Kubota North America announced plans to build an $85 million engineering and design center on 300 acres of land it has purchased near the company’s manufacturing plant in Gainesville.
The facility is scheduled to open in 2022.
A spokesperson said it is too early in the process to project the number of employees that will be hired.
“This project is another great milestone for Kubota and it emphasizes our commitment to expand our presence in Georgia as a major hub of our North American operations,” said Haruyuki “Harry” Yoshida, President and CEO of Kubota Tractor Corp. and Kubota North America Corp.
Kubota employs about 3,000 Georgians, who make and assemble mowers, subcompact tractors and utility vehicles in Hall County.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said, “This project marks the fourth major expansion by Kubota in the State of Georgia since 2013.”
That was the year the company announced it would land in Gateway Industrial Centre near Gainesville.
The plot of land along Ga. 365 was transformed after then-Gov. Nathan Deal took office in 2011. Local taxpayers fronted $10 million to build roads and put in sewers and other infrastructure on the land.
The industrial park and the expansion and relocation of Lanier Technical College to a newly built campus were projects pushed by Deal in his hometown.
In 2017, Kubota also expanded its National Distribution Center in Jefferson, Georgia.
Kubota noted Georgia’s strong education network in a press release.
Kubota vice president Phil Sutton said: “Georgia’s strong workforce development programs, including the Work Based Learning programs in high schools, the job skills training from the Technical College System of Georgia, and the University System of Georgia engineering programs, have all played a key role in Kubota’s decision to continue to grow our businesses in Georgia.”
