A historic day for JCB
Company celebrates special milestone as 750,000th backhoe loader rolls off the production line
JCB today [3 March] celebrated a unique milestone as their 750,000th backhoe loader rolled off the production line. The landmark machine was driven off the line at the company’s factory in Rocester, Staffordshire – the same location where the first JCB backhoe was manufactured almost 70 years ago.
It was in 1953 that the company’s founder, the late Joseph Cyril Bamford CBE, conceived the idea of the JCB backhoe loader, which created, for the first time, a single machine that combined a front shovel and rear excavator arm.
In its first full year of production in 1954, just 35 of the machines were produced and it took more than 20 years for the first 50,000 to be made. JCB now manufacture backhoe loaders in the UK, India, Brazil and the US.
JCB chairman Lord Bamford said today: ‘Some of my earliest childhood memories are of watching our first backhoe loaders being produced at Rocester and it’s incredible to think we have now manufactured 750,000.
‘What’s even more incredible is that the backhoe remains one of the world’s most popular pieces of construction equipment almost seven decades after the first was produced. It really is testament to the versatility of the machine that its popularity continues to endure and will see it continue to prosper in the future.’
It was 1980 that proved to be a real turning point for the company with its £24 million investment in the launch of the technologically advanced JCB 3CX – a machine which has become a backhoe icon around the world. The launch of this machine was the real catalyst for growth of backhoe sales and for JCB.
Despite its maturity, the backhoe loader remains hugely popular in terms of global construction equipment sales, and even though new and competitive products have evolved over the past 67 years, JCB’s iconic backhoe is still the biggest selling in the world – and has been for 19 consecutive years.
The 750,000th model is a special edition of JCB’s latest 3CX backhoe loader, bearing a unique livery and comprehensive specification. This latest production milestone comes after JCB celebrated the manufacture of their 500,000th backhoe in December 2012 – a 5CX, the most powerful commercially available backhoe JCB have ever made.
