JCB has unveiled plans to invest £100 million in ‘ultra-modern’ manufacturing facilities at its UK HQ.
Announced to coincide with the manufacturer’s 80th birthday this week, the project at the plant in Rocester, Staffordshire, will see the installation of a fully automated powder paint plant costing £60 million as well as a full modernisation of the shop floor, with new machining centres, friction welders, and cylinder boring machines.
JCB chairman Anthony Bamford said investing in a site that has been JCB’s home since 1950 was an important and logical step for the company. “Basing JCB in the UK makes business sense, just as it has always made business sense,” he said. “The work ethic in our country remains strong – especially in the Midlands, with its deep engineering heritage.
“It makes perfect sense to invest heavily in our British factories and the £100 million we are investing now will put us at the forefront of our industry. Obviously, we are expanding overseas, not least in America, where we have been for decades. But the UK is our home.
“We directly employ more than 19,000 people around the world, more than 8,000 of whom are in the UK. And even though around three-quarters of our UK production is exported, we continue to make a huge contribution to this country and to the national economy.”
Anthony Bamford was born on October 23 1945 on the same day as his father Joseph Cyril Bamford founded JCB. Today, inventor and entrepreneur Sir James Dyson paid tribute to Lord Bamford as he and JCB prepared to celebrate their 80th birthdays. He said, “Anthony Bamford is a wonderful example to us all for his entrepreneurship, his engineering, design, and manufacturing. He has built what was a small British manufacturing company into one which is a true global success story and one we are all very proud of.”
