Lord Bamford reaches special milestone

Diamond day as JCB chairman Anthony Bamford marks 60 years of service with the company

JCB chairman Anthony Bamford celebrates an unprecedented milestone with the family firm this weekend – 60 years of service.

Having completed an engineering apprenticeship with Massey Ferguson in France, he first walked through the doors of the company’s Rocester factory as an employee on 24 February 1964 aged just 18, and started work on the shop floor. 

Fast forward 60 years and Lord Bamford’s thirst for work continues at the age of 78, as he leads a £100 million project to develop hydrogen combustion engines to power the JCB machines of the future.

Lord Bamford was presented with a long service award at the JCB World Headquarters by JCB CEO Graeme MacDonald. He also received a gift of an oak tree from company directors. 

As he reflected on the 60-year milestone, Lord Bamford said: ‘It is hard to imagine that I have been here that long, but I really haven’t known anything else…So much has happened over the past 60 years. When I first worked at JCB, we had one factory. Now, there are 22 all over the world employing more than 19,000 people. We were also making around 3,000 machines a year in 1964 and today we manufacture well over 100,000 every year. JCB’s success is very much down to the whole team around the world and, while it’s nice to reflect on the achievements of the past, my focus is very much on what our team can achieve in the future.’

Mr Macdonald added: ‘The whole JCB team sends its congratulations to Lord Bamford on what is a momentous milestone. Such an achievement is unprecedented at JCB and almost certainly unmatched in British industry. Lord Bamford’s contribution to JCB and the business world over the past 60 years has been truly remarkable.’

Under Lord Bamford's leadership, JCB have grown to become one of the world's largest and most successful construction equipment manufacturers with 11 factories in the UK, and others in India, China, North America, and Brazil. 

Lord Bamford was also instrumental in setting up The JCB Academy in Rocester, which opened in September 2010 – a £22 million school for 13 to18 year-old students aspiring to become the engineers and business leaders of the future. The Academy currently has more than 800 students and more than 3,200 students have attended since it first opened.