Kubota

1893: Began production of cast iron pipes for water supply.

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

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

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

1904: War once again meant a boost for Japanese heavy industry and Kubota.

1908: 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 this year.

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

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. This year the first kerosene engine was introduced for use in the agricultural market.

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

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

1930: Incorporated As Kubota Limited, the company underwent a reorganization to insure that it would continue to be successful when its self-made founder was no longer managing.

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.

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

1940: In September, 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.

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.

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".

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

1960: 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.

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.

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

1974: For that reason, the company introduced TQC (Total Quality Control) in February. The “Kubota Tractor Sales Europe” limited company was established as a joint venture with the Marubeni Corporation in France. That company went on to become a base for tractor exports to other European countries as well as France, including West Germany, Holland and Switzerland.

1976: In February, Kubota issued 7.5 million dollars of convertible bonds in a public offering in the United States. In November, the Sakai production plant and the internal combustion machinery research headquarters were awarded the Deming Prize, the first such achievement in the agricultural machinery industry.

1979: A ceremony in October to commemorate the production of 700,000 Kubota tractors was held here. A new construction machinery division was created to bring together the technology, sales and manufacturing of the products. An excavator assembly and inspection line opened exclusively for compact construction machinery

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

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

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

1989: Kubota expanded its computer interests when its Ardent Computer Corporation merged with Stellar Computer to form Stardent Computer Inc., a producer of graphics supercomputers. This year they participated in desert greening projects, the Sahil Greenbelt Plan and the Green Earth Plan.

1990: Kubota promoted a different image for its centennial by replacing the name Kubota Limited with Kubota Corporation. This year they celebrated 100 years in business.

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 facilities.

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

1994: Kubota Graphics was likewise dissolved.

1995: 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. Also, started the Environmental Audit System for environmental protection in accordance with standards stricter than existing laws and regulations and towards continuous environmental improvement.

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

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

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

2000: Then, 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 the 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 a new R&D centre dedicated to Agricultural Machinery in Thailand.

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

2020: Early this year, Kubota unveiled its newest compact tractor, the B2401, adding two models to its popular B01 Series of compact tractors – the B2401DT and the B2401DT Narrow.