MachineryLink

By Jim Patrico
Progressive Farmer Senior Editor
and
Virginia H. Harris
Progressive Farmer Associate Editor

Kubota dealers recently got a preview of a tractor that will move them into the row-crop market in a bigger way than in the past. The company announced it would begin production soon of the M7 series tractors with an engine horsepower range of 128 to 168. At the same time, Kubota introduced balers, bale wrappers and mower-conditioners. It also launched a line of skid steer loaders aimed at farmers and others. All of which move the company further into the commercial ag sector, an area around which it has drawn a bull's eye.

"We are working on product expansion," said Todd Stucke, vice president of Kubota's Agriculture & Turf Division. "Two things are driving that -- a dealer group that is asking for it and a customer segment that is asking for it."

The M7 tractors will come from a new factory nearing completion in Bierne, France. The hay tools will come from European factories of the Norwegian company, Kverneland ASA, which Kubota acquired three years ago.

That acquisition was the precursor of an expansion strategy late Kubota President Yasuo Masumoto announced in 2012. He told journalists his company would become a full-service agricultural company, offering a range of products to put it in direct competition with companies like John Deere, CNH and AGCO for row-crop customers. At the time, speculation was that Kubota would reach its goal through other acquisitions. That may yet be the case, but Stucke indicates that Kubota intends to build rather than buy: "If you look at Kubota's history, that's what we are good at. We build things very vertically integrated. It's part of our DNA to build our own so that it will hold up to the quality standards we establish for ourselves."

Kubota chose to build a factory for the M7 tractors in northern France for several reasons. Top of the list was shipping logistics to areas Kubota envisioned where the tractors would sell best. "The market opportunities for tractors of that size are greatest in Europe and North America," Stucke said. Near the French coast, shipping logistics to the U.S. and Canada are simple.

ROW-CROP ENTRY

The M7 tractors are "Our midrange, high horsepower tractor. It's a first step into the row crop arena," Stucke said.

The power plants for the M7s are Kubota V6108 engines, which use a bundle of technologies to meet Final Tier 4 emission standards. Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) and Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) are in there as is a common rail system to control timing and fuel injection. A diesel particulate filter muffler cleans up at the back end.

Transmissions options for the M7s include the K-VT (Kubota Variable Transmission), a 24-speed Powershift, a creeper with 16 forward and 16 reverse speeds and a 31 mph roading option.

The tractors will be available in select markets in late summer 2015.

Stucke wants customers to know the company is not abandoning the dance partner it came with: "We are a compact utility tractor company, and we are going to protect that segment at all costs."

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