Kubota Thunder Bay Has New Ownership!
“The lead times have gotten a lot longer to get product. We stay on top of the ordering so we do have a supply of product coming in and are at the point now where we are starting to catch up with the orders we put in last year. We should be able to get everybody what they need.You have to be proactive, not reactive with ordering now.” said Randy.
Kubota Thunder Bay serves the market area from Marathon to Dryden more or less. Most of their business is in the Thunder Bay and closeby area but they have sold products say to Sandy Lake or Wawa.
“We supply many mines in the area which have kept going through the pandemic so that has been positive for us. Also we deal with many of the Northern Communities as well which is good.”said Cole.
Kubota is a Japanese company with main manufacturing done in Japan as well as Europe and the US depending on the product line.
All the Canadian Kubota stores are independently owned with about 150 across Canada.
“My goal growing up was always to be an entrepreneur and I enjoy it, the drive of it is fun. You carve your own path. We are involved in many industries whether it is mining, construction, farming and residential so you talk to many people.” said Randy Neufeld, age 50.
“I have always aspired to be an entrepreneur and it is nice to be in the drivers seat. In the future we are definitely looking to expand and keep our positive growth going. One day we hope to acquire more property and grow the Kubota and other short lines in Thunder Bay.” said Cole Christian, age 35. “The economy of Thunder Bay is on a positive upswing I believe with mining and some other industry so we are going to be in good shape. We see the nuclear storage project and other businesses expanding in NW Ontario, so I see positive things coming in the next 10 to 15 years with new investment. Thunder Bay is also a good place to raise a family.”
“Cole and I have worked together for 5 years now so knew what we were getting into with our partnership. It was a long process acquiring the business, but we worked well with the previous owners so it was just a natural transition. It wasn’t a big shock to our vendors when we started to take over. It made sense.” said Randy.