Alex Woods, a 25-year Kubota veteran and current head of Supply Chain Management at KNA, will succeed Stucke as President of KTC.

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News of the coming policy was first covered by Ag Equipment Intelligence on May 15. Some of the purposes given in the memo for the new policy included:
• Promote healthy intra-brand balance and maintain a strong market presence on a state and national level – all for the benefit of Kubota customers. • Over concentration within a designated geographical area can leave our dealer network, customers, and overall market representation vulnerable with a sudden change in ownership, market/brand focus, or overall community image.

Source: | Member since 1970

Revenue from the Farm & Industrial Machinery segment, which included farm equipment, agriculture related products, engines and construction equipment, accounted for 87.3% of Kubota’s consolidated revenue at $17.5 billion. 

In North America, revenue increased from the prior year. Sales of construction machinery increased thanks to firm demand for housing construction and infrastructure development by the government, although the Company struggled with tractor business due to weak residential market, it said.

2024 Forecast

Kubota is forecasting its consolidated revenue for 2024 to increase by $194.5 million to $20.25 billion. In the domestic market, revenue in Farm & Industrial Machinery is expected to decrease slightly as the prior year due to high agricultural production costs. In the overseas market, demand for construction machinery is expected to be solid and sales of farm equipment are also expected to be firm mainly in India although there are regional differences.

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Under the terms of the agreement, ZeroNox and KBT have entered a product development agreement to electrify select undisclosed products. Further details of the products included in the product development agreement will be disclosed at a later date.

ZeroNox recently signed a definitive business combination agreement with The Growth for Good Acquisition Corp., a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company, that is expected to result in ZeroNox becoming publicly listed. Completion of the transaction is subject to approval by Growth for Good’s shareholders and other customary closing conditions.

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The MOUs, which were negotiated independently with each manufacturer, follow similar agreements AFBF entered into with John Deere and CNH Industrial Brands earlier this year. Combined, the four MOUs cover roughly 70% of the agricultural machinery sold in the United States.

“The American Farm Bureau Federation is pleased to announce new agreements with AGCO and Kubota,” said AFBF President Zippy Duvall. “Farmers and ranchers urged us to find a private sector-solution to the challenges of repairing their own equipment. These agreements represent ongoing efforts to ensure farmers have access to the tools necessary to keep their equipment running, and to keep food on the table for families across America.”

AGCO Vice President of Customer Support Barry O’Shea said, “AGCO’s farmer-first focus guides us in everything we do, and we support farmers’ ability to repair the equipment they own. We are dedicated to being their most trusted partner for smart farming solutions, and this MOU with Farm Bureau is an outcome of that commitment. We appreciated the American Farm Bureau’s diligence, and we will continue delivering tools farmers can use to diagnose, maintain, and repair their AGCO machinery.”

Todd Stucke, Senior Vice President of Marketing for Kubota Tractor Corporation, said, “Kubota is pleased to join the AFBF in signing a memorandum of understanding to ensure our customers are empowered with the information and tools needed to safely maintain, diagnose and make repairs on their own equipment.

“Through our network of over 1,100 dealers, Kubota makes available the shop tools, parts, guides and manuals to owners who choose to work directly on their machines. We strive to ensure that our equipment is manufactured to the highest engineering standards to maximize performance for our customers, and this agreement is a good step toward further protecting their safety while operating, maintaining and repairing it.”

The MOUs respect the intellectual property rights of the manufacturers while setting a framework for farmers and independent repair facilities in all 50 U.S. states and Puerto Rico to access AGCO and Kubota manuals, tools, product guides and information to self-diagnose and self-repair machines, as well as support from the manufacturers to directly purchase or lease diagnostic tools and order products and parts.

Read the complete AGCO MOU .

Read the complete Kubota MOU .

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Domestic revenue decreased by $3 million (+0.1%) from the prior year to $4.5 billion due to decreased revenue in Farm & Industrial Machinery, mainly farm equipment, and Other, while revenue in Water & Environment increased.  

Overseas revenue increased by $3.6 billion (+30.3%) from the prior year to $15.5 billion because of increased revenue in both of Farm & Industrial Machinery and Water & Environment. As a result, overseas revenue accounted for 77.5% of consolidated revenue, which increased by 4.9 percentage points from the prior year. Total revenue from Kubota’s Farm Equipment & Engines segment was $13.58 billion in 2022, up 23.5% year-over-year.

North American revenue came in at $8.21 in 2022, up 34.4% from $6.11 billion in 2021. Revenue from the U.S. specifically was $7.24 billion for 2022.

Amid turmoil in supply chains and the weak yen, many Japanese manufacturers are bringing production back to Japan, but Kubota is increasing investments in countries like the U.S. and India. It seeks to raise its offshore production ratio to 50% from current 30%.

What is Kubota transferring production?

“Overseas accounts for more than 70% of our sales. We need to adopt local production for local consumption to cut the lead time for delivering products to customers. We want to shield our supply system from foreign exchange swing as much as possible,” said Kitao. “Even if we wanted to return production to Japan, there is a labor shortage to deal with, and labor costs are on the high side. The price of imported steel and energy costs are also rising. The weak yen is starting to have a negative impact on production.”

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Townline will offer the full line of Kubota products at the Greenville location including tractors, compact construction equipment, utility vehicles, turf and hay products. Townline will also be offering products from Land Pride, Husqvarna, Cummings and Bricker, Bush Hog, and more.

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Dignitaries including U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran, Gov. Laura Kelly, Great Plains President and CEO Linda Salem and executives from the Kubota Corporation, the Japanese parent company of Salina-based Great Plains, joined others on stage for the ceremonial Kagami biraki to “offer good fortune” as the facility celebrated this new chapter.

“A little over two years ago, we announced that we were purchasing this building and established our (construction equipment) division in the Great Plains Manufacturing family,” Salem said.

This grand opening marked the continued success of Kansas, and Salina, in bringing economic development to the community from partners around the globe.

Yuichi Kitao, president and representative director of Kubota, traveled to Salina from Japan to offer some remarks about the opening of the facility.

“It is a great honor to celebrate the opening of the GPM construction equipment with (other guests),” Kitao said. “I would like to express my sincere gratitude to those who have been involved in launching (this facility).”

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A major challenge in developing electric tractors has been ensuring hours of continuous operation. The LXe-261 is equipped with a large-capacity battery that can provide rapid one hour charging and an average 3-4 hours of continuous operation. Rapid charging over lunch for afternoon use after exhausting the batteries during morning work responds to the usage needs of local customers discovered through the LXe-261 tractor trails.

The LXe-261 also realizes the output necessary for mowing, hauling, and other green space management work in parks and other natural reserves. It even offers almost the same compact size as tractors with diesel engines.