If you know anything about heavy equipment for construction you’re familiar with the name Kubota. The company was founded in 1890 in Osaka, Japan and for much of its first 50 years was known primarily as a foundry, producing cast iron water pipes and the like. In 1953 they began making construction equipment and shortly thereafter, tractors for rice farming.
Once the company was firmly established in the agricultural machinery business it wasn’t a huge leap for them to expand into lawn mowers, which they did in the 1970s. Today, they produce an array of gas powered lawn mowers, with an emphasis - as you might imagine given their background in construction equipment - on riding mowers. In our Kubota lawn mowers reviews we’ll take a look at their mower offerings.
Our Kubota Lawn Mower Reviews
History of Kubota Lawn Mowers
Kubota is one of the largest industrial concerns in modern day Japan, but it had modest beginnings in the late 19th century as a foundry that produced things like cast iron water pipes. During the early part of the 20th century growth was slow and the company made only cautious forays into agricultural machinery and oil-based engines.
In the aftermath of World War II, however, Kubota adopted a more expansive view of its potential and began producing heavy equipment for the construction industry and tractors for agriculture. This became the company’s primary focus and they quickly gained substantial market share in both areas at home and abroad.
Expanding into riding lawn mowers during the 1970s seemed like a natural move for the company and they did so with typical determination. As their lawn care machinery gained more visibility in North America the company decided to follow the lead of Honda by opening a plant in the US to produce mowers for sale in the American market.
Today, the company employs 40,000 people worldwide and is a major player in both the heavy construction equipment business and the lawn mower sector. Their riding mowers in particular are very highly regarded and are popular with both professional landscapers and homeowners. If the company can be said to have a weakness it's in their failure to follow current environmental trends and embrace electric mower technology.
Still, their gas powered mowers and lawn tractors are typically well-engineered, well-built, reliable machines that have a dedicated following, and we take an in-depth look at them in our Kubota lawn mower reviews.
Where are Kubota Lawn Mowers Made?
As already mentioned, Kubota saw the kind of brand goodwill Honda produced by shifting production of their lawn mowers to America, and followed suit in the 1990s and early 2000s. Today, almost all Kubota lawn mowers sold in the United States are produced in the company’s massive 600,000 square foot factory in Gainesville, Georgia. That factory has undergone near continuous expansion and today provides good jobs for more than 1,200 Georgia residents.