JCB has won an order worth more than £53 million from plant hirer Fork Rent for 900 machines, perhaps the single biggest order in its history.
The deal for 900 Loadall telescopic handlers confirms Ipswich-based Fork Rent’s position as the UK’s biggest hirer of these forklift-based machines.
The machines are manufactured at JCB’s World HQ at Rocester, Staffordshire and all are to be delivered during 2013.
Fork Rent Chairman Guy Nicholls said: “Fork Rent and JCB have a great working relationship that spans over 25 years and that enables us to provide our customers with the latest technology and most highly specified machines.”
The deal will also mean that Fork Rent becomes the first major plant hire company to buy the new JCB 540-200 Loadall, Europe’s highest-reach rigid frame telescopic handler, capable of reaching a height of 20 metres. JCB says this makes it the most modern fleet of telescopic handlers in the UK.
Many of these machines are fitted with JCB’s new Ecomax Tier 4 Interim/Stage IIIB engines manufactured at JCB’s engine factory in Foston, Derbyshire.
The Ecomax engine meets Tier 4 Interim / Stage IIIB/ emissions standards without using costly diesel particulate filters (DPFs) or exhaust after-treatment fluids, such as AdBlue.
Guy Nicholls added: “As the first company to invest in JCB 540-200s, we can rightly claim to be reaching new heights in our industry with these machines.”
He added “We are also proud to have bought more JCB telehandlers than any other UK company.”
JCB’s UK & Ireland Sales Director Dan Thompstone said: “We’re delighted that Fork Rent is investing in machines that will deliver meaningful benefits to their customers, with fuel-efficient JCB Ecomax engines for lower running costs and 540-200 models offering much higher reach.”
Customer benefits, says the digger manufacturer, include better visibility from the cab, lower servicing costs and improved day-to-day running costs.
