GAINESVILLE, Ga. (June 3, 2013) — Tractor/farm implement maker Kubota Manufacturing of America Corp. has bestowed its Kaizen Award for 2013 on OTR Wheel Engineering Inc. for continual improvement.
The award recognizes OTR Wheel's years of hard work and improvements in supporting Kubota's Gainesville manufacturing operation, the Rome, Ga.-based tire/wheel assembly supplier said.
OTR Wheel Engineering supplies mounted tire/wheel assemblies to Kubota for the equipment maker's Zero Turn mowers, RTV line of utility vehicles and small agricultural tractors.
Among the products supplied are OTR's lines of Grassmaster-, Trac Master-, Traction Master-, OTR 350 and 440 Mag-brand tires and 250 Swift-brand semi-pneumatic, flex, rib and smooth tires.
"This award is very special to OTR (Wheel Engineering) and the Gainesville facility as it means that (facilities manager) Lee Chestnut and his team are very conscious of continuous improvement," said Jeff Williams, vice president of sales and marketing.
"OTR Wheel Engineering is working to instill this concept throughout the company as it builds our 'Striving for Excellence' theme.
OTR Wheel has been a Kubota supplier for more than 20 years.
The company called itself a "diversified integrator" engineering firm, manufacturer and distributor of specialized tires, wheels, steel castings, rubber tracks and other fabricated goods. It operates distribution facilities in Clinton, S.C.; Gainesville, Ga.; Jacksonville, Fla.; Las Vegas; Louisville, Miss.; Quincy, Ill.; Shady Grove, Pa; Waco, Texas; Wauwatosa, Wis.; Guelph, Ontario; and at its headquarters in Rome.
The firm reported annual sales of $64 million in 2011.
Kubota Manufacturing of America (KMA) assembles Kubota lawn tractors, zero-turn mowers, sub-compact tractors, loaders, backhoes and other implements at plants in Gainesville and Jefferson, Ga. It is a subsidiary of Japan's Kubota Corp.
Do you have an opinion about this story? Do you have some thoughts you'd like to share with our readers? Tire Business would love to hear from you. Email your letter to Editor Don Detore at [email protected].