Kubota Tractor Corp., the US marketer and distributor of Japan’s Kubota-engineered and manufactured machinery and equipment, finds that the 765,000-square-foot North American Distribution Center (NADC) it opened three years ago at Logistics Park Kansas City, a master-planned distribution and warehouse development in Edgerton, Kansas, is working well for the company.

The NADC serves as the company’s largest and primary distribution hub for Kubota parts and whole goods distribution across the United States and Canada. The facility, which is also the company’s largest in the world, is an extension to the company’s existing divisional operations located in Suwanee, Georgia; Fort Worth, Texas; Columbus, Ohio; and Lodi, California; which provide regional support to local Kubota dealers.

“Kubota dealers and customers have counted on Kubota to engineer high-quality products and deliver outstanding product support for more than 43 years,” says Masato Yoshikawa, president and CEO of Kubota Tractor Corp. “We remain committed to making strategic investments in infrastructure and personnel to meet and exceed expectations. This expansion ensures that we are well-equipped to support Kubota’s continued growth in the United States.”

Kubota exports to some 22 countries around the world. North America is an important market for the company, although Europe continues to be its biggest customer.

During a recent tour of the facility, a distribution centre manager explained how this parts distribution center streamlines Kubota’s operations and improves its parts delivery support, making sure that dealers and customers have the support they need when they need it. The company chose to locate in Kansas because of its strategic central location in North America and access to trade corridors such as Interstates 35 and 29, which run north and south to Canada and Mexico; and Interstate 70, which runs east and west across the United States.

Strategically located in the same development as a Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Railway Intermodal operation, which manages products delivered on ocean freight containers, Kubota’s NADC receives and process shipments from Asia and Europe, in addition to a number of daily truckloads of goods from suppliers in North America. Currently, the NADC is on target to import some 5,000 containers per year. Nearly all Kubota Construction Equipment sold in the United States moves through the company’s NADC.

“Eighty percent of the imports come from Japan,” the manager says. “Giving the NADC its biggest advantage is the fact it is one mile from the BNSF Railway’s Logistics Park Kansas City Intermodal Facility.”

The Logistics Park is a 1,700-acre master-planned distribution and warehouse development anchored by BNSF’s intermodal facility. Today it encompasses some 4 million square feet of distribution space utilized by companies such as Amazon, Jet.com, Excel and Kubota.

The NADC is also the worldwide source for many Kubota parts, which are exported globally from the site. Those parts come from locations that feed the NADC. Kubota Manufacturing of America in Gainesville, Georgia, manufactures and assembles Kubota lawn tractors, zero-turn mowers, sub-compact tractors, utility vehicles, loaders, backhoes and other implements. Its two buildings, totaling 616,000 square feet, manufacture approximately half of all Kubota-branded equipment sold in the United States. That facility is being expanded this year to increase production capacity by over 60% over five years. In Jefferson, Georgia, Kubota Industrial Equipment manufactures tractor implements including loaders and backhoes in its 440,000-square-foot facility. From Lincolnshire, Illinois, Kubota Engine of America operates as the company’s leading OEM of compact diesel and gasoline engines for industrial, agricultural, construction and generator applications.

Kubota executives explain that the NADC’s location at the Logistics Park improves Kubota’s access to its 1,100-strong dealer network by expanding overnight delivery services, improving shipping speed and accelerating response times. Additionally, the facility serves as a regional sales office for the company’s northern district within its Central Division, in line with Kubota’s commitment to strategically locate resources and personnel closer to customers and dealers.

“This particular location works well because it is one mile from intermodal connections,” the manager explains.

“By further streamlining our operations, the NADC allows us to realize efficiencies in receiving and processing shipments and improve our parts delivery support,” says Earl Johnson, senior director, parts and product resources for Kubota. “The NADC is a busy place, with the ability to receive and process more than 20 shipping containers a day. This distribution centre enables us to manage our stream of parts more effectively and improve parts delivery time, including an expanded geographical area to which we can deliver parts within 24 hours.”

“As Kubota’s business continues to grow and we enter new markets, we are committed to being equipped to meet our dealers’ and customers’ needs,” adds Yoshikawa.

By Karen E. Thuermer

Correspondent | Washington