JCB has announced an investment of more than $66 million in a new British plant, which will double production of cabs used on its machines, including models it supplies to the Middle East.
According to the UK-based construction equipment heavyweight, work is under way on a 350,000sqft facility for JCB Cab Systems adjacent to the A50 motorway in Uttoxeter, Staffordshire, next to two existing JCB plants. The hi-tech factory will have the capacity to produce around 100,000 cabs a year, which will be used on all JCB machines made in the UK. It will include a computer controlled production line, fully-automated painting facility and robotic welding, and will create more than 200 new jobs by 2022.
The cabs produced by the plant will also be fitted to the excavators, wheel loaders, compact equipment and telehandlers that JCB sells in the Middle East. Among these categories of machines, the British company is the market leader in the region in the telehandler segment.
JCB CEO Graeme Macdonald said: “This new factory will be the most advanced and productive cab facility in the world and will bring even greater levels of efficiency to the business. The investment is one of the biggest in the company’s history and underlines our commitment to manufacturing in Britain and in our home county of Staffordshire.”
JCB Cab Systems currently employs more than 400 people at its existing site in Rugeley, Staffs. The new plant is scheduled to open in the summer of 2019. David Carver, GM, JCB Cab Systems, said: “While new jobs will be created, moving to the new factory will enable us to double capacity without doubling the workforce thanks to high levels of automation. The whole plant is being designed to improve productivity, reduce waste and provide unprecedented quality levels.”
