J.C.

Bamford Excavators Limited

Type Private
Industry Heavy equipment
Founded 1945
Rocester, Staffordshire,
Headquarters
United Kingdom
Key people Lord Bamford, Chairman
Construction, Demolition &
Products
Agriculture Machinery
Revenue 2.75 billion (2012)[1]
Number of employees Approximately 11,000[2]
Slogan A Product of Hard Work
Website http://jcb.com

J.C. Bamford Excavators Limited, universally known as JCB, is a British

multinational corporation, with headquarters in Rocester, Staffordshire, manufacturing
equipment for construction, demolition and agriculture. It is the world's third-largest
construction equipment manufacturer.[3] It produces over 300 types of machines,
including diggers (backhoes), excavators, tractors and diesel engines. It has 22 factories
across Asia, Europe, North America, and South America; its products are sold in over 150
countries.[2][4]

JCB was founded in 1945 by Joseph Cyril Bamford, after whom it is named; it continues
to be owned by the Bamford family. In the UK 'JCB' is often used colloquially as a
generic description for mechanical diggers and excavators and now appears in the Oxford
English Dictionary, although it is still held as a trademark.[5]

History
20th century

JCB was founded by Joseph Cyril Bamford in October 1945 in Uttoxeter, Staffordshire,
England. He rented a lock-up garage 3.7 by 4.6 m (12 by 15 ft). In it, using a welding set
which he bought second-hand for 1 from English Electric, he made his first vehicle, a
tipping trailer from war-surplus materials. The trailer's sides and floor were made from
steel sheet that had been part of air-raid shelters. On the same day as his son Anthony was
born, he sold the trailer at a nearby market for 45 (plus a part-exchanged farm cart) and
at once made another trailer. At one time he made vehicles in Eckersley's coal yard in
Uttoxeter. The first trailer and the welding set have been preserved:

JCB's first welding set

The first vehicle JCB made (a farm trailer)

In 1948, six people were working for the company, and it made the first hydraulic tipping
trailer in Europe. In 1950, it moved to an old cheese factory in Rocester, still employing
six. A year later, he began painting his products yellow. In 1953, his first backhoe loader
was launched, and the JCB logo appeared for the first time. It was designed by Derby
Media and advertising designer Leslie Smith. In 1957, the firm launched the "hydra-
digga", incorporating the excavator and the major loader as a single all-purpose tool
useful for the agricultural and construction industries.[6]

In 1960, JCB's hydraulic tractors entered the North American market, proving a long-
lasting success. JCB became, and still is, the brand leader in the world. By 1964, JCB had
sold over 3,000 3C backhoe loaders. The next year, the first 360-degree excavator was
introduced, the JCB 7.[7]

In 1978, the Loadall machine was introduced. The next year, JCB started its operation in
India. In 1991, the firm entered a joint venture with Sumitomo of Japan to produce
excavators, which ended in 1998.[8] Two years later, a JCB factory was completed in
Pooler near Savannah, Georgia in the USA, and the next year a factory was opened in
Brazil.

21st century

Production of the first engine designed and manufactured by JCB, the JCB444 diesel
engine, started in 2004.[9] In 2005, for the first time in nearly forty years, JCB bought a
company, purchasing the German equipment firm Vibromax. In the same year, the firm
opened a new factory in Pudong China . By 2006, the firm had 4000 employees, twice
what it had in 1975.

Planning of a new 40 million pound JCB Heavy Products site began in 2007,[10] and by
the next year, the firm began to move from its old site in Pinfold Street in Uttoxeter to the
new site beside the A50; the Pinfold Street site was demolished in 2009. During that year,
JCB announced plans to make India its largest manufacturing hub. Its factory at
Ballabgarh in Haryana, was to become the worlds largest backhoe loader manufacturing
facility.[11]

JCB shed 2,000 jobs during the recession, but in 2010 it announced it was recruiting up to
200 new workers.[12]

Worldwide Operations

JCB factory and park at Rocester

The Fossor, at the JCB headquarters in Rocester

JCB has 18 factories in the UK, Germany, North and

South America, Australia, India, and China.[4] The
company employs some 7,000 people on four
continents and sells its products in 150 countries
through 1500 dealer depot locations. The company has
a range of more than 300 products.[13]

JCB is headquartered in Rocester, United Kingdom,

which is also the production site for backhoe loaders
and telescopic 'Loadall' handlers. It has a further three
factories in nearby Cheadle, Staffordshire (JCB
Earthmovers, JCB Landpower and JCB Compact
Products), one in Rugeley (JCB Cab Systems), three
in Uttoxeter (JCB Attachments, JCB Heavy Products and JCB World Parts Centre), one
in Foston in Derbyshire (JCB Power Systems) and one in Wrexham in North Wales (JCB
Drivetrain Systems). In July 2013 the company opened a dedicated logistics hub in
Newcastle-Under-Lyme.[14] This facility is the central hub for component distribution to
production facilities, as distinct from the World Parts Centre in Uttoxeter which
distributes spare parts to dealers and customers.

