First up for the Salina, Kansas plant: Kubota’s SVL65.

As part of a $53 million expansion, Kubota North America’s subsidiary Great Plains Manufacturing has bought a 750,000-square-foot building in Salina, Kansas, to support growing demand for Kubota construction equipment, says Kubota.

The company says it will launch operations at the facility by the end of 2021 in a phased approach, beginning with production of the Kubota SVL65 compact track loader.

Linda Salem, president and CEO of Great Plains, says the company will add about 130 new manufacturing jobs to its 1,450-employee base.

Kubota’s increased footprint in Kansas will give it additional operational and logistical efficiencies,  says Mr. Haruyuki (Harry) Yoshida, president and CEO of Kubota North America and Kubota Tractor.

Bought by Kubota in 2016, Great Plains manufactures agricultural implements for tillage, seeding and planting. Among its brands is Land Pride, which offers grooming mowers, rotary tillers and cutters, landscape seeding equipment and earthmoving attachments.

Earlier this year, Great Plains opened a 350,000-square-foot production facility in Abilene, Kansas to produce Kubota and Land Pride products.  And last year, Kubota opened its North American Distribution Center in Edgerton, Kansas, which processes shipments form Asia and Europe as well as North American suppliers.