JCB win huge machine deal as UK market grows strongly
Plant hire firm A-Plant place an order for more than 1,000 machines in a deal worth £35 million
JCB have secured an order for more than 1,000 machines from one of the UK’s leading plant hire companies in a deal worth £35 million.
A-Plant have bought a huge fleet mainly consisting of mini- and midi-excavators and JCB Loadalls, as well as rough-terrain forklifts, Teletruks and 3CX backhoe loaders.
And for the first time, A-Plant have also ordered a number of JS130 tracked excavators from JCB as they looks to expand their range into the 13-tonne machine market.
The deal comes on the back of 800 machines ordered by A-Plant last year and a further 550 in 2012.
JCB’s chief executive officer, Graeme Macdonald, said: ‘This is a highly significant order and the biggest of the year so far for JCB in the UK. We are delighted that our relationship with A-Plant, which now stretches back more than 25 years, continues to go from strength to strength.
‘The UK market is currently the fastest growing in the world and JCB are on course for their best performance in the UK since 2007, which helps to offset downturns in markets such as Brazil, India and Latin America.’
All the machines, which are being supplied by dealer Greenshields JCB, will be built at JCB’s Staffordshire factories: the backhoe loaders and Loadalls at the World HQ in Rocester; the mini- and midi-excavators at JCB Compact Products in Cheadle; the Teletruks at JCB Utility Products in Cheadle; and the tracked excavators at JCB Heavy Products in Uttoxeter.
Asif Latief, A-Plant marketing and strategic accounts director, said: ‘This order allows us to meet the increasing demand in the market place and continue to supply one of the youngest and most up-to-date fleets in the industry.’
He added: ‘We have also added the new JS130 tracked excavator to our fleet to service our contract with the Environment Agency, because of its environmental efficiencies which address issues such as CO2 emissions and the use of biodegradable hydraulic oil. This is a standard requirement on the Environment Agency’s excavators.’
A-Plant, who form part of FTSE-100 company Ashtead Group plc, are one of the UK’s largest equipment rental companies with in excess of 110,000 items of plant, tools and specialist equipment available to hire from more than 125 service centre locations nationwide.
