JCB Rolls-Out 750,000th Backhoe Loader from Production Line in UK

JCB at present celebrated a singular milestone as its 750,000th backhoe loader rolled off the manufacturing line. The landmark machine was pushed off the road on the firm’s manufacturing unit in Rocester, Staffordshire – the very location the place the primary JCB backhoe was manufactured nearly 70 years in the past. It was in 1953 that firm founder, the late Joseph Cyril Bamford CBE, conceived the concept of the JCB backhoe loader, which created, for the primary time, a single machine which mixed a entrance shovel and rear excavator arm. In its first full yr of manufacturing in 1954, simply 35 of the machines had been produced and it took greater than 20 years for the primary 50,000 to be made. JCB now manufactures backhoe loaders within the UK, India, Brazil and the USA.

JCB Chairman Lord Bamford stated at present: “Some of my earliest childhood memories are of watching our first backhoe loaders being produced at Rocester and it’s incredible to think we have now manufactured 750,000. What’s even more incredible is that the backhoe remains one of the world’s most popular pieces of construction equipment almost seven decades after the first was produced. It really is testament to the versatility of the machine that its popularity continues to endure and will see it continue to prosper in the future.”

The 750,000th mannequin is a Special Edition of JCB’s newest 3CX backhoe loader, bearing a singular livery and complete specification. Despite its maturity, the backhoe loader stays massively well-liked when it comes to world development gear gross sales – regardless that new and aggressive merchandise have developed over the previous 67 years. And JCB’s iconic backhoe is the largest promoting on the planet – and has been for 19 consecutive years.

The firm’s first backhoe was the JCB Mark I and the concept went on to mechanising many roles, which had beforehand been performed by hand. The product developed quickly, with the launch of the Hyddra-Digga in 1956. Both these early machines got here in blue and purple livery and it was solely in 1960, with the launch of the heavier, extra highly effective JCB 4, that JCB’s signature yellow branding made its first look.

The JCB three went into manufacturing in 1961, adopted by the JCB 3C in 1963 and the JCB 3CII in 1967 – a mannequin which stood the check of time, staying in manufacturing for the subsequent 13 years. It was 1980 which proved to be an actual turning level with the £24 million funding within the launch of the technologically superior JCB 3CX – a machine which has turn into a backhoe icon all over the world. It was the launch of this machine which was the actual catalyst for the expansion of backhoe gross sales and for JCB.

Fast ahead to at present and the present technology of backhoe loaders characteristic computerized deployment of stabilisers on unlevel floor, a Smooth Ride System which cushions the loader and improves load retention when travelling and a TorqueLock characteristic which reduces on-road gas consumption by as much as 25 per cent.

Speaking on the event, Subir Kumar Chowdhury, Managing Director and CEO of JCB India stated: “JCB introduced the iconic Backhoe Loader in India four decades ago. Today, it is visible at almost every worksite in metros, towns, and villages, working tirelessly towards building a new India. JCB Backhoe Loaders have made a significant impact in the country, with the machine becoming almost synonymous with infrastructure development”

Royalty, Prime Ministers, politicians and TV stars have all been photographed within the cabs of JCB backhoes through the years. The JCB backhoe was even the topic of a track which made the highest of the charts. And it was a JCB backhoe which thieves utilized in a failed try to steal £350 million price of diamonds from the Millennium Dome in 2000. The newest backhoe manufacturing milestone comes after JCB celebrated the manufacture of its 500,000th backhoe in December 2012, a 5CX, essentially the most highly effective commercially out there backhoe JCB has ever made.