By Tom Amundsen, Senior Product Manager

Seeing is believing – this applies to engines as much as anything else. Sometimes the specs look great on paper. Maybe the model even performs well in prototype testing. But what about two years down the road? What about in grueling, real-world, day-to-day operation? That’s the reliability OEMs and their customers really care about. And that’s what Kubota Engine America delivers.  

Don’t just take our word for it, though. Here’s what some of our long-term OEM partners have to say. 

 

Engine of choice 

Kubota Engine America is the engine of choice for paving and road construction equipment manufacturer LeeBoy, according to Bill Wilkens, director of engineering. So, when the company was looking for a powerful yet compact engine option for their new 8680 asphalt paver, they naturally looked to Kubota for a solution.  

Thanks to innovative engineering, the 4-cylinder V5009 engine produces 210.9 HP at 2200 RPM, comparable to the output of a 6-cylinder engine in a much smaller footprint. This was ample power to operate the more than 30,000-pound LeeBoy tractor and enough torque to put the material through the machine.  

“The V5009 was selected for the 8680 because of the class that it’s entering,” says Chris Broome, senior product manager. “We wanted to be sure that when we built this larger machine that we don’t run into any issues with lack of power.” 

The V5009 was designed to give OEMs like LeeBoy a reliable option to do what they do best – engineer paving solutions for an evolving industry. Not only was the team looking for power and torque, they also knew they could rely on Kubota for support throughout the manufacturing process and beyond.   

“The reason LeeBoy and Kubota work so well together is because of Kubota’s service dealer network,” Broome says. “We don’t have any issues, no matter how remote that customer is, in getting the engine support our customers need so that they don’t experience much downtime.” 

 

Heart of the machine 

Bergkamp, another paving maintenance equipment manufacturer, has also found the V5009 to be the right engine to power their latest machine. Initially, the engine was incorporated into the equipment with power packs. But, impressed with the engine’s performance during thorough in-situ testing, the company decided the V5009 could be more than just a plug-and-play power solution. Bergkamp is currently redesigning for better overall integration of the V5009, truly making it the heart of their machine.  

With this move, Bergkamp is better able to take advantage of the V5009’s high power density and compact design.  

 

A true partner 

As the engine supplier, there’s no bigger compliment than an OEM fully integrating your component into their design. Bergkamp’s level of commitment to the V5009 is a testament to the quality, dependability and longevity Kubota offers our OEM partners. From a solid engine design to top-notch service decades down the road, Kubota’s commitment to cultivating true partnerships has earned us lasting relationships with organizations like LeeBoy, Bergkamp and many more.  

“There’s a personal relationship between the engineers at Kubota and the engineers at LeeBoy,” Wilkens says. “We’ve known each other a long time. We’ve grown together.” 

Learn more about what makes Kubota Engine America different. Reach out to our team today to discuss powerful solutions for your equipment.