Kubota Manufacturing of America officially unveiled its newly constructed Hall County facility Tuesday.
The $190 million facility is the home for manufacturing front-end loaders for all of Kubota’s tractors, just off of Ga. 365 in Gainesville. The building spans 700,000 square feet, nearly double the size of the company's other facilities with similar functions. The added space will allow Kubota to produce 170,000 units a year, compared to the 100,000 units that could be produced prior to the updates.
President of Kubota Manufacturing of America Brian Arnold explained that the expansion also aimed to improve pre-existing processes from similar facilities.
“We decided to try to automate and improve every single process in our operation,” Arnold said. “This is from our machine shop to our logistics for our welding. Now we're actually welding parts without any drilling... In many cases this technology did not exist, so we actually had to create the technology that we're using in this factory today.”
Still, the facility is projected to bring roughly 500 manufacturing jobs to northeast Georgia.
“Even with automation, the jobs are still there, but the types of jobs that are available are becoming more technical jobs,” Arnold said. “Robotic jobs, programming jobs, so different skill sets, but it's still a tremendous opportunity for the community and our team.”
The company broke ground on the facility in August 2023. However, Kubota’s operations in Georgia date back to 1988, collaborating with local and state officials to encourage economic and agricultural growth.
Governor Brian Kemp emphasized the importance of the company's role within the state and Hall County.
“[Kubota has] chosen the growth from their initial investment into one of Georgia's most recognized employers, currently employing over 3500 people,” Kemp said. “That's because here in Georgia, we don't believe our relationships with job careers end after they first choose our state. We keep working with them…that commitment has brought unprecedented economic growth for our state as a whole and for communities like this.”
Kemp also said that in the past decade, Georgia’s collaboration with Japanese-based companies has brought billions of dollars to the state, with 2024 alone seeing $8.3 billion in trade between Japan and Georgia.
View a full photo gallery from the event by clicking the photo at the top of this story.
