JCB has celebrated 60 years of production
JCB yesterday marked the diamond anniversary of production of its famous backhoe loaders.
Company leaders said they are looking to the future with confidence as it continues to innovate and diversify its range of iconic backhoe loaders and specialist earth moving equipment.
JCB’s founder Lord Bamford said: “It is staggering to think that it’s 60 years since we produced the first JCB backhoe. The increasing versatility and innovation associated with this machine has been unrelenting and that is something that will continue apace in the future.”
It took around 20 years to produce the first 50,000 backhoe loaders that helped JCB carve a name for itself in the global agricultural and construction equipment market. But in the following 40 years, production has accelerated and expanded with factories opening in India and Brazil as well as the UK.
The the backhoe loader is the best selling piece of plant equipment in the world.
Tim Burnhope, JCB’s chief innovation and growth officer said: “The backhoe loader is not 60 years old, it’s 60 years young and this iconic machine has only just started its journey. The JCB backhoe will continue to develop and grow. It is a concept that has much to offer going forwards.”
Mr Burnhope promised that the next few years will bring significant development of the backhoe loader which he described as “a hugely important machine”.
“Because of this versatility, it is far more than just a digging machine,” he said. “Our customers are starting to reinvent the backhoe loader for themselves, based on what it can offer as a tool carrying machine.”
