kubota History

1893 Began production of cast iron pipes for water supply.

In 1897 a customer, Toshiro Kubota, took a typically Japanese step to promote Oode's success.

His invention of a new method of producing cast-iron pipe in 1900 established his company's reputation.

He invented a jointless-type cylindrical outer mold to produce jointless cast pipes by the vertical round-melt casting method and set up mass production in 1901.

In 1904 war once again meant a boost for Japanese heavy industry and Kubota.

As this new venture was started on land roughly three times the size of the Funade-cho plant, this meant an end to the Funade-cho plant, a name which had existed since 1908.

Some of that production was sold abroad for the first time: in 1917 Kubota exported 2,000 tons of iron pipe to Java, beginning the company's entry into Southeast Asian markets.

1922 Started production of oil-based engines for agro-industrial purposes, settanki (fuel economizer: energy-saving equipment utilizing waste gas), and heat-resistant cast iron.

Kubota took over the Sumida Iron Works in Tokyo as a subsidiary in 1927 and thereby gained a major share of the pipe market.

The company expanded its presence in Southeast Asia in 1929, when it began to export pipes to Dutch territorial Indochina.

Incorporated As Kubota Limited in 1930

In 1932 it began to establish a name in Europe as well when it filled an order from Groningen, Holland, for 2,400 tons of 30-inch cast-iron pipes for a city waterworks project.

In 1937 the company opened the Sakai Engine Plant, the largest plant to that point in Asia.

In September 1940 Japan joined Germany and Italy in the Tripartite Pact, which divided Asia and Africa into spheres of influence.

1947 Developed the cultivator and initiated production and sales.

In 1952 the company entered the plant-construction business when it designed and constructed a cement-mixing plant for the Yoyokawa Agricultural Water Utilization Office of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.

1953 Changed corporate name from K.K. Kubota Tekko-jo to Kubota Tekko K.K. Established Kubota Kenki K.K. and entered the construction equipment industry.

In 1954 the company expanded its pipe manufacturing operations by adding asbestos cement pipe and vinyl pipe to its product list.

1955 Created a corporate slogan, "From country building to rice making".

In 1959 Kubota became the first Japanese company to develop a spiral-welded steel pipe.

Kubota went on to develop machinery especially suited for Japanese agriculture, culminating in the production of the first domestically produced tractor and a special tractor for rice cultivation in 1960.

1962 Full-scale entry into the environmental improvement business.Started production of paddy field tractors.

1963 Began production of vending machines.

1969 Launched a new corporate slogan, "Create an environment affluent to human beings". Started production of combines.

Although a renovation boom spread through Japan in 1972 based on the government’s “plan for remodeling the Japanese archipelago,” Kubota struggled because it was behind in the development of large cranes and pneumatic shovels.

For that reason, the company introduced TQC (Total Quality Control) in February 1974.

In February 1976, Kubota issued 7.5 million dollars of convertible bonds in a public offering in the United States.

A ceremony in October 1979 to commemorate the production of 700,000 Kubota tractors was held here.

1980 Received an order for an irrigation system from the state of Sharkia, Egypt, and worked on desert greening.

The certificate for the “1985 Nikkei Superior Trend-Setting Office Award”

1986 Started production of electronic circuit boards, hard discs, and radio-controlled lawnmowers.

Kubota expanded its computer interests in 1989 when its Ardent Computer Corporation merged with Stellar Computer to form Stardent Computer Inc., producer of graphics supercomputers.

Kubota promoted a different image for its centennial in 1990 by replacing the name Kubota Limited with Kubota Corporation.

First, in 1991, the $130 million the company had invested in Stardent and its predecessor companies failed to turn the venture around and Stardent's chairman decided to call it quits.

1992 Launched a new slogan, "Let's make our habitat more beautiful". Initiated the research and development of incineration plants with high-efficiency waste-generated power facility.

1993 Announced business guidelines "Vision for Our Second Century of Business" toward the 21st Century.

Kubota Graphics was likewise dissolved in 1994.

Meanwhile, the company received a boost from increased orders for earthquake-resistant ductile iron pipe and water storage tanks for emergency use, following the Great Hanshin Earthquake of 1995.

The efficiency of the Thame operation was recognised in 1996 when Kubota (U.K.) Limited was awarded ISO 9002 accreditation for its quality systems.

Citing increased competition and industry overproduction, Kubota withdrew from the hard drive business in 1997 when it sold Akashic Memories to StorMedia Inc. of Santa Clara, California, and it divested its stake in Maxoptix through a management buyout.

Below is a historical view of how Kubota engines and how KEA came to be established in 1998 in the United States.

Then, in 2000, Kubota shook the residential equipment market again when it went even smaller, creating the sub-compact tractor segment with the introduction of its BX Series.

2001 All of our domestic establishments acquired ISO 14001 certificates.

2002 Total production exceeded 20 million units for our industrial engine.

2009 Completed the first tractor production plant for a Japanese company in Thailand.(Siam Kubota Tractor Co.,Ltd.) Completed a ductile iron pipe plant in India.(Tata Metaliks Kubota Pipes Limited (TMKPL))

2016 Established new R&D center dedicated to Agricultural Machinery in Thailand.

Kubota launched the B01 Series with the B2301 and B2601 in 2019; now, the B2401 rounds-out the compact tractor series with a wider range of industry-leading power and comfort features.