Digging up the future with JCB
JCB hopes its new compact wheeled excavator can reshape the future of urban construction. Andrew Wade reports
An invitation to visit JCB’s headquarters is no doubt the stuff of many a childhood dream. The company’s iconic machinery has been a mainstay of UK construction for decades, and the brand has even transcended industry to attain a dictionary entry; JCB has long been a recognised term for any machine with a shovel at the front and a digger at the rear.
Founded in 1945, the privately owned company is one of British manufacturing’s real success stories, and today has 22 plants across four continents generating a total of £2.5bn in annual sales. Three years ago it celebrated the production of its one-millionth machine – apparently enough diggers to stretch from the UK to Australia.
But JCB’s proud heritage belies a drive for innovation that enables it to compete on a global level. Its continued expansion has occurred largely in the absence of acquisition, relying instead on in-house creativity.
It was the latest fruits of this innovation that prompted The Engineer’s recent visit to JCB’s Rocester HQ.
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