Establishing a production center for an upland farming tractor in Europe — Releasing an upland farming tractor to make a full scale entry in the global field farming market —
December 4, 2013
Kubota Corporation (Head Office: Naniwa-ku, Osaka, Representative Director, Chairman, President & CEO: Yasuo Masumoto) will establish a new upland farming tractor manufacturing company in the Nord department, France, as part of the global strategy and will start mass production in April 2015. We are planning to accelerate the global development of the agricultural machine business by developing our upland farming tractor, producing them locally and making a full scale entry in the global upland farming market.
1. Outline of the new company
| Company name | Kubota Farm Machinery Europe S.A.S. (tentative name) |
|---|---|
| Establishment | January 2014 (plan) |
| Location | Bierne, Dunkerque precinct Nord department, France |
| Site area | Approx. 115,000 m2 (including the building area of approx. 37,000 m2) |
| Capital | 57,000,000 Euro (approx. 7.1 billion yen, exchange rate: 125 yen/Euro) |
| Investment | 100% Kubota |
| Total investment | 40,300,000 Euro (approx. 5 billion yen, exchange rate: 125 yen/Euro) |
| Business description | Manufacturing of upland farming tractors for Europe, North America, Australia and Japan |
| Production capacity | 3,000 units/year |
| Number of employees | Approx. 140 (plan for year 2017) |
| Start of production | Start of operation (plan): December 2014, Start of mass production (plan): April 2015 |
2. Background and purpose of new company establishment
- We have been contributing to society by developing our business in the fields of "food, water and environment" that are indispensable for human beings. For agricultural machines in particular, we have been expanding our business successfully in the rice cultivation market in Japan and Asia and the vegetable and fruits market and the dairy and livestock industry (including feed crop) in Europe and the United States.
- The cultivated area for rice that is one of the principal diets for people is only about 11% of the total cultivated area. On the other hand, the cultivate area for upland crops such as wheat, corn and soy bean occupies about 43% of the total cultivated area. Although 90% of rice is cultivated in Asia, upland crops are cultivated all around the world.
- If we want to continue to expand our business in the world including Asia in the medium and long terms while contributing to global food problems, we have to capture the upland crop market. Therefore, we are aiming to become an all-round agricultural machine manufacturer that can compete with global companies in both of the rice cultivation market and the upland crop market.
- Ahead of the entry into the upland crop market, we acquired Kverneland ASA, a tractor implement manufacturer in Norway, in May last year as our first step to the entry.
- In addition, as a step to make a full scale entry into the upland crop market, we are constructing a new tractor production plant in the Nord department, France. We are developing our upland farming tractor (130 to 170 horsepower), so we will start its production there.
3. Future plan
We will start mass production in April 2015. We are planning to produce 3,000 tractors by 2017.
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<Position of the new plant>
<Reference : Main bases of Agricultural Machinery in Europe>
- Kubota Europe S.A.S.
(Sales of tractors, construction machinery, engines, mowers and Utility Vehicles) - Kubota Europe S.A.S. Italy Branch
- Kubota (U.K.) Ltd.
(Sales of tractors, construction machinery, engines, mowers and Utility Vehicles) - Kubota (Deutschland) GmbH
(Sales of tractors, engines, mowers and Utility Vehicles) - Kubota (Deutschland) GmbH Poland Branch
- Kubota España S.A.
(Sales of tractors, mowers and Utility Vehicles) - Kverneland ASA
(Manufacturing and sales of tractor implements)