Kubota Tractor Corp. and Kubota Credit Corp. announced Thursday that they will move their headquarters to Grapevine, Texas from the Los Angeles-area city.
The relocation is projected to create at least 344 new jobs and $51 million in capital investment in Texas. The state of Texas extended Texas Enterprise Fund grant offer of $3.8 million to Kubota. The move is expected to occur in the next 18 months and will affect about 180 Kubota employees.
Employees at a Fort Worth office and in Georgia also will move to the Grapevine headquarters, the company said.
The tractor maker will join Toyota Motor Corp, which is moving its North American headquarters to Plano, and Farmer Brothers coffee, which is relocating its North American headquarters to the Denton County town of Northlake.
Kubota said that construction on the Grapevine facility will begin this year with scheduled completion by the first quarter of 2017. Both Kubota companies are subsidiaries of Osaka, Japan-based Kubota Corp.
“This restructuring and relocation to Texas aligns with our strategic business objectives to strengthen Kubota’s brand in the U.S. marketplace, enter new industry segments, and to position our company for long term, sustainable growth in North America,” Kubota Tractor Corp. President and CEO Masato Yoshikawa said in a news release. “This is the most significant change we have undertaken during our long and successful history in the U.S., and there was much thought, deliberation and consideration that went into our decision.”