Kubota To Purchase Great Plains

Kubota Corp. has made a significant move toward its goal of becoming a full-line farm equipment supplier with its pending purchase of planting and tillage equipment specialist Great Plains Manufacturing Inc. Once final, the purchase will include all five Great Plains divisions. Terms of the sale were not disclosed.

Based in Salina, Kan., Great Plains was founded in 1976 and has been family-owned since that time. It employs more than 1400 people in eight locations in Kansas and Sleaford, England. Its divisions are Great Plains Ag, seedbed preparation, nutrient application, and seed placement equipment; Land Pride, grounds maintenance tools such as tillers, rotary cutters and zero-turn mowers; Great Plains Intl., which sells the company’s products; Great Plains Trucking, which operates a nationwide fleet of flatbed trucks; and finance company Great Plains Acceptance Corp.

For the foreseeable future all five Great Plains divisions will continue to operate as they have been, said Kubota.

“Once final, this acquisition is going to lead to great advancements for both businesses without being a significant change for our people,” said Todd Stucke, senior vice president of sales, marketing and product support, Kubota Tractor Corp., Torrance, Calif. “We intend to respect the distinctiveness of the brands, trademarks and operational strengths. Doing so will allow employees, dealers and customers to do business with the same great companies they have come to know and trust.”

The two companies have worked together since 2007, when they entered into a marketing alliance for the Land Pride division. Through the partnership Land Pride’s three-point implements are “performance matched” with Kubota tractors and are sold through its dealers in the U.S. and Canada.

“This acquisition aligns with our long-term strategic vision to continue our market expansion and provide high-quality products and comprehensive solutions for our customers,” said Masato Yoshikawa, president and CEO, Kubota Tractor Corp. “Great Plains and Kubota share a common set of values in that we both were founded four decades ago on a reputation for quality, innovation and engineering excellence. We believe these synergies will continue to add value for our dealers and our customers for many years to come.”

Great Plains Founder and Chairman Roy Applequist will reportedly remain on the leadership team. “My plan is to play a significant role in helping Great Plains become a vital part of the Kubota family,” he said. “Great Plains’ leadership position in the agricultural implement business has been earned by striving to do our best in satisfying our customers’ needs, and we are confident that teaming up with Kubota will allow us to continue to uphold this tradition.”

The acquisition will build on Kubota’s presence in Kansas. Last summer, the company opened its North American Distribution Center in Edgerton, which it said will serve as the primary distribution hub for Kubota parts and whole goods distribution across the U.S. and Canada.

The purchase of Great Plains is one of a number of recent moves that support the company’s expansion into the agricultural market. In 2012, Kubota acquired Kverneland Group, one of Western Europe’s largest farm machinery manufacturers and a pioneer in precision farming technology. Two years ago Kubota Tractor Corp. introduced the M7 Series of mid-range tractors with horsepower ratings up to 170 hp, the company’s most powerful to date.