Shibaura (company)

IHI Shibaura Machinery Corporation (株式会社 IHI シバウラ) or Shibaura is a Japanese agricultural machinery manufacturer owned by IHI Corporation.[2] The company is one of Japan’s leading suppliers of small tractors and diesel engines.[3]

History

The company originated in 1942 and began making engines and tractors from 1951. In 1973 Shibaura made an agreement with Ford to build a small tractor, the Ford 1000, using Ford's specifications and styling.[4] Subsequently Shibaura made other models of Ford tractors, like the Ford 1600 and 2110, and continued to build small tractors even after Ford acquired New Holland.[5] The company also produced Yanmar tractors and STIHL power tools.[6]

Some of the engines are made by a joint venture company, Perkins Shibaura Engines, founded in October 1994 and opened in 1996.[7] In April 2005, the company won The Queen's Award for Enterprise: International Trade (Export) (2005).[2]

The joint venture company has manufacturing sites in three countries: the UK, the US and China. The company's original products was the Perkins 100 Series engine but later their offerings became more diverse,[3] including the Perkins 400 series engine, manufactured first in 2001.

Structure

The company has three manufacturing locations in Japan, with its main 35-acre factory in Matsumoto in Nagano Prefecture, in the centre of Japan.

See also

• List of tractor manufacturers

External links

• IHI Shibaura
• Shibaura Europe