Kubota Engine America Corp. is expanding educational opportunities for its growing distribution network. The company has unveiled a brand-new technical training center at its Lincolnshire headquarters near Chicago.
The newly built facility with 3,400 sq. ft. of classrooms and a 1,500-sq.-ft. lab recently welcomed its inaugural group of distributor technicians for a hands-on course about common rail fuel systems and SCR after-treatment. The distributor technicians were first to experience the center’s three full classrooms and interactive lab with running engines.
“At Kubota, we saw a need to design a dedicated team and advanced space to make sure we are able to focus on training without fail,” said Tom Amundsen, senior technical training engineer at Kubota. “The industry is evolving. Upgrades in technology require service technicians to place training and adapting as top priority, in order to meet these challenges. Now the new facility and improved curriculum allow us to create a rich learning experience with real-life application for our students.”
Scott Wiedenhoeft, vice president of Engine Power Inc., was a member of the first training group. He said his distributor technicians had been asking for more hands-on training and jumped at the chance to have instructors walk them through diagnostic tools and problem-solving methods. “All of this is possible at the new center,” he said. “Our course was the perfect blend of instructor presentations and interactive exercises that took us through a variety of activities. It helped build confidence in our technicians by giving them the ability to work on Kubota machines and be guided by experts on-site.”
The added resources allow Kubota to provide a consistent level of training all the way down through its network, both via e-learning training (ELT) courses and instructor led training (ILT) opportunities.
“Good service sells engines. Kubota has a very strong service network worldwide and this will only improve that,” said Wiedenhoeft. Most classes will be one to three days with additional online education required in advance, and primarily available to Kubota’s distributors and dealers through a prescribed set of learner paths. Non-dealer options will be available mainly by request. “We appreciate all of the investment and focus Kubota has put into training. They have been moving fast, adding knowledgeable people to the training team and increasing available content in the system,” he said.
Course topics range from compression-ignited engines equipped with common rail, DPF after treatments and SCR systems, to spark ignited engines and legacy mechanically controlled engines. Each course is designed to help students understand Kubota products and engines to use them more effectively and efficiently. Amundsen believes this is a crucial part of being a global brand, known for manufacturing leading compact, industrial diesel and gasoline/multi-fuel engines. “It’s our responsibility to provide superior training for our customers and distributors. The more we train and the more feedback we receive, the more we can continually improve,” said Amundsen. “Great Kubota service starts with great Kubota training, and we really feel like that is the truth.”
Kubota will be placing additional training center information on its website over the coming months.
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