Major milestone for revolutionary machine
JCB celebrate production of 200,000th Loadall telehandler less than 40 years after machine’s launch
A JCB product that revolutionized the handling of loads on job sites around the world today passed a major milestone – the production of the 200,000th machine.
The JCB Loadall telehandler was first manufactured in 1977, transforming lifting and loading tasks on construction sites which until then had been carried out by a small team of men.
The first JCB Loadall – the JCB 520 model – was produced at the company’s World HQ in Rocester, Staffordshire, on 3 October 1977 and in the first full year of production less than 300 machines were made by just a handful of employees. Today thousands of Loadalls roll off the production line every year and the business producing them employs around 800 people.
Today JCB chairman Lord Bamford said: ‘From very small beginnings, the JCB Loadall has become a very important machine for JCB and for the construction and agricultural industries. Revolutionary is often a word that is over-used, but in the case of the Loadall it is a perfect description.
‘The way loads are handled on building sites and farms has never been the same since we introduced the Loadall in 1977. The JCB team involved in manufacturing and selling the Loadall is to be congratulated on reaching the production milestone of 200,000 machines.’
JCB employee Richard Jenkinson has worked for JCB for nearly 40 years and was involved in manufacturing the axles for the very first Loadalls in 1977. He still works for the business producing them today as a quality engineer.
He said: ‘I cannot believe it is 39 years since we built the first Loadall and that we have now manufactured the 200,000th machine. It’s an incredible achievement and I am proud to have been involved since day one.’
It took almost 30 years for JCB to sell the first 100,000 Loadalls but it has taken less than 10 for the next 100,000 to be sold – testament to the growing importance of the product and JCB’s strength in this sector, being the world’s number one producer of telescopic handlers.
Today, JCB manufacture a total of 90 different Loadall models, 88 of which are produced at the World HQ for global markets and two of which are made in India for the domestic market.
Pictured above are Loadall managing director Ian Pratt (extreme left) and Loadall operations director Paul Grys (extreme right) with employees (left–right) Ian Vickery, Cliff Ferrie, Mick Smith, Dave Bailey, Nick Miller, Paul Stockley and Richard Jenkinson, celebrating the 200,000th Loadall milestone.
