As Texas emerges as a center of innovation for several industries such as agriculture, computer science, and energy, Japan-based Kubota Tractor Corp. moved its U.S. headquarters from California to the Dallas-Fort Worth area as part of its growth and diversification plan.
“Communication has become more complicated. The different types of resources we need and the number of employees are increasing. So even if we built our own facility in California, it wouldn’t be large enough and we would have to relocate somewhere,” explained President and CEO Masato Yoshikawa.
Kubota’s most important objective was to get closer to its customers.
“Almost 90 percent of our business lies in the area between the East Coast and the Rockies. Originally, California was a big market for us, but, as of today Texas, New England, Florida and Georgia are major parts of our business. To reach our customers, we need to locate ourselves much closer to our customers so that we can have better communication,” Yoshikawa said.
While the states on the West Coast are still very important, Texas is located at the center of Kubota’s client network.
“We should locate ourselves in the center of the United States so that we can reach major cities within a two to three-hour ride. That is also very beneficial because the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport is a hub of a major airline. We can easily fly to any city we want,” he said.
Another objective was to access a bigger talent pool. Kubota needed more employees as part of its expansion and Texas possessed many young and talented workers.
While Kubota’s decision is based on an aggressive growth plan, the company is also stepping up efforts to build a sustainable business, which will see it implement effective resource management, contribute to materials recycling and lessen the output of harmful chemicals, among other things.