In December 2013 it was announced that the Rugeley Cab Systems plant would move to
a new facility in Uttoxeter which would allow the in-sourcing of cab assembly currently
contracted to third parties. This investment is to be accompanied by the expansion of the
Rocester and Cheadle production sites by 2018.[15]

Its Indian factories are based in Ballabgarh (Haryana), Jaipur[16] and Pune, its US factory
is in Pooler, Georgia, its Brazilian factory in Sorocaba, and its Chinese factory was
completed in 2005 in Pudong near Shanghai. JCB also owns Vibromax, a German
compaction equipment company based in Gatersleben.

JCB has also licensed its name and image to a line of consumer power tools,
manufactured by Alba PLC.

The products are sold through franchised dealerships, many of which are often exclusive
and cover whole countries.[17]

JCB dominates the Indian construction equipment market with every three out of every
four construction equipment sold in India being a JCB. JCB India's revenue rose more
than 12 times to $1 billion in 2012-13 from $75 million in 2001. The Indian operations of
the UK company account for 17.5% of its total revenue.[18]

Products
Many of the vehicles produced by JCB are variants of the backhoe loader, including
tracked or wheeled variants, mini and large versions and other variations for carrying and
moving items, for example fork lift vehicles and telescopic handlers for moving materials
to the upper floors of a building site. Wheeled loading shovels and articulated dump
trucks are also produced.
The Soil Compactor VM 115 of JCB

Excavators

Tracked 360 excavators ranging from the JZ70 (7 tonne zero tail swing excavator) to the
JS460 (46 tonne tracked excavator). In 2008 at Con expo JCB revealed a new top range
JS520 which included the new style paintjob with rams painted black. Wheeled 360
excavators ranging from the JS130W to the JS200W. Machines can be produced with
either monoboom or a triple articulated boom.

Wheeled loaders

Industrial and agricultural wheeled loaders from compact 6 tonne hydrostatic machines to
larger 25 tonne quarrying machines using a mix of 4 and 6 cylinder diesel engines.

Tractors

JCB Fastrac 8250 tractor

JCB has also made its name in the tractor world by producing one of the first such
machines that features proper suspension and is capable of travelling at speed on roads.
The JCB Fastrac entered production in 1990. Prior to this design, the suspension was
difficult because of the fixed-height connections required to farm machinery, and tractors
were notoriously slow on the roads. Dependent on the model, the Fastrac can travel at
50 km/h, 65 km/h or 75 km/h (40 mph). At launch the Fastrac was featured on the BBC
television programme Tomorrow's World, and years later as Jeremy Clarkson's tractor of
choice in Top Gear. From 2006 the company also produces a range of compact tractors
designed for grounds-care, horticultural, and light agricultural duties.

Military vehicles

JCB also makes a range of military vehicles,which also concentrate on load-handling and
excavation.[19] These include the JCB HMEE.

JCB Dieselmax

JCB Dieselmax on display at the Heritage Motor Centre

Main article: JCB Dieselmax

In April 2006, JCB announced that they were developing a Diesel-powered Land Speed
Record vehicle known as the 'JCB Dieselmax'. The car is powered by two modified JCB
444 diesel powerplants using a two-stage turbocharger to generate 750 bhp, one engine
driving the front wheels and the other the rear wheels.

On August 22, 2006 the Dieselmax, driven by Andy Green broke the diesel engine land
speed record, attaining a speed of 328.767 mph (529 km/h). The following day, the record
was again broken, this time with a speed of 350.092 mph (563.418 km/h).

JCB Vibromax

JCB acquired the German company Vibromax, which manufactures compaction

equipment.

JCB Phones

JCB licenses its brand for a series of rugged feature phones and smartphones targeted at
construction personnel. The design and marketing contract was awarded to Data Select in
2010.[20]
Display team

To demonstrate his faith in the hydraulic fail safes on JCB machines (which lock the arms
in the event of a loss of hydraulic pressure, preventing them from crashing to the ground),
Joe Cyril Bamford arranged to have several backhoes raise themselves up on their arms,
and drove his car beneath them.[citation needed]

This has since developed into a world famous demonstration of the versatility of the
backhoe configuration. The JCB display team (JCB Dancing Diggers) tour agricultural
shows and produce videos, showing some of the unusual ways in which such vehicles can
support themselves or manoeuvre. For example, it is quite common for drivers to support
the vehicle on both buckets, either for turning on the spot without damaging ground, or
for spinning the tracks in a puddle to clean them. The display team expanded this concept
into a sort of vehicle gymnastics. The drivers are members of JCB's demonstration team,
who visit prospective customers and demonstrate machines on the customer's property in
order to prove the machine's suitability for the task at hand.

JCB Research
JCB Research is described as an obscure company worth 27,000 which donated 2m to
the Conservative party making it the largest donor in the run up to the 2010 election.
Ownership of the company which has never filed accounts is disputed by the Bamford
brothers. According to the Guardian, much of the Bamford money was held in shares in
offshore trusts.[24]