23.07.2013

Record £53 million telehandler deal for JCB

UK plant hirer Fork Rent has placed one of the largest single orders in JCB history for 900 telehandlers worth more than £53 million. The machines - manufactured at JCB in Rocester, Staffordshire - are to be delivered during 2013.

Fork Rent Chairman Guy Nicholls said: “Fork Rent and JCB have a great working relationship that spans more than 25 years enabling us to provide our customers with the latest technology and most highly specified machines. This latest investment in new plant delivers on our commitment to offer customers the highest level of service back up in our industry, reliability and peace of mind.”
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(L-R) Fork Rent's Guy Nicholls and Trudi Nicholls with Watling JCB managing director Richard Telfer

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. Many of the machines are fitted with JCB’s new and unique Ecomax Tier 4 Interim/Stage IIIB engines manufactured at JCB’s engine factory in Foston, Derbyshire.

“Fork Rent strives to be at the cutting edge of developments in the materials handling industry,” said Nicholls. 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. With fuel-efficient JCB Ecomax engines under the bonnet, customers can also look forward to lower fuel costs. We are also proud to have bought more JCB telehandlers than any other UK company.”

The JCB 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. The benefits for customers include better visibility from the cab, lower servicing costs and improved day-to-day running costs, with Ecomax-powered JCB Loadalls using seven percent less fuel compared with outgoing models.

Fork Rent purchased its first JCB machine in 1987 and since then has invested in more than 5,500 JCB machines through JCB dealer Watling JCB. The company now offers the full range of JCB telescopic handlers from the ultra-compact JCB 515-40 right through to the high-reach JCB 540-200.

JCB’s UK & Ireland sales director Dan Thompstone said: “We are 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.”