JCB to create hundreds of new jobs
Multi-million pound UK engine development project set to create around 350 new engineering jobs
JCB have announced plans for a new £31 million engine development project in the UK that will create around 350 jobs across the company’s plants in the Midlands and Wales.
The programme is set to get under way after the company was awarded £4.5 million towards the cost from the Government’s Regional Growth Fund.
Design and research into the new engine project will take place at JCB Power Systems in Foston, Derbyshire, where the company’s world-beating JCB Dieselmax engine is manufactured.
The development of a new-generation engine – which will be installed in JCB’s own products and also sold to third parties – means almost 50 new advanced engineering jobs are available immediately at JCB Power Systems, with recruitment already under way.
The roles include engine design and development engineers, engine electronics and software engineers, quality technicians, manufacturing engineers, applications engineers, supplier development engineers and buyers.
When the new engine goes into production in 2016, more than 300 additional jobs will be created across JCB’s Staffordshire, Derbyshire and Wrexham factories between 2016 and 2021.
JCB chief executive Alan Blake (pictured) said: ‘Since we began production in 2004, JCB have led the way in off-highway engine development, with a range of fuel-saving, clean and highly efficient engines.
‘The announcement that we now intend to invest £31 million developing our next-generation engine is an important step in building on the success we have enjoyed so far and it will take the efficiency, productivity and environmental performance of our engines to new levels.’
JCB began manufacturing their Dieselmax engine range at their Derbyshire plant in 2004. This year the company also opened a new engine production facility in India for the production of fuel-efficient engines for its Indian-built products. JCB’s own engines now power more than 70% of the company’s equipment range.
