Kubota Manufacturing of America (KMA)was recently named the Georgia Large Manufacturer of the Year by Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue and is the first Gainesville-Hall County business to win the award. Nominated by Lanier Technical College and the Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce, KMA was selected from more than 100 other industry nominees statewide.
“Education and community involvement had as much to do with us winning this award as profits,” said KMA Vice President Mike Vincent. “We’re working with Lanier Tech on a Certified Manufacturing Specialist Program through Lanier to train our people. The people of Gainesville are the best you can find to work with.”
“This is an important achievement for Kubota and recognizes our manufacturing excellence. We promise to continue to strive to be a high performance company that merits this award. We will continue to support our community and our customers at a very high level,” KMA President John Shiraishi said.
Kubota has been manufacturing lawn mowers and tractor implements at its Hall County facility for 14 years. Currently, the facility consists of 616,000 square feet of manufacturing facilities located on more than 150 acres, and provides jobs for more than 1,200 Georgians. KMA ships assembled equipment and parts across the United States and internationally. Today one-third of all Kubota branded products sold in United States is manufactured or assembled in Georgia.
Generating more than $250 million in sales, the company has also been key to attracting four other companies to the area, which together have created an additional 100 jobs for the community.
“Our state’s ability to attract and maintain high quality manufacturers, like KMA, is a testament to our economic success. I am pleased to recognize Kubota for its ongoing investment in our people, our economy and economic development,” said Governor Sonny Perdue who presented Kubota Manufacturing of America with the award for Manufacturer of the Year in the large manufacturer category (750 or more employees).
The announcement was made at the Governor’s Awards luncheon in April in Atlanta with 1,300 people present. The awards luncheon is the culmination of Manufacturing Appreciation Week.
“Our existing industries are important to the economic fabric of Gainesville-Hall County,” said Kit Dunlap, president of the Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce. “We recognize that it is a privilege to have an industry like Kubota that has so much invested in the community and education.”
For more than a decade, Kubota has worked closely with Quick Start and Lanier Technical College to develop training that enhances the manufacturing and management skills of their employees. One highlight of this collaboration has been a program dedicated to promoting cross-cultural understanding.
Kubota also provides financial and volunteer support to a number of charities and community projects. From work with the United Way and the Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce, Kubota has demonstrated a commitment to the prosperity of Gainesville, Hall County and all of Georgia.
Co-sponsored by the Georgia Department of Technical and Adult Education and the Georgia Department of Industry, Trade and Tourism, Manufacturing Appreciation Week is an annual week-long recognition of manufacturing’s contribution to Georgia. Employing more than 500,000 Georgians at approximately 10,000 facilities, manufacturing contributes more than $61 billion to the state’s economy each year.