When you’re a tractor company, it probably makes sense to have some testing and proving grounds. Kubota believes just that. Recently, Kubota Tractor Corporation acquired 318 acres in Ponder, TX. The property is just 30 miles from their North American headquarters in Grapevine, TX. This new property dubbed the Kubota Ranch will allow dealers to visit for previews and hands-on experience with Kubota products. Furthermore, this strengthens the company’s bond with the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
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Kubota Ranch Plans
With more than 300 acres, this will give Kubota plenty of room for digging, excavating, plowing, and any other tractor stuff they can dream up. Dealers will get to test new equipment and learn with hands-on demos. They’re even talking about eventually growing, mowing and baling hay on the Kubota Ranch.
In addition to the land, four small utility buildings already located on the property will stay, offering some amenities for visiting Kubota dealers. A longer-term vision includes additional construction, expanding the amenities provided to the dealers.
“Kubota has considered a land purchase of this nature for quite some time, and with our Grapevine headquarters in such close proximity, the opportunity to expand our operations and research and development capabilities here in the greater Dallas-Fort Worth region makes solid business sense,” said Masato Yoshikawa, Kubota Tractor Corporation president and CEO. “With this land, we will now be able to expand our physical footprint and build out our vision for the ranch to evaluate and test our equipment. Best of all, we can bring our dealers to Dallas to unveil and operate our new products, versus creating the experience for them in various cities around the country – it’s exciting that we can now offer this experience here at home in our own backyard.”
At the moment, the Kubota Ranch does not plan to include manufacturing or distribution at the Ponder, TX location. Kubota is setting their site on the Ranch being strictly for showing off new equipment and catering to dealers.
Our Thoughts on the Kubota Ranch
We’re always encouraged when we see companies expanding in the United States. Additionally, we like to see when products, especially OPE, get hands-on testing from those who sell and distribute them. This knowledge permeates and flows through the dealer, to the consumer. We also anticipate the Kubota Ranch as a great place for a media event, and we look forward to the invite.