturer, for $430 million.
2017	The company established Kubota Myanmar Co., Ltd. to strengthen its dealer network and service systems and expand its farm machinery business.
2018	Kubota Corp. established a new research and development hub in Europe to accelerate the development of upland farming tractors in various parts of Europe and further expand Kubota’s tractor business.
2018	Kubota Corp. and Escorts Limited formed a joint venture to manufacture high-end tractors and collaborate on technology.
2020	The company collaborated with Microsoft Corp. to migrate its IT infrastructure and SAP mission-critical systems onto Microsoft Azure’s trusted cloud platform.
2020	Kubota Corporation partnered with Aurea Imaging, a Dutch start-up developing “crop Intelligence” products to demonstrate the feasibility of autonomous orchard and vineyard farming systems that combine Kubota’s machine technology with Aurea’s crop intelligence technology.
2021	The company signed the contract for the Pursat City Water Supply System Expansion project in Cambodia, which will provide Pursat City residents with a stable supply of safe potable water and improve their living environment.
2021	The company partnered with Accenture to accelerate its digital transformation by evolving its business model to further contribute to food, water, and environmental sustainability solutions.
2021	The company collaborated with Topcon Positioning Systems, Inc., for a research agreement in intelligent agriculture.
2022	To expand its business in this market, the company acquired Brabender Technologie GmbH & Co. KG, a manufacturer of gravimetric feeders for continuous feeding.
2022	Kubota Corporation and Accenture formed a joint venture company called Kubota Data Ground, Inc. to accelerate the digital transformation of Kubota's business model and infrastructure.
2023	Kverneland AS, a subsidiary of Kubota Corp., acquired B.C. TECHNIQUE AGRO-ORGANIQUE SAS, a French manufacturer of agricultural machine equipment, to strengthen its mechanical weeding products business.
2023	The company established Kubota Rice Industry (Hawaii) Inc., a Japanese rice importing, milling, and sales company, in Oahu, Hawaii, U.S., to increase the export of Japanese rice.
2024	Kubota Corporation and Kurimoto, Ltd. started developing a continuous production system for secondary battery electrode slurry that combines a feeder to feed a constant flow of raw materials and a twin-screw kneader to mix raw materials evenly.
2024	Kubota Corp. and its U.S. holding company, Kubota North America Corp., acquired Bloomfield Robotics, Inc.. As a subsidiary of KNA, this U.S. startup company uses image analysis and AI technology to determine optimal specialty crop harvest timing and provide yield prediction services.

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