Kubota

Kubota’s road to orange started far from the field. The company began in 1890 as a small Osaka foundry started by Gonshiro Kubota, first known for cast iron products (soon including water pipes). Decades before it built tractors, Kubota also became an engine maker, introducing a kerosene engine for agriculture in 1922. Kubota Global Site+1

Japan’s first wave (1960s): built for Japanese farms

Responding to post-war labor shortages and the need for compact, affordable machines, Kubota developed and commercialized its T15 rider-driven tractor in 1960—a fully domestic design tuned for Japan’s small upland fields. Two years later, Kubota followed with the L15/L15R for rice-field work. These machines set Kubota’s design DNA: light, efficient diesel power in compact frames that fit narrow plots and terraces.

Crossing the Pacific (1969–1972): the compact that clicked

Kubota introduced its first tractor to the United States in 1969, the 21-hp L200. It filled a gap for a true compact diesel tractor and quickly found an audience among small farms, acreages, landscapers, and municipalities. To support the momentum, Kubota formed Kubota Tractor Corporation (KTC) in 1972 (Compton, California) as its first overseas tractor sales base.

Building in America (1988–today)

Kubota didn’t just sell into North America—it built here. In 1988 the company opened Kubota Manufacturing of America (KMA) in Gainesville, Georgia, initially producing loaders and backhoes and later expanding into tractors, mowers and utility vehicles; in 2004 Kubota added Kubota Industrial Equipment (KIE) in Jefferson, Georgia to enlarge U.S. tractor production. KMA celebrated its one-millionth U.S. unit in 2015. In 2017, Kubota moved its U.S. headquarters from Torrance, California, to Grapevine, Texas.

Product milestones that shaped the brand

  • Early compacts: In the 1970s Kubota’s small-frame tractors helped popularize diesel compacts in North America. A good example is the B6000 (1973–77), which anchored the growing “small but capable” niche that Kubota would make its own.

  • BX: the sub-compact breakthrough (2000): With the BX1800/BX2200 launch in 2000, Kubota effectively created the modern sub-compact tractor category: a diesel tractor with 3-point hitch and PTO that also mows like a lawn tractor and fits in a garage. The BX line has remained a cornerstone of Kubota’s lineup.

  • L-Series longevity: Through continual refreshes, the L-Series became Kubota’s volume workhorse for small farms and property owners—clean-sheet compacts that stayed focused on reliability and simple operation. (Kubota still highlights compact tractors as core offerings today.)

  • Going big: M7 and European production (2015): To compete in higher-horsepower row-crop segments, Kubota launched the M7 series and opened a new European tractor plant in Bierne, France to build large upland farming tractors.

  • Automation era: In Japan and Europe, Kubota has showcased Agri Robo guidance and autonomy features across tractors and combines—evidence that precision tech is now table stakes even for “compact specialists.”

Implements and ecosystem: buying capabilities, not just horsepower

Kubota expanded from tractors into the full hay/forage and tillage stack by acquiring Norway’s Kverneland Group in 2012 and U.S. manufacturer Great Plains Manufacturing (Land Pride) in 2016. Those deals gave Kubota a global implement lineup that matches its tractor range from sub-compact to row-crop.

Corporate moves that mattered

  • 1972: KTC founded in California to distribute/finance tractors and equipment.

  • 2017: U.S. HQ relocation to Grapevine, Texas, reflecting the company’s long-term investment in North America.

Why Kubota changed the conversation

Kubota didn’t try to outmuscle prairie four-wheel-drives; instead, it perfected the compact. By bringing small, efficient diesel tractors to the U.S., then building a domestic manufacturing base and a full ecosystem of implements, Kubota made year-round tractor ownership practical for homeowners, landscapers, hobby farms and specialty growers. Today the company offers everything from sub-compacts to 170-hp M7s—plus implements to match—while continuing to emphasize reliability and easy operation.