Kubota Corporation (Head Office: Naniwa-ku, Osaka, Japan; President and Representative Director: Yuichi Kitao; hereinafter "Kubota") will expand the production capabilities of its Hirakata Plant, which is its main mini excavator manufacturing facility in Japan. Kubota will increase its annual production capabilities from 48,000 to 78,000 units by constructing a new building to handle painting assembly, and other manufacturing processes. These new production capabilities will ensure Kubota can not only address the high demand in Europe and North America but also the future demand it foresees in Asia and other emerging markets.

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1. Background and Objectives

• Mini excavators are designed as compact construction machinery used for excavation and other construction work in urban areas. As the top market shareholder in Japan and the rest of the world, Kubota manufactures these construction machines in Germany and China (Wuxi) centered upon the Hirakata Plant.
  • Source: Off-Highway Research 2021
• The COVID-19 pandemic has driven a migration to suburbs and in turn a more residential construction. It has also generated high demand due to an increase in construction backed by infrastructure investments and urban development by countries throughout the world. In the future, Kubota anticipates this growth in demand to continue primary in Europe and North America.
• To respond to this high demand, Kubota will increase its annual production capabilities from 48,000 to 78,000 units by facility a new building at its Hirakata Plant, which is its main mini excavator manufacturing facility. This new facility will take over part of painting and assembly processes, which will greatly improve production capabilities by creating space to expand existing assembly lines and bring in more machining and welding equipment.
• The new painting process adopts an environmentally friendly powder painting that minimizes paint loss and significantly reduces volatile organic compounds (VOC) in addition to the electrodeposition painting, which is superior in rust prevention. Kubota will even reuse the heat generated by these coating processes and employ solar power generation equipment installed on the roof of the new building to reduce the environmental impact of its manufacturing processes.

2. New Building Overview

Start of operations	Assembly line – October 2024; Painting line – October 2025
Investment	Approx. JPY 17 billion
Total floor area	12,150m2

Reference: Hirakata Plant Overview

Address	1-1-1 Nakamiya-Oike, Hirakata-shi, Osaka, 573-8573, Japan
Employees	Approx.1,170(as of January 1, 2022)
Production items	Construction machinery, pumps, valves, and cast steel products.

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