Kubota breaks ground on Grapevine location
Kubota Tractor Corporation broke ground at its new $50 million corporate headquarters location in Grapevine on Oct. 20 as city officials welcomed the company’s expanded presence in the area.
Kubota officials said the three-story office building of approximately 125,000 square feet, plus a 68,000 square foot research and development facility, will place Kubota’s leadership and professional staff closer to Kubota’s major markets and its manufacturing, assembly and distribution facilities in Georgia and Kansas.
By centrally locating more of its operations, they said, Kubota will be able to respond more quickly to changes in markets and the industry, and streamline its operations for both dealer and customer benefit.
Kubota wanted to be in Grapevine, Texas, as much as we wanted them to be in our community.
Mayor William D. Tate said at the Kubota groundbreaking
The new headquarters will be an environmentally-friendly, state-of-the-art building large enough to initially accommodate 400 employees with room to expand, and will be designed to maximize work efficiencies and conserve resources in alignment with Kubota’s global brand statement, “For Earth, For Life.”
Masato Yoshikawa, president and chief executive of Kubota Tractor Corporation (KTC), said 2015 has been a “momentous year” for Kubota.
“Just this month, we celebrated 2 million units sold in the U.S., and last week our sister company in Georgia, Kubota Manufacturing of America held a special ceremony to mark 1 million units of Kubota tractors, mowers and utility vehicles produced in the U.S,” Yoshikawa said.
He said they have 123 employees in Texas and with the relocation of their headquarters to Grapevine, combined with their continued business growth, they will bring more than 300 new jobs to the area.
Kubota Tractor Corp. and Kubota Credit Corp. are moving their headquarters from Torrance, Calif., to a 25-acre site northeast of Grapevine Mills mall on city-owned property. The companies are subsidiaries of Kubota Corp. in Osaka, Japan.
The land is part of 185 acres formerly owned by ex-Texas Rangers player Rafael Palmeiro that the city bought in late 2013. It is located at Texas 121, Grapevine Mills Boulevard and Grapevine Mills Parkway.
“Kubota wanted to be in Grapevine, Texas, as much as we wanted them to be in our community,” Mayor William D. Tate said at the groundbreaking.
He said the “competition was great” in “bringing an international company to Texas,” including competing with North Carolina, Georgia and Kansas.
Kubota Tractor is the U.S. marketer and distributor of machinery and equipment, performance-matched implements, compact and utility-class construction equipment, consumer lawn and garden equipment, hay tools and spreaders, commercial turf products and utility vehicles.
“Our future headquarters in Grapevine — right here on this site in the great state of Texas — is a critical part of that plan. Kubota’s more than $50 million dollar investment in this project demonstrates our commitment to being here,” Yoshikawa said. “I sincerely look forward to our upcoming move to Grapevine and to being a part of this great community as a well-respected corporate citizen.”
Marty Sabota, 817-390-7367
This story was originally published October 27, 2015 at 9:33 AM with the headline "Kubota breaks ground on Grapevine location."