• 
• 

Published on January 3, 2008

We are targeting neighbouring countries, the United States and Europe, said Kubota president Daisuke Hatakake.

In a recent interview with Jiji Press, he said the major Japanese maker of farm equipment also planned to supply cast-iron pipes produced by its joint venture in India, which was launched last year, to African and Asian markets.

Last year, the company announced its entry into the Thai market, due to expected demand locally and from neighbours like Vietnam, where rice cultivation is rapidly becoming mechanised.

Hatakake said Kubota's tractor sales in Thailand were expected to surpass those in Japan by volume as early as this year.

The Bt3-billion factory will be operated by Siam Kubota Tractor, a 60:40 venture between Kubota and SCG with registered capital of Bt1.1 billion. This is Kobota's first Asian tractor plant outside of Japan.

Hatakake said Asian markets were seen as promising for Kubota, due to potential demand for Japanese rice-cropping equipment, implying that the company would use the Thai factory as a production foothold in Southeast Asia. Also, the region has large-scale rice fields that are more than three times the size of those in Japan.

Kubota will need to boost its facilities in Thailand in the future, and the company is eyeing the possibility of establishing a sales outlet in a neighbouring country, such as Vietnam, Hatakake said.

The company plans to export inexpensive tractors made in Thailand to the US and Europe, in order to overcome fierce competition from low-priced products from India and China, he said.

Regarding its cast-iron-pipe operation, Kubota is set to shift its focus from Japan to foreign markets, the president said, citing inadequate water infrastructure in Asia outside of Japan.

The company is preparing to satisfy rapidly growing demand in India, while making forays into African and Asian markets, he said.

 The Nation