Kubota Tractor Corporation (KTC) and Kubota Credit Corporation (KCC) announced on May 14 that they will relocate their headquarters to Grapevine, Texas. Both companies are U.S. subsidiaries of Kubota Corporation, based in Japan, and the move is expected to increase efficiencies following recent expansions and aggressive growth strategy.

KTC is headquartered in Torrance, Calif., while KCC has locations in Torrance and Fort Worth, Texas. The move will affect about 180 employees and is expected to happen within the next 18 months.

“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,” stated Masato Yoshikawa, KTC's president and CEO.

The move will put Kubota’s leadership and professional staff closer to Kubota’s major markets and its manufacturing, assembly, and distribution facilities in Georgia and Kansas. This will allow the company to respond more quickly to changes in markets and the industry.

The move will be conducted in stages to avoid disruption to Kubota’s daily operations.

The announcement was made today at employee gatherings. Altogether, the move will affect approximately 180 Torrance-based employees, as well as some corporate employees who work remotely from other Kubota facilities.

Kubota has offered all affected employees the option to relocate to Grapevine and will offer relocation assistance to those affected employees in California and Georgia who elect to move to Texas. Those electing not to relocate will be offered a severance incentive package to stay on with Kubota during the transition and to assist them with their next employment opportunity.

The new headquarters will be large enough to initially accommodate 400 employees with room to expand, according to Kubota. Construction on the Texas facility will begin this year and is scheduled to be completed by the first quarter of 2017.