Kioti Opens First Distribution Centre In Canada | Ontario Farmer

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MISSISSAUGA – A distribution center for the Kioti lines of equipment and accompanying implements serving Canada has been established on Canadian soil.

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An open house was held recently at a new 60,000-square-foot facility in Mississauga to celebrate the establishment of the distribution center.

Distribution for Kioti equipment sold in Canada had previously been handled at the company’s North American headquarters, located in Wendell, North Carolina.

Kioti is manufactured in South Korea under the parent company Daedong, a manufacturer of industrial equipment.

While the Kioti marketing catch phrase is “We dig dirt” there were numerous crisp white shirts and ties present at a ribbon cutting ceremony, including the chairman of Daedong, Jun Sik Kim and the Consulate for South Korea in Canada Tae-in Chung.

Accompanied by a written English translation, some of the speeches made by company officials were in the Korean language.

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In expressing his appreciation for the establishment of the new facility in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), the city was decribed as “The heart of Canada,” by Chung.

Although the orange colour of the Kioti line closely resembles the orange of the Japanese Kubota line of equipment, there is a reason for the choice, said Ron Wilkie, Canadian regional manager for Kioti.

Orange is the accepted color for industrial equipment in Korea, much the same as yellow is regarded as the main colour for industrial equipment across North America, he explained.

The orange then indicates the heavy industrial standards used in the manufacturing of Kioti even though its main target is the compact/utility market.

Kioti does offer farm tractors up to 110 HP.

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Daedong also sells equipment into the forestry industry. The smaller sized machines create less damage to forest growth while removing selected trees, said Wilkie.

Along with the Kioti tractors, the company sells a full line of accessory implements. These are manufactured by Woods, a partner of Daedong based in the United States.

It also has a well-established line of All Terrain Vehicles (ATVs) commonly used on farms.

The zero-turn lawn mowers sold by Kioti are made under the Hanhook Chain Division.

Capacity of the new distribution centre allows for an on-site inventory of 500 tractors, 500 accessories and 500 implements. The tractors are 90 per cent assembled on arrival with the final assembly taking place at the distribution centre based on accessories required.

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Two people work on assembly, adding options to the tractor units, stacked several layers high on steel racking.

Currently eight people work in the centre with plans to add more employees.

The 6,000 parts kept on site are accessed by a rolling fork lift guided by a cable buried in the complete floor, requiring no steering in the narrow 47-inch-wide aisle ways by the operator. The operator can then raise a platform to the desired height, accessing several layers of stored parts.

Kioti currently has a nation-wide network of 75 dealerships in Canada and has experienced steady growth since establishing in North America 32 years ago, said Wilkie.

The Kioti division in the U.S. has doubled in size recently.

“It is a new era,” said Wilkie of that growth.

Acknowledging the popularity of curling among the farm and rural population, Kioti has become a sponsor of the Brad Jacobs Olympic gold medal winning curling team. Three of the team members were on hand for the open house and facility tour.

Jacobs said he shared in the company’s competitive desire to “Run ahead of the pack,” referring to one of the Kioti marketing slogans.

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